I haven't done a post about the NFL in a long while, so here we go. I tried to pick out records that are truly off the beaten path, things that even avid football fans might not know. Also, some of these are definite, and some of these might not be--more on that later. Finally, a quick note about the quarterback rating. It ranges from 0.0 to 158.3, and is based on completion percentage, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, and yards per attempt mostly, in a completed formula. In the past 20 years or so, a rating below 80 is pretty bad, and around 100 or above is superior. At the bottom, if someone threw every pass in the ground they'd have a rating of 39. 6, so anything below that is truly abysmal. An asterisk (*) indicates players is active as of 2020.
1) By one metric, Lee Bouggess of my Philadelphia Eagles was the worst running back ever. He holds the lowest yard per rushing attempt average ever, at 2.6 (for those with at least 200 rushing attempts). He managed only 697 rushing yards on 271 carries, in his career from 1970-72.
2) In a similar vein, the record for the lowest yards per carry for a running back with over 500 rushing attempts is also held by a former Eagle, Michael Haddix (who also played for Green Bay Packers, in his career which stretched from 1983-90). He totaled only 1635 yards on his 543 attempts, for an awful average of only 3.0 yards per attempt. Since he was the 8th guy taken in the 1983 NFL draft, that makes his career even that much more disappointing.
3) The record for fewest rushing yards in an entire career is held by, not surprisingly, a quarterback. Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears rushed for negative 239 yards, on 204 attempts, in his career from 1939--50. Obviously, though, Luckman was a phenomenal quarterback overall, an easy pick for the Hall of Fame, and also won NFL titles in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946.
4) Staying on quarterbacks, the record for most career passing attempts without throwing an incompletion is 6, held by the unknown Bill Donckers, in his brief stint with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1976-77. (He passed for 54 yards, and accumulated a passer rating of 104.2.)
5) Mark Malone was a below average quarterback in his career from 1980-81, and 1983-89. However, he holds the record for highest yards per reception average, with an incredible 90 yards per catch. Obviously, this was on his one and only reception, and not shockingly he also scored a touchdown on the play.
6) Denver Bronco Kendall Hinton did something incredible only a few weeks ago--he started at quarterback, even though he was a practice squad wide receiver who had never played in a NFL game. (He did play quarterback in college.) This was because all of the Broncos quarterbacks were on quarantine for COVID-19, and poor Hinton got less than 24 hours notice, and about 4 hours of practice. Understandably, he did horribly, going 1 for 9 passing, for 13 yards and 2 interceptions, for a rare 0.0 rating, and his team lost badly. Barring the early days of the NFL, when the quarterback position was less defined, and "starting" quarterbacks sometimes played much less than the reserves, only one other non-quarterback has started a game at this position. Tom Matte of the Baltimore Colts did it in the Colts' last game of 1965, when the starting and reserve quarterbacks got hurt. He only attempted 2 passes (both incomplete), while rushing for 99 yards. A real quarterback, Ed Brown, saw some action, too. However, the Colts won the game. And then started Matte at quarterback in their playoff game the following week. This time Matte went 5-12, for 40 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions (a 50.7 rating), but the Colts lost a close game, in overtime.
Next I'd like to explore punters in a detailed way. Specifically, records for rushing yards in a career, passing yards in a career, and touchdowns scored rushing and then passing. Unfortunately, this was difficult to do. I couldn't find an official or comprehensive list anywhere. So I did what I could. I looked at every punter's statistics who was in the Top 250 punters in number of punts in a career, and yards gained punting (which didn't add many different players). As I discovered, this basically meant any guy who punted full time for a team for about 2 years and up. I then wrote these down, and tabulated the results. Technically, of course, it's possible that some guy could have accumulated significant rushing or passing yards while only playing a very short career, but I feel it's very unlikely. But please let me know if I've left someone out, and I'll update these lists. Also, this list is a bit vague because in the early days of the NFL rosters were smaller, and there weren't full time punters--instead a quarterback, or running back, or lineman, etc. would do it. And the reference site I looked at (www.profootballreference.com) alas does not separate rushing and passing stats gained as a punter and then other ways. So guys like Danny White, or Steve Spurrier (who both punted and played quarterback) might really deserve to be on these lists, but I couldn't find out exactly. Also, many of these yards for those on the lists were accumulated while running a fake field goal, as a holder. Again, these aren't separated, so I'm including both. Anyway, all that admitted, let's get to the lists.
Most rushing yards by a punter/holder in a career:
1) 168 Jeff Hayes Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals, etc. 1982-87. Also as far as I could tell, Hayes is one of only 2 punters to rush for a touchdown on a fake punt, rather than a field goal. (See #4)
2) 153 Yale Lary, Detroit Lions, 1952-64. Also played defensive back, and was a Hall of Famer.
3) 146 Don Chandler, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, 1956-67.
4) 139 Billy Atkins, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, 1958-64. Also played defensive back and halfback, but as far as I can determine his rushing yards all came as a punter. Only other punter to score a rushing touchdown on a fake punt, along with Hayes, as far as I could determine.
5) 126 Bobby Walden, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, 1964-77.
6) 95 Chuck Latourette, St. Louis Cardinals, 1967-71. Also played defensive back.
7) 91 John Teltschik, Philadelphia Eagles, 1986-89.
8) 85 Tommy Davis, San Francisco 49ers, 1959-69.
9) 69 Greg Coleman, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland, etc., 1977-88.
10) 68 Reggie Hodges, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, etc., 2005, 2008-10, 2012.
Most passing yards in a career, punter/holder
1) 184 Johnny Hekker,* St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, 2012-20.
2) 131 Bob Parsons, Chicago Bears, 1972-83. Also played some tight end, but as far as I can tell all his passing yards came as a punter/holder.
3) 129 David Beverly, Green Bay Packers, Houston Oilers, 1974-80.
4) 128 Chris Mohr, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, etc., 1989-2004.
5) 106 Dave Green, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals, etc., 1973-78.
6) 103 Bobby Joe Green, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1960-73.
7) 102 Ron Widby, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, 1968-73
8) 96 Herman Weaver, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, 1970-80.
9) 94 Mark Royals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc., 1987-2003
9) 94 Brad Maynard, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, etc., 1997-2011.
This list will be very short. Only one punter/holder has rushed for 2 touchdowns. That was Hunter Smith, of the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, 1999-2010.
And another short list. These 3 punter/holders are the only ones to pass for 2 touchdowns.
1) Brad Maynard, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, etc., 1997-2011.
2) Brian Moorman, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, 2001-13.
3) Lee Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Oilers, etc., 1985-2002.
The list for longest single rush by a punter is as follows:
1) 68 Reggie Hodges, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, etc., 2005, 2008-10, 2012.
2) 63 Tom Wittum, San Francisco 49ers, 1973-77.
3) 61 Jeff Hayes, Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals, etc., 1982-87.
And the longest pass for a punter ever was 81 yards, for a touchdown, by Josh Miller of the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, etc., 1996-2007.
One of my favorite plays is when some gigantic lineman or linebacker lines up an an eligible tackle and then catches a pass, which is almost always within a few yards of the end zone. Well, here is a list of the guys who caught the most touchdowns doing this.
1) 10 Mike Vrabel, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, etc., 1997-2010. As I mentioned in another post, Vrabel also did it twice in Super Bowls. Played linebacker.
2) 4 Anthony Munoz, Cincinnati Bengals, 1980-92. Hall of Famer at tackle, too.
2) 4 Joe Valerio, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, 1992-96. Played center.
3) 3 J.J. Watt*, Houston Texans 2012-20. Plays defensive end.
3) 3 Jim Flanigan, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, etc., 1994-2003. Played defensive tackle.
Okay, now we're moving to passing records for non-quarterbacks. Some historians credit guys like Tony Canadeo, Bob Gage, and Joe Geri in these lists, but I don't think they should count, since they played in the single wing offense where the quarterback was more of a blocker, and any one of 4 guys could receive the snap and pass the ball. So, long story short, they were kind of quarterbacks, even if that wasn't their official position. Most of these players were running backs, but some were wide receivers/ends/flankers. As before an asterisk (*) indicates they are active as of 2020.
Most career passing yards for a non-quarterback:
1) 854 Tom Tracy, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1956-64.
2) 823 Frank Gifford, New York Giants, 1952-60, 1962-64. Hall of Famer.
3) 759 John David Crow, Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, 1958-68.
4) 427 Dick Hoak, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1961-70.
5) 383 Tom Moore, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, etc., 1960-67.
6) 370 Dan Reeves, Dallas Cowboys, 1965-72.
7) 331 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears, 1975-87.
8) 326 Paul Lowe, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, 1960-69.
9) 323 Antwaan Randle El, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, 2002-10.
10) 282 Marcus Allen, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, 1982-97. Hall of Famer.
11) 248 Gene Foster, San Diego Chargers, 1965-70.
12) 240 Keith Lincoln, San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills, 1961-68.
13) 233 Billy Ray Barnes, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, 1957-66.
13) 233 Mohamed Sanu *, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, etc., 2012-20.
15) 204 Calvin Hill, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, etc., 1969-74, 1975-81.
16) 200 Gene Mingo, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, etc., 1960-70.
Now let's see which non-quarterbacks threw for the most touchdown passes in a career:
1) 14 Frank Gifford, New York Giants, 1952-60, 1962-64. (Hall of Famer).
2) 8 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears, 1975-87.
3) 7 LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers, New York Jets, 2001-11.
4) 6 Antwaan Randle El, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, 2002-10.
4) 6 Greg Pruitt, Cleveland Browns, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1973-84.
4) 6 Marcus Allen, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, 1982-97. (HOF)
4) 6 Keith Byars, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, etc., 1986-98.
4) 6 Tom Tracy, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1956-64.
9) 5 Tom Moore, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, etc., 1960-67.
9) 5 John David Crow, Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, 1958-68.
9) 5 Keith Lincoln, San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills, 1961-68.
12) 4 Billy Ray Barnes, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, etc., 1957-66.
12) 4 Willard Harrell, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Cardinals, 1975-84.
12) 4 Dalton Hilliard, New Orleans Saints, 1986-93.
12) 4 Dick Hoak, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1961-70
12) 4 Andy Johnson, New England Patriots, 1974-82.
12) 4 Hank Lauricella, Dallas Texans, 1952.
12) 4 Dave Meggett, New York Giants, New England Patriots, 1989-98.
12) 4 Chuck Muncie, New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers, 1976-84.
12) 4 Mohamed Sanu *, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, etc., 2012-20.
Finally, I'll wrap this up with a little about guys with the shortest of NFL careers, only playing in 1 game. Clearly, the overwhelming amount of these players didn't do anything significant. But occasionally they do, either good or bad. I'm not including some guys who were replacement players during the 1987 strike games, since I don't consider those to be legitimate. Here are some of the more interesting 1 gamers:
1) Ed Baker saw action at quarterback in a single game with the Houston Oilers back in 1972. And it went poorly. He complete 4 of 10 passes (40%), for only 47 yards, no touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, for an atrocious passer rating of 15.4.
2) Tom O"Malley, of the 1950 Green Bay Packers, arguably had the worst game ever for a quarterback. He completed 4 of 15 passes (26.7%), for 31 yards, 0 touchdowns, and an astonishing 6 interceptions. He thus achieved the nadir rating of 0.0. Also, he rushed one time, for -9 yards.
3) Kerwin Bell was the anti-Tom O"Malley, if you will. In his only game ever, with the Indianapolis Colts in 1996, he completed 5 out of 5 passes, for 75 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. So he garnered the perfect 158.3 rating.
4) Connor Cook had a bizarre career with the Oakland Raiders in 2016. His only regular season appearance ever was a game where he completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%), for 150 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception, for a decent 83.4 rating. His only start ever was in the following game, a playoff game. In that one he regressed, only completing 18 of 45 passes (40%), for 161 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions (a terrible 30.0 rating). And his team lost. Granted, it wasn't that long ago, so Cook might possibly play again, but as of now his career was brief but memorable.
5) Charlie McBride's only game was with the 1936 Chicago Cardinals, at blocking back. He rushed for 1 yard on 2 rushes, but then caught a pass for 38 yards and a touchdown.
6) Similarly, Randy Burks of the 1976 Chicago Bears also caught a single pass, for 55 yards and a touchdown, in his only game at wide receiver.
7) Eric McCoo didn't score, but he had an unusually productive single game career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004. The running back rushed for 54 yards on 9 carries, and caught 2 passes for 15 yards.
8) Another Philadelphia Eagle, Dan Barnhart, played in 1 game for them in 1934 at tailback. And he completed 1 pass out of 1 attempt for 4 yards and a touchdown, on a tackle eligible play.
9) Running back Wes Hills of the 2019 Detroit Lions is the only guy I could find who scored 2 touchdowns in a single game career. But it was negative in some ways. He rushed for only 21 yards on 10 carries, with 2 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 2 passes for only 1 yard. Granted, he's still only 25 years old as of now, so he might play more games, but if not he had another weird career.
10) Bill Slyker scored the only touchdown scored by his whole team in their entire season in his one and only NFL game. Some background--he played for the 1922 Evansville Crimson Giants, who only competed in 8 total games from 1921-22. In 1922 they only played 3 games before going out of business. Anyway, the details are lacking, but Slyker caught his touchdown, of unknown yardage, from a unnoted passer.
And one final tidbit, the smallest NFL player ever appears to be Jack "Soapy" Shapiro of the 1929 Staten Island Stapletons. He was listed as being 5 foot, 1 inch tall, and he weighed only 119 pounds!
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