TUESDAY TIDBITS: "Was an Important Backfield Mate"

By TJ Troup 

Shot of the 1944 Detroit Lions spread offensive formation

The San Francisco 49ers made a statement last Sunday afternoon, yet really believe the Philadelphia Eagles are going to win at least four of five or possibly all five the rest of the way. 

Does San Francisco keep pace? Does home-field advantage mean that much in the NFC title game? How many of you three weeks ago thought that the Rams and/or Packers were playoff-bound this year?

 Come on now, be honest.

The Houston Texans have become part of the discussion of play-off bound teams whether they make it or not, and their rookie passer Stroud sure can pitch that pigskin. Mr. Stroud will allow me to take all of you back in time—yes, I do that every week to rookie passers in history. Here we go on our sojourn; first stop 1937, and one of the most accurate passers in the history of the game in Slingin' Sam. What he accomplished in '37 is still impressive. 

Next on our list is Bob Waterfield in '45, and much has been written concerning his ability to throw the ball for the Rams that year. 

Bob Waterfield - NFL MVP in 1945 as a rookie

Next on our list is my boy Chuckin' Charley in '48, and ask any quarterback today if he would like to be handed his stat sheet after a game in 2023 with a 36 listed in the number of completions in a game. 

Charlie Conerly on a SI issue in 1956

Next up would be the little general Eddie LeBaron in '52, though his stats might not be great, he still displayed the ability to be accurate during his rookie campaign. 

Next up is Johnny Unitas, and what he accomplished the second half of '56 in his rookie season. No one ever seems to mention that he was third in the NFL that year in the passer rating category. Mr. Hightops built off his rookie year to become legendary, and if you doubt he was legendary, get ahold of some film and watch. 

Johnny Unitas

Next up, coming off the bench in Metropolitan Stadium in September of '61 Fran Tarkenton. Later that year in December against the Rams he established a new record for most consecutive completions in a game with 13. Have watched film of him that afternoon, and have the play-by-play. Tark begins completing 6 of 9, then in the second quarter he begins by completing 2 out of 4, including a 51-yard score. He then hits the bullseye 13 straight. He delivers to receivers on short crossing routes, on flares to backs, on quick outs, and gains 135 yards on those 13 completions. 

They are not all dinks and dunks. 

Fran Tarkenton

He ended the game with three straight incompletions, and his main weapon the fiery Jerry Reichow gets ejected from the game (never mentioned anywhere). 

For a moment let's contemplate his achievement...think of all the accurate passers before Tarkenton and this rookie set the record. Looked up Baugh's game log for 1945 and saw he completed 18 of 21 against the Steelers' Black & Gold in October of that year. Maybe the league made an error and Sammy should have been listed with Van Brocklin, Ratterman, and Plum? 

So, pour a cup of coffee, and put in the color film (thank you Nate Fine) of the game. 

Baugh after being tackled for a loss (no sacks in that era)completes 6 for 6. Then after an incompletion goes 3 for 3, then his second incompletion. Baugh then delivers four straight strikes, then his final incompletion, as he finishes five for five. 

Sammy Baugh

Since Washington is ahead of the woebegone Steelers no need to throw. There have been other rookie passers and again thank you Steve Sabol and Chris Willis for the film, as we are going to go back again to the decade of the '40s and detail a performance of a rookie passer you probably never heard of ... 'till now. 

World War II raged in Europe in 1944 and though we have pro football, how much of that year do you ever read about? 

The Detroit Lions of 1942 were pathetic, one of the worst teams of all time. They were sub-standard in all aspects of football, and after the ONE touchdown pass they threw early in the year, the Lions threw no more, but they sure could throw errant passes to the opposition, believe we call those interceptions. 

Gus Dorais takes over in the Motor City, and though the Lions of '43 are improved, they are still not a very strong team. Detroit starts slow in '44 but catches fire, and begins to roar down the stretch—five straight wins to close the season and tie the mighty Bears for second. 

Frank Sinkwich earned the MVP that year, and in film study, you see how hard he runs, how he is able to find his receivers and get them the ball. He returns punts, leads the league in punting, and plays a solid game at safety. 

Frank Sinkwich

Entering the tenth and final game of the year he had an outside shot of leading the league in both rushing and touchdown passes thrown. Sinkwich throws just one incomplete pass in the game. His beat-up body could not help his team that afternoon of December 3rd, and the strategy employed by Gus Dorais would have earned him coach of the year honors if there had been media coverage then like we have now. 

This of course begs the question, who replaced Sinkwich at tailback for the game against Boston? 

Bob Westfall does, and am sure gonna detail who this man was, and what he did, yet this is a team game and briefly will talk about his teammates. Last time I checked eleven men took the field in football.

Elmer Hackney and Art Van Tone had their moments running, receiving, and playing in the secondary. Though the line is led by Alex Wojchiechowicz, he has help. Albinus Kaporch is a 30-year-old second-year man, and he is an excellent offensive guard. He pulls, traps, and is rock solid on the double team. Kaporch is the middle guard on defense and is excellent in pursuit. 

Stan Batinski does a fine job, and so do all of the lineman off the bench, yet the other lineman that stood out is Luke Lindon. The stocky rookie (Lions have 14 of those) is usually the right tackle, and he combines with Kaporch to give Sinkwich and Westfall a place to attack the defense. 

Coming out of the huddle Sinkwich aligns under center and then shifts to tailback and the other three backs re-align from a fullhouse-T to the Dorais version of the single wing. 

The blocking back is team Captain Bill Callihan and he is an excellent blocker at the point of attack, catches the ball well, and is the heart and soul of this team. You look at his stats, and come away thinking he did not contribute much? Watch film of him at linebacker, and how he attacks a sweep or makes an open field tackle. You win games with players like Captain Bill. 

Blocking back Bill Callihan, #25, 

lays a nice block for Bob Westfall

Since Sinkwich was amongst the league leaders in passing, he had to throw to somebody? He has two excellent ends in Dave Diehl, usually on the left on offense, and nasty-tempered Jack Matheson at right end. Matheson has the size and demonstrates the ability to adjust to the ball in flight, and he has glue fingers. Jack caught 22 passes for 350 yards the last seven games of '44 to rank among the league leaders. 

Matheson is one also of the toughest left defensive ends in the NFL, and when he takes a breather, off the bench comes lanky Wayne Clark. The lean youngster attacks with fury, and in the game against the Yanks in December he has the game of his life (he only plays in '44). Rookie John Greene gets plenty of playing time at left linebacker, and left offensive guard down the stretch. 

LDE Jack Matheson, #82 and LB #25 Bill Callihan (in a three-point stance)

combine for a sack and forced fumble vs Boston Yanks, recovered by Lions

Since Detroit played an over shifted 5-3-3 the middle linebacker was sometimes Callihan, and sometimes Alex W. and he has his greatest season. His instincts, hustle and open-field tackling ability will later convince writers that he should be enshrined in Canton. Wojie intercepts 7 passes, and he is always around the ball. 

He is an excellent center, and makes all the snaps accurately. Mel Hein, is simply the best of his generation, and Bulldog Turner is right behind him, yet after studying film—Wojie earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame—especially based on his performance in 1944. 

Alex Wojchiechowicz

The 1942 Lions finished dead last in the defensive passer rating category with a mark of 71.4 (league average was 40.3), while the '44 Lions finished 6th with a mark of 43.2 (league average was 42.1). Manning the corners were Hackney, Van Tone, and Westfall. Since the Lions finally beat the Bears on November 19th, they have a chance to finish with a winning record and journey to Cleveland. Though Detroit wins the game, Sinkwich throws 6 interceptions, but the Lions take the ball away also. 

Detroit can finish tied for second at 6-3-1 if they can win at home over the green and gold-clad Boston Yanks. Over the years have detailed to all of you that there are games I really enjoy watching over and over, and this game ranks near the top. You are gonna ask why? Well, I'll tell you why. My friend and outstanding researcher Nick Webster helped me in a category he relishes researching; tackles for loss. Check the box score for who carried the ball for Boston, and you can see how many individual carries Davis, Cafego, Gundmundson, Williams, Turbert, Sanders, Comissa, and Martin got....oh wait, they are not listed in the box score? Possibly Foreman and Lynch would like the stats for this game? 

More important though is Mr. Webster shared with me that 7 times for 61 yards in losses a Boston Yank was taken down on a play, whether run or attempted pass. The Lions played with a fury on this December afternoon at Briggs. 

Detroit's offense moves up and down the field the entire game as Bob Westfall aligned in a wing offense with him basically as a shot-gun quarterback shreds the Yank secondary. 

Bob had thrown a few passes earlier in the season, yet in this game he completed 15 of 30 for 260 yards, and three touchdowns! He is decisive and accurate in pitching the pigskin (thank you Bill Walsh). He does not hesitate when he does not see an open receiver, and being a fullback for most of the year, with his fireplug frame and quickness he attacks the hole and runs hard.

#86 Westfall starts under center, offenses shifts to a spread wing -- the left 

end is near the sideline and Westfall is five yards back taking the snap. 

#45 Bob Keene, the right halfback, shifted from the T-formation to a stacked 

position behind the right end and then motions outside and runs a "go" route. 

Westfall then uncorks a pass for one of his three touchdown passes on the day.

Note: NMVP Frank Sinkwich pass blocks after shifting from LHB to the RHB.

How many rookies gain over 300 yards in total offense in this era running and passing? Not many.

Earlier in the year he ranked among the league leaders in receiving. He scored the first Detroit touchdown of the season on a fine running catch out of the backfield and up the sideline. Westfall led the league in a category that is usually not discussed much—lateral passing. 

The league manual states that in '44 some coaches viewed the lateral as "the treacherous lateral pass". Was not treacherous when Westfall combined to complete all three of his laterals to league MVP Frank Sinkwich. 

Bob Westfall is under center, shifts into the spread but ball is snapped to 

#34 Elmer Hackney who throws a jump pass/lateral to Bob Westfall

Westfall blocks, catches, plays corner, and runs with abandon, and in the game the Lions must have replaced the league MVP and passes for 260 yards. 

This game is a delight to watch for many reasons, yet the main reason is the performance of Bob Westfall. 

Bill Dudley would have earned Rookie of the Year in 1942, and Al Blozis in '43. No doubt Waterfield would have been rookie of the year in '45. Notice that '44 was left out.....till now, as Bob Westfall was the 1944 Rookie of the Year. 

Enjoy the games this coming weekend, and see ya next week.