POINT OF FACT
? When was the National Football League organized?
•In 1920, but it was then called the American Professional Football Association. The present name was adopted in 1922.
? What is the longest-continuing rivalry in the NFL?
•That between the Green Bay Packers, the only team dating all the way back to the first official standings in 1921, and the Chicago Bears, who moved to Chicago from Decatur, Ill. in 1922. In 84 meetings, from 1921 through 1960, the Bears have won 50, Green Bay 28, and there have been six ties.
? In 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins, Sammy Baugh completed 1,709 passes, a league record. Who is closest to Bough's record?
•Bobby Layne of the Pittsburgh Steelers, now in his 14th season, had 1,623 completions at the end of 1960. Layne, however, has already attempted more passes than Baugh (3,318, for a 48.9% completion average). Baugh threw 3,016 passes for a 56.7% completion average.
? The two men who rank fourth and fifth among alltime NFL passers are still active, and are on the same team. Who are they?
•Y. A. Tittle (1,387 completions) and Charley Conerly (1,374), both members of the N.Y. Giants.
? What player scored the most points in one game?
•On Nov. 28, 1929 Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals made six touchdowns and kicked four extra points to score all of the Cardinals' points in a 40-6 victory over the Chicago Bears.
? Don Hutson is far and away the outstanding pass receiver in NFL history, with 489 receptions in II seasons with Green Bay. What are some of Hutson's other pass-catching records?
•A career high of 101 touchdown passes caught, a season high (in 1942) of 17 touchdown passes caught (tied in 1951 by Elroy Hirsch of the Los Angeles Rams) and a career total of 8,010 yards gained catching passes.
? Hutson also led the NFL eight seasons as a pass receiver. Has anyone led the league this many times in any other department?
•No. Sammy Baugh was the NFL's top passer six times; Philadelphia's Steve Van Buren and Cleveland's Jim Brown each won the rushing title four times; and Cleveland's Lou Groza kicked the most field goals five times. Scoring crowns? Hutson again, with five titles, all in a row, from 1940-44.
? Who gained the most yards rushing in a) career, b) season, c) one game?
• a) Joe Perry of the Baltimore Colts gained 7,246 yards in 11 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (he averaged five yards per carry); b)Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns gained 1,527 yards in 1958, averaging 5.9 yards a try; c) Brown also holds the single-game high of 237 yards (7.6 yards per try) vs. L.A. in 1957.
? The 1950 Los Angeles Rams set a league offensive record of 466 points in one season. What team gave up the fewest points in a season?
•The New York Giants yielded only 20 points during a 13-game season in 1927.
? What team had the longest winning streak?
•The Chicago Bears twice won 18 games in a row. The first winning streak (1933-34) was ended in the 1934 playoff by the N.Y. Giants, 30-13. A championship playoff also ended the Bears' second streak (1941-42) when Washington beat them, 14-6.
? What team holds the record for the most yards penalized in a season?
•The Chicago Bears forfeited 1,107 yards in 1951. Their rough play did them little good—they finished fourth.
? Who was the first player selected in the player draft?
•Jay Berwanger, the All-America halfback from the University of Chicago and the first Heisman Trophy winner, was chosen by Philadelphia in the first NFL draft on Feb. 8, 1936.
? What team intercepted the most passes in one season?
•The 1943 Green Bay Packers picked off 42 of 242 passes, and the 1951 N.Y. Giants intercepted 41 of 377. The 1943 Packers also hold the single-game high of nine interceptions, against Detroit.
? Has anyone ever caught his own pass?
•Yes. John Unitas of the Baltimore Colts for one yard in 1956, Y. A. Tittle, then of the San Francisco 49ers, for four yards in 1959, and the Cleveland Browns' Milt Plum, for 20 yards in 1959.
? Who has the best punting average for one
•Sammy Baugh punted 35 times in 1940 and averaged 51.4 yards per kick.
? Who played the most number of years in the NFL?
•Sammy Baugh put in 16 years, all with Washington. John McNally played 15 years for various teams from 1925-39, and Mel Hein was at center for the N.Y. Giants for 15 years from 1931-45.
? Washington's Frank Filchock passed to Andy Farkas in 1939 for the longest touch-downplay in league history—99 yards. What is the shortest TD pass ever thrown?
•Two inches by Dallas' Eddie LeBaron to Dick Bielski in 1960.
? Who has thrown the most TD passes?
•Sammy Baugh, of course. But his total of 187, like his total-completion mark, is likely to be broken by Bobby Layne, who has 176. Charley Conerly is next with 166.
? Who is the highest scorer in NFL history?
•Don Hutson, whose total of 825 points is 83 better than Cleveland's field-goal ace, Lou Groza, who came out of retirement to start his 11th season this year.
? Bert Rechichar's 56-yard field goal for Baltimore in 1953 is the longest-scoring place kick in NFL history. Who made the longest drop kick?
•Paddy Driscoll of the Chicago Cards drop-kicked two 50-yard field goals, one in 1924, the other in 1925. Wilbur Henry of the Canton Bull Dogs booted a 50-yarder in 1922.
? Who has kicked the most field goals in a) one game, b) one season?
•Bob Waterfield kicked five in one game for Los Angeles in 1951, and Ernie Nevers did the same for Duluth in 1926. Cleveland's Lou Groza set the one-season record of 23 field goals in 1953.
? What player scored the most points in one quarter?
•Don Hutson, with 29 points against Detroit in 1945. He caught four passes for four touchdowns and kicked five extra points.
? What are the most points a team has scored in a regular season game?
•The Los Angeles Rams defeated Baltimore, 70-27 in 1950. The same Baltimore team, incidentally, gave up 462 points during the season, also a league record.
? What team gained the most yards in one game?
•The 1951 L.A. Rams gained 735 yards (181 rushing and a record 554 yards passing) against the N.Y. Yanks.
? Has a team ever played a full game without making a first down?
•Yes. This has happened six times in league history and twice to the same team, the N.Y. Giants. Remarkably, the Giants won both those games, beating Green Bay 10-7 in 1933 and Washington 14-7 in 1942. The 1942 game was also the last time a team failed to make a first down.
ILLUSTRATION