American football player, coach and executive (1926–1983)
American football player
Norm Van Brocklin
Van Brocklin in 1974
No. 25, 11
Position:
Quarterback Punter
Personal information
Born:
(1926-03-15)March 15, 1926 Parade, South Dakota, U.S.[1]
Died:
May 2, 1983(1983-05-02) (aged 57) Social Circle, Georgia, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:
190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:
Acalanes (Lafayette, California)
College:
Oregon (1946–1948)
NFL draft:
1949 / Round: 4 / Pick: 37
Career history
As a player:
Los Angeles Rams (1949–1957)
Philadelphia Eagles (1958–1960)
As a coach:
Minnesota Vikings (1961–1966) Head coach
Atlanta Falcons (1968–1974) Head coach
Georgia Tech (1979) Running backs coach
As an executive:
Atlanta Falcons (1970–1974) General manager
Career highlights and awards
As a player
2× NFL champion (1951, 1960)
NFL Most Valuable Player (1960)
First-team All-Pro (1960)
3× Second-team All-Pro (1952, 1954, 1955)
9× Pro Bowl (1950–1955, 1958–1960)
NFL passing yards leader (1954)
NFL completion percentage leader (1952)
NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Bert Bell Award (1960)
Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
St. Louis Football Ring of Fame
First-team All-American (1948)
2× First-team All-PCC (1947, 1948)
NFL record
Most passing yards in a game: 554[a]
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:
2,895
Passing completions:
1,553
Completion percentage:
53.6%
TD–INT:
173–178
Passing yards:
23,611
Passer rating:
75.1
Punting yards:
22,313
Punting average:
42.7
Head coaching record
Career:
66–100–7 (.402)
Player stats at PFR
Coaching stats at PFR
Executive profile at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American football player, coach and executive. He played as a quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and his final three with the Philadelphia Eagles. Following his playing career, he was the inaugural head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 1961 to 1966 and the second head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1968 to 1974.
Van Brocklin played college football for the Oregon Webfoots, earning All-America honors, but was not selected by the Rams until the fourth round of the 1949 NFL draft due to concerns over his professional availability. During his first three seasons, he and teammate Bob Waterfield alternated as the starting quarterback, culminating with them leading Los Angeles to victory in the 1951 championship game. After Waterfield retired, Van Brocklin served as the Rams primary starter from 1952 to 1957, concluding his tenure with six consecutive Pro Bowl selections and a passing-yards leading season in 1954. He joined Philadelphia in 1958, where his three seasons all saw him receive further Pro Bowl selections, bringing his total to nine. In his final season, he was named NFL Most Valuable Player en route to winning the 1960 championship.
As the head coach of the expansion Vikings and Falcons, Van Brocklin had less success and was unable to reach the postseason with either team. Nevertheless, he recorded the first winning season for both franchises. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
^Grasso, John (June 13, 2013). Historical Dictionary of Football. Scarecrow Press. p. 413. ISBN 978-0-8108-7857-0.
^Cite error: The named reference PassYDs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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Norman Mack VanBrocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American football player, coach and executive. He played as a...
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peppered with war veterans including Brad Ecklund, Jake Leicht and NormVanBrocklin, and transfers George Bell, Woodley Lewis and John McKay. Oregon's...
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team in history", and former NFL star and Atlanta Falcons head coach NormVanBrocklin ridiculed the AFL before the game, saying "I'll tell you what I think...
(1942) Albie Reisz (1944) Bob Waterfield (1945–1952) Jim Hardy (1948) NormVanBrocklin (1950–1957) Bill Wade (1954, 1956, 1958–1960) Frank Ryan (1959–1961)...
four touchdown passes and run for another. However, under head coach NormVanBrocklin, the Vikings won just two of their remaining 13 games, including a...
victories (both in 1989) tied him with Vince Ferragamo, James Harris, and NormVanBrocklin for second-most playoff victories during the Rams' first stint in...
Philadelphia's backup quarterback, behind Bobby Thomason in 1957 and NormVanBrocklin, from 1958 through 1960. It was during this time as a backup that...
from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2023. "NormVanBrocklin Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference...
pro football record 574 yards breaking the mark of 554 yards set by NormVanBrocklin in 1951. Kelly threw three touchdown passes in the last Gambler drives...
from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023. "NormVanBrocklin Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference...
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