Norm Van Brocklin

Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), was an American professional football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "the Dutchman", 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 in 1948. Due to concerns over his professional availability, he was not selected until the fourth round of the 1949 NFL draft by the Rams. 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, extending his Pro Bowl selections 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 was unable to reach the postseason with either franchise, but recorded the first winning season for both. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

Early life

Born in Parade, South Dakota,<ref name="Grasso 413" /> Van Brocklin was one of nine children of Mack and Ethel Van Brocklin. His father was a watchmaker.<ref name=shjobitap>Template:Cite news</ref> The family moved to Northern California and settled in Walnut Creek, east of Oakland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Van Brocklin was a three-sport standout at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, where he quarterbacked the football team to a 5–3 record as a sophomore and a 4–2–2 record as a junior.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 through 1945, foregoing his senior year of high school.<ref name=af46yrs>Template:Cite news</ref>

College career

Following World War II, Van Brocklin followed two former high school teammates north and enrolled at the University of Oregon in Eugene.<ref name=af46yrs /> He became the starting quarterback in 1947 under first-year head coach Jim Aiken,<ref name=osatrilb>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=topdu>Template:Cite news</ref> and led the Ducks to a 16–5 record in his two seasons as a starter. In 1948, Oregon tied with California for the title of the Pacific Coast Conference, forerunner of the Pac-12. California was undefeated overall, and Oregon's only loss was at undefeated Michigan,<ref name=orsrelcl>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=dhbsoos>Template:Cite news</ref> that year's national champions, and the Ducks had seven victories in the PCC to Cal's six.<ref name=fccst>Template:Cite news</ref> Oregon did not go to the Rose Bowl, however, because Cal was voted by the other schools to represent the PCC in the game. Oregon needed only a 5–5 tie vote, as Cal had been to the game more recently, and with six Northwest schools and four in California, appeared favored to advance. Oregon had opted for a playoff game, but California declined.<ref name=cabgrbb>Template:Cite news</ref> Among the Cal voters was the University of Washington, which elevated the intensity of the Oregon-Washington rivalry. Breaking with tradition, the PCC allowed Oregon to accept an invitation to play SMU in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It was the first time that a Pacific Coast team played in a major bowl game other than the Rose Bowl (a policy which was continued by the Pac-8 through 1974). Both Oregon and California lost their New Year's Day bowl games.<ref name=ocbdbg>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>"Year-by-Year Bowl Facts", Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, p. 366, 2007.</ref> That season, Van Brocklin was honored with an All-America selection<ref>Template:College Football HoF</ref> and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Coincidentally, the Heisman Trophy winner that year was SMU running back Doak Walker. Both Walker and Van Brocklin got Outstanding Player recognition for their performance in the Cotton Bowl Classic.<ref>1949 Classic RecapTemplate:Dead link (pdf format)</ref>

Van Brocklin left Oregon for the NFL with one remaining year of college eligibility. At that time, a player was not allowed to join the NFL until four years after graduating from high school. Though he had only been at the University of Oregon for three years, he was eligible due to his time in the Navy during World War II. At age 23, he completed his bachelor's degree in June 1949.<ref name=vbipc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=nvbswrm>Template:Cite news</ref>

Professional playing career

File:Van Brocklin 1951 Bowman.jpg

Van Brocklin depicted in 1951

Los Angeles Rams

Van Brocklin was selected 37th overall in the 1949 NFL draft, taken in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Teams were not sure if he planned to play the 1949 season in college, so he fell in the draft,<ref name=vbipc /> conducted in December 1948. Van Brocklin signed with the Rams in July and joined a team that already had a star quarterback, Bob Waterfield. Beginning in 1950, new Rams coach Joe Stydahar solved his problem by platooning Waterfield and Van Brocklin. The 1950 Rams scored a then-record 466 points (38.8 per game – which is still a record) with a high octane passing attack featuring Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. Fears led the league and set a new NFL record with 84 receptions. Van Brocklin and Waterfield finished 1–2 in passer rating as well. They were defeated by the Cleveland Browns in the 1950 title game, 30–28.<ref name=bwpttl>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1951, Van Brocklin and Waterfield again split quarterbacking duties and the Rams again won the West. That year, Hirsch set an NFL record with 1,495 receiving yards and tied Don Hutson's record of 17 touchdown receptions. This time, the Rams won the title rematch against Cleveland, 24–17.<ref name=pitches>Template:Cite news</ref> Waterfield (9–24, 125 yards) took most of the snaps at the L.A. Coliseum, but Van Brocklin (4–6, 128 yards) threw a game-winning 73-yard touchdown pass to Fears.<ref name=pitches /> It was the Rams' only NFL championship while originally based in southern California; their next came in 1999, several years after the move east to St. Louis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After returning to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, the Rams subsequently won Super Bowl LVI in 2022.

Earlier in 1951 on opening night, Van Brocklin threw for an NFL record 554 yards on September 28, breaking Johnny Lujack's single-game record of 468 set two years earlier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Waterfield was injured so Van Brocklin played the entire game and completed 27 of 41 attempts with five touchdowns. Despite the increase in passing attacks by NFL teams in recent years, the yardage record still stands, set Template:Years or months ago.<ref name=pfhofvbody>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=rsyiopr>Template:Cite news</ref>

Waterfield retired after the 1952 season and Van Brocklin continued to quarterback the Rams, leading them to the title game again in 1955, hosted at the L.A. Coliseum. In that game, the visiting Browns crushed the Rams 38–14 as Van Brocklin threw six interceptions.<ref name=bbrirt>Template:Cite news</ref> In early January 1958, he announced his retirement from pro football after nine seasons and had plans to enter private business in Oregon at Portland.<ref name=vbretarqgap>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=hipress>Template:Cite news</ref>

Philadelphia Eagles

Less than five months later in late May, Van Brocklin changed his mind and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for two players (offensive lineman Buck Lansford and defensive end Jimmy Harris) and a first round draft pick.<ref name=eggtvbrl>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=vbttobrm>Template:Cite news</ref> It was disclosed he did not want to play another season for the Rams under head coach Sid Gillman's offense, but it was not a personality issue with Gillman.<ref name=eggtvbrl /> Under famed head coach Buck Shaw, Van Brocklin was given total control of the offense in Philadelphia in 1958, and he steadily improved the Eagles' attack. In his third and final season with Philly in 1960, the team had the best regular season record in league at 10–2, and hosted the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game at Franklin Field.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Throwing to his favorite receiver, Template:Height Template:Convert Tommy McDonald, Van Brocklin led the Eagles to victory. In a game dominated by defense, he led a fourth quarter comeback, resulting in a final score of 17–13.<ref name=eagwinms>Template:Cite news</ref>

During his twelve-year career, Van Brocklin played on two NFL championship teams: the 1951 Los Angeles Rams and the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the latter triumph, he retired. As it turned out, the Eagles were the only team to defeat the Packers in a playoff game during Vince Lombardi's tenure as Green Bay's head coach.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Van Brocklin led the NFL in passing three times and in punting twice. On nine occasions, he was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was a first team All-Pro for the 1960 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Coaching career

Minnesota Vikings

File:Van Brocklin Rose.PNG

Norm Van Brocklin (right) with Vikings general manager Bert Rose (left) in 1961

Van Brocklin cut his ties with the Eagles after his belief that the team had reneged on an agreement to name him head coach to replace the retiring Buck Shaw, as they instead wanted him to serve as a player-coach when he really wanted to go out on top as a player.<ref>https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/06/norm-van-brocklins-daughter-looks-back-at-eagles-championship-qb-first-vikings-coach/</ref> On January 18, 1961, he accepted the head coaching position for the expansion Minnesota Vikings,<ref name=vbsavc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=vbhtcw>Template:Cite news</ref> less than a month after winning the NFL Championship game. Van Brocklin personally looked at film for over two dozen quarterbacks before picking Fran Tarkenton in the third round of the draft. In training camp, he emphasized for Tarkenton to "hum the ball", complete with making him do weight exercises and practicing throws on a line. He also allowed Tarkenton to call his own plays.<ref>https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/09/13/the-dutchman-is-half-an-inch-away</ref> Van Brocklin tapped George Shaw as the starting quarterback for the first game of the season, but he prepared Tarkenton the week before the first game by having him come over to his house to study film night after night. When the Vikings played the Chicago Bears on September 17, Van Brocklin tapped Tarkenton to replace Shaw after the first quarter. Tarkenton proceeded to throw 17-of-23 for 250 yards with four touchdowns in the 37–13 victory.<ref>https://www.startribune.com/vikings-first-game-bears-60th-anniversary-fran-tarkenton/600098049</ref><ref>https://www.vikings.com/news/longform/fran-tarkenton-joshua-dobbs-quarterbacks-launch-pads</ref>

Dubbed "Stormin' Norman" for his fiery temper towards players and even officials (which once saw him throw a pocketful of change at an official), Van Brocklin compiled a record of 29–51–4 (Template:Winning percentage) in six seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The tenure was highlighted by his contentious relationship with quarterback Fran Tarkenton.<ref name=twrunc>Template:Cite news</ref> Van Brocklin was displeased with Tarkenton's penchant for scrambling, preferring that he stay in the pocket. The feud culminated with Tarkenton's demand for a trade<ref name=twrunc /> and Van Brocklin's surprise resignation on February 11, 1967. Van Brocklin stated the following about Tarkenton a month later about Tarkenton: “There are two types of quarterbacks—those who carry a team and those who have to be carried by the team. Francis will win some games he shouldn’t win, but he’ll lose some games he shouldn’t lose.” In an interview years later, Tarkenton described Van Brocklin as both "a great quarterback and a brilliant offensive mind" and also "a dysfunctional human being, totally dysfunctional."<ref>https://time.com/archive/6630666/football-right-between-the-ears/</ref><ref name=nvsurvk>Template:Cite news</ref> While the Vikings attempted to dissuade Tarkenton from being traded with the departure of Van Brocklin, Tarkenton stayed firm with his desire for a trade in the belief of not wanting to be thought of as having Van Brocklin's departure tied to him. Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants shortly after Van Brocklin's departure.<ref name=gtdchftk>Template:Cite news</ref> He was reacquired by Van Brocklin's successor, Bud Grant, five years later in 1972. One thing Van Brocklin was known for was his disdain for soccer-style kickers (now the standard in the NFL). In one game, soccer-style kicker Garo Yepremian beat Van Brocklin's team and after the game, a reporter asked how he felt about losing the game on a last-second field goal, and he replied, "They ought to change the god-damned immigration laws in this country". However, Van Brocklin did end up having a soccer-style kicker in Nick Mike-Mayer in his final two seasons as coach of the Falcons, in 1973 and 1974.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During his first year off the field in over two decades, Van Brocklin served as a commentator on NFL broadcasts in 1967 for CBS.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Atlanta Falcons

In 1968, Van Brocklin took over as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons on October 1, replacing Norb Hecker, who had started the season with three defeats, extending the team losing streak to ten games.<ref name="rsprvb">Template:Cite news</ref> Over the next seven seasons, Van Brocklin had mixed results, putting together a 37–49–3 mark. He led the team to its first winning season in 1971 with a 7–6–1 record, then challenged for a playoff spot in 1973 with a 9–5 mark.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His 1973 Falcons handed the Fran Tarkenton-led, 9–0 Minnesota Vikings its first defeat, on Monday Night Football.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, after winning just two of his first eight games in 1974, he was fired.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="vbfred">Template:Cite news</ref>

Head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season					Postseason
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
MIN	1961	3	11	0	Template:Winpct	7th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
MIN	1962	2	11	1	Template:Winpct	6th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
MIN	1963	5	8	1	Template:Winpct	4th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
MIN	1964	8	5	1	Template:Winpct	2nd in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
MIN	1965	7	7	0	Template:Winpct	5th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
MIN	1966	4	9	1	Template:Winpct	6th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
MIN Total		29	51	4	Template:Winpct		—	—	—
ATL	1968	2	9	0	Template:Winpct	4th in NFL Coastal	—	—	—	—
ATL	1969	6	8	0	Template:Winpct	3rd in NFL Coastal	—	—	—	—
ATL	1970	4	8	2	Template:Winpct	3rd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
ATL	1971	7	6	1	Template:Winpct	3rd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
ATL	1972	7	7	0	Template:Winpct	2nd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
ATL	1973	9	5	0	Template:Winpct	2nd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
ATL	1974	2	6	0	Template:Winpct	4th in NFC West	—	—	—	—
ATL Total		37	49	3	Template:Winpct		—	—	—
Total		66	100	7	Template:Winpct		—	—	—

Final years

Following his dismissal, Van Brocklin returned to his pecan farm in Social Circle, Georgia, east of Atlanta.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His only connections to football during this era were as a running backs coach for Georgia Tech under head coach Pepper Rodgers in 1979,<ref name=vbioffhr>Template:Cite news</ref> who was fired that December.<ref name=vbsbg>Template:Cite news</ref> It was his only stint as an assistant coach. Rodgers's successor Bill Curry brought in a new staff in 1980 and Van Brocklin then was a college football analyst on "Superstation" WTBS in Atlanta.<ref name=shjobitap /><ref name=uogvbdi>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life and death

Van Brocklin and his wife Gloria married in 1947 and had three children together. Shortly before the family's departure from Minnesota in 1966, they adopted three children. <ref>https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/06/norm-van-brocklins-daughter-looks-back-at-eagles-championship-qb-first-vikings-coach/</ref>

Van Brocklin, a heavy cigarette smoker, suffered a number of illnesses, including a brain tumor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After it was removed, he told the press, "It was a brain transplant. They gave me a sportswriter's brain, to make sure I got one that hadn't been used."<ref name=bestwt>Template:Cite news</ref> He died of a heart attack in 1983 at age 57,<ref name=shjobitap /><ref name=uogvbdi /> five weeks after former teammate Bob Waterfield.<ref name=twnoldmn>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=frswtfdi>Template:Cite news</ref>

Van Brocklin was posthumously elected to the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

NFL career statistics

Legend
	AP NFL MVP
	NFL champion
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Punting
		GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Lng	Rtg	Punts	Yds	Avg	Lng	Blk
Template:NFL year	LA	8	0	—	32	58	55.2	601	10.4	6	2	51	111.4	2	91	45.5	46	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	6	5–1	127	233	54.5	2,061	8.8	18	14	58	85.1	11	466	42.4	51	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	2	1–1	100	194	51.5	1,725	8.9	13	11	81	80.8	48	1,992	41.5	62	1
Template:NFL year	LA	12	6	6–0	113	205	55.1	1,736	8.5	14	17	84	71.5	29	1,250	43.1	66	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	12	8–3–1	156	286	54.5	2,393	8.4	19	14	70	84.1	60	2,529	42.2	57	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	11	6–4–1	139	260	53.5	2,637	10.1	13	21	80	71.9	44	1,874	42.6	61	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	12	8–3–1	144	272	52.9	1,890	6.9	8	15	74	62.0	60	2,676	44.6	61	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	4	2–2	68	124	54.8	966	7.8	7	12	58	59.5	48	2,070	43.1	72	0
Template:NFL year	LA	12	12	6–6	132	265	49.8	2,105	7.9	20	21	70	68.8	54	2,392	44.3	71	0
Template:NFL year	PHI	12	12	2–9–1	198	374	52.9	2,409	6.4	15	20	91	64.1	54	2,225	41.2	58	1
Template:NFL year	PHI	12	12	7–5	191	340	56.2	2,617	7.7	16	14	71	79.5	53	2,263	42.7	59	1
Template:NFL year	PHI	12	12	10–2	153	284	53.9	2,471	8.7	24	17	64	86.5	60	2,585	43.1	70	0
Career		140	101	61–36–4	1,553	2,895	53.6	23,611	8.2	173	178	91	75.1	523	22,413	42.9	72	3

NFL records

• First player in NFL history to throw for over 500 yards: 554 on September 28, 1951<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Most passing yards in a single game: 554 on September 28, 1951<ref name="PassYDs">Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of 500-yard passing games in the National Football League

External links

• Template:Profootballhof
• Template:Cfbhof
• Template:Footballstats
• Template:IMDb name