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Sammy Baugh - RIP

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dude, Dec 17, 2008.

  1. pallister

    pallister Guest

    Good line.
     
  2. pseudo

    pseudo Well-Known Member

    R.I.P. to the final member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's charter Class of 1963, one of only three Triple Crown winners in league history, and a legend of the game if there ever was one. Y'all have pounded Angola enough that I don't need to pile on ... but seriously, 'gola, do some remedial reading on him. You'll thank us later.

    HOF: The passing of a legend
    HOF: Sammy Baugh photo gallery

    Those are from the public part of the site; the media side doesn't have anything up yet. (For those who don't already have that link, canton/canton gets you through the front door there.)
     
  3. Dude

    Dude Well-Known Member

    Can I call a DB on this? Is "DB' still a viable phrase here?
     
  4. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    All I know is that ol' Sammy had his Texas Rangin' down pat.

    And I think that Sally Crane was keen on him, too.
     
  5. Some Guy

    Some Guy Active Member

    I used to work in West Texas, not (too) far from where Baugh lived in his later years. One of my co-workers was working on a story celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the forward pass, and called him up to see if he could come out for a visit.

    The directions Baugh gave to his ranch were hilarious. Stuff like, "When the road stops being paved, take a left." That sort of stuff.

    Then, my co-worker offered to send him a copy of the story when it was done and asked if Baugh had a mailing address he could send the story to.

    "Shit," Slingin' Sammy said, "just send it to Sam Baugh, Rotan, Texas."

    No street address. No zip. And I'll be damned if the story didn't find its way to him.
     
  6. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Baugh's chapter in "The Game that Was," Myron Cope's 1970 football counterpart to "The Glory of their Times," was tremendous (as, really, was the rest of the book). You got a real feel for what growing up in Texas in the 1930s, and playing pro football from 1937-1952 was really like. Baugh talked a little bit about making the "King of the Texas Rangers" serials, and he said, "I never could figure out what the hell it was supposed to be about. We came in each day and we were supposed to have a script, but before too long the directors just said 'the hell with it' and just shot whatever they felt like every day."

    Baugh also figures, indirectly, in the chapters of George Plimpton's "Mad Ducks and Bears" which focused on Bobby Layne. Apparently Layne's and Baugh's ranches were only a few miles apart in the foothills of West Texas.

    I suppose there could be a hell of a movie idea there.
     
  7. mpcincal

    mpcincal Well-Known Member

    Someone earlier mentioned the "73-7" line; I seem to remember another one I read about. I might not have the details down quite right, but his coach was explaining a long pass play he wanted to run and told Baugh, "When the receiver turns on his route downfield, I want you to hit him in the eye with the football." To which Baugh replied "Which eye?"
     
  8. joe king

    joe king Active Member

    Hey, that's my line!

    Actually my line is the NFL didn't start in 1983, but that's close.

    As one of the resident football historians on the board, I have long been crying out in the wilderness to those making lists of greatest quarterbacks, or passers, or players ever not to forget Sammy Baugh (not to mention Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Bennie Friedman, etc.). Glad to see so many giving the man his due, though it's sad that it takes his death for that to happen.

    Baugh was the best pure passer of his time, maybe of any time. He was surely the best punter ever, though his numbers are inflated a bit because of quick kicks and the fact that in some punt situations, opponents were so concerned about the pass they didn't put a return man back.

    I remember talking to him a few years back and asking him if he ever went back to Fort Worth to watch TCU play. He got all riled up and started ranting about how he'd never go watch those SOBs again after how they treated Dutch Meyer, his old coach. He was the very definition of a crotchety old man, but he was funny as hell.

    We'll miss him.
     
  9. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Re: Sammy Baugh - RIP

    now that i'm done with work a hearty go f--k yourself is in order to jps and pallister.
     
  10. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    He was a passing force of extra-ordinary magnitude
     
  11. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    And Burkina Faso!, I guess I'll have to find myself, too. You work in sports, you know who Sammy Baugh is. I could give a crap about figure skating, but I know I won't be saying, "who is this Dick Button guy who just died and is all over the wires?"
     
  12. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Re: Sammy Baugh - RIP

    yeah, dools, you can definitely go F--K yourself.
     
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