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Norm Van Brocklin

American football player, coach and executive (1926–1983)

Field	Value
name	Norm Van Brocklin
image	Norm Van Brocklin 1974.JPG
caption	Van Brocklin in 1974
number	25, 11
position	Quarterback
Punter
birth_date
birth_place	Parade, South Dakota, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Social Circle, Georgia, U.S.
height_ft	6
height_in	1
weight_lb	190
high_school	Acalanes
(Lafayette, California)
college	Oregon (1946–1948)
draftyear	1949
draftround	4
draftpick	37
* Most passing yards in a game: 554{{efn	Week 1, against the New York Giants in 1951.<ref name	"PassYDs"/}}
statlabel1	Passing attempts
statvalue1	2,895
statlabel2	Passing completions
statvalue2	1,553
statlabel3	Completion percentage
statvalue3	53.6%
statlabel4	TD–INT
statvalue4	173–178
statlabel5	Passing yards
statvalue5	23,611
statlabel6	Passer rating
statvalue6	75.1
statlabel7	Punting yards
statvalue7	22,313
statlabel8	Punting average
statvalue8	42.7
coachrecord
pfr	VanBNo00
pfrcoach	VanBNo0
pfrexec	VanBNo0
HOF	norm-van-brocklin
CollegeHOF	1695

Punter (Lafayette, California)

Los Angeles Rams ()
Philadelphia Eagles ()
Minnesota Vikings () Head coach
Atlanta Falcons () Head coach
Georgia Tech (1979) Running backs coach
Atlanta Falcons () General manager ; As a player
2× NFL champion (1951, 1960)
NFL Most Valuable Player (1960)
2× First-team All-Pro (1955, 1960)
2× Second-team All-Pro (1952, 1954)
9× Pro Bowl (1950–1955, 1958–1960)
NFL passing yards leader (1954)
NFL completion percentage leader (1952)
NFL passer rating leader (1950)
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

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 into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

Early life

Born in Parade, South Dakota, Van Brocklin was one of nine children of Mack and Ethel Van Brocklin. His father was a watchmaker. The family moved to Northern California and settled in Walnut Creek, east of Oakland. 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. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 through 1945, foregoing his senior year of high school.

College career

Following World War II, Van Brocklin followed two former high school teammates north and enrolled at the University of Oregon in Eugene. 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, that year's national champions, and the Ducks had seven victories in the PCC to Cal's six. 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. 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. That season, Van Brocklin was honored with an All-America selection and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. 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.

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.

Professional playing career

Los Angeles Rams

Van Brocklin was selected 37th overall in the 1949 NFL draft, taken in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams. Teams were not sure if he planned to play the 1949 season in college, so he fell in the draft,

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. 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. 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. 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 .

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. 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.

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. 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. Throwing to his favorite receiver, 176 lb 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.

During his twelve-year career, Van Brocklin played on two NFL championship teams: the 1951 Los Angeles Rams and the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles. 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. 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.

Coaching career

Minnesota Vikings

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. On January 18, 1961, he accepted the head coaching position for the expansion Minnesota Vikings, 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. 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.

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 () in six seasons. The tenure was highlighted by his contentious relationship with quarterback Fran Tarkenton. 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 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. 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.

During his first year off the field in over two decades, Van Brocklin served as a commentator on NFL broadcasts in 1967 for CBS.

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. 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. His 1973 Falcons handed the Fran Tarkenton-led, 9–0 Minnesota Vikings its first defeat, on Monday Night Football. However, after winning just two of his first eight games in 1974, he was fired.

Head coaching record

Year	Regular season	Postseason	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won
3	11	0	7th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
2	11	1	6th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
5	8	1	4th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
8	5	1	2nd in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
7	7	0	5th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
4	9	1	6th in NFL Western	—	—	—	—
2	9	0	4th in NFL Coastal	—	—	—	—
6	8	0	3rd in NFL Coastal	—	—	—	—
4	8	2	3rd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
7	6	1	3rd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
7	7	0	2nd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
9	5	0	2nd in NFC West	—	—	—	—
2	6	0	4th in NFC West	—	—	—	—

Final years

Following his dismissal, Van Brocklin returned to his pecan farm in Social Circle, Georgia, east of Atlanta. His only connections to football during this era were as a running backs coach for Georgia Tech under head coach Pepper Rodgers in 1979, who was fired that December. 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.

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.

Van Brocklin, a heavy cigarette smoker, suffered a number of illnesses, including a brain tumor. 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." He died of a heart attack in 1983 at age 57,

Van Brocklin was posthumously elected to the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.

NFL career statistics

Legend



Bold

Year	Team	Games	Passing	Punting	GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Lng	Rtg
8	0	—	32	58	55.2	601	10.4	6	2	51	111.4	2	91	45.5	46	0
12	6	5–1	127	233	54.5	2,061	8.8	18	14	58	85.1	11	466	42.4	51	0
12	2	1–1	100	194	51.5	1,725	8.9	13	11	81	80.8	48	1,992	41.5	62	1
12	6	6–0	113	205	55.1	1,736	8.5	14	17	84	71.5	29	1,250	43.1	66	0
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
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
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
12	4	2–2	68	124	54.8	966	7.8	7	12	58	59.5	48	2,070	43.1	72	0
12	12	6–6	132	265	49.8	2,105	7.9	20	21	70	68.8	54	2,392	44.3	71	0
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
12	12	7–5	191	340	56.2	2,617	7.7	16	14	71	79.5	53	2,263	42.7	59	1
12	12	10–2	153	284	53.9	2,471	8.7	24	17	64	86.5	60	2,585	43.1	70	0

NFL records

First player in NFL history to throw for over 500 yards: 554 on September 28, 1951
Most passing yards in a single game: 554 on September 28, 1951

References

Grasso, John. (June 13, 2013). "Historical Dictionary of Football". Scarecrow Press.
(May 3, 1983). "Van Brocklin dies of heart attack at age 57". Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
(February 7, 1967). "Norm van Brocklin calls it quits". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Atwater, Edward C. (September 24, 1962). "Van Brocklin rare coach". Baltimore Sun.
Hall, John. (November 3, 1972). "Van Brocklin: The Dutchman Nobody Knows". [[Los Angeles Times]].
(1942). "Acalanes '42". Acalanes High School Yearbook.
(1943). "Acalanes '43". Acalanes High School Yearbook.
Clark, Bob. (September 5, 1995). "After 46 years, Van Brocklin's legacy lives on". Eugene Register-Guard.
(November 15, 1948). "Oregon stars a Trilby for Svengali Jim Aiken". Milwaukee Journal.
Clark, Bob. (September 3, 1998). "Top Ducks". Eugene Register-Guard.
(October 3, 1948). "Oregon suffers 14–0 loss, but shows real class". Eugene Register-Guard.
Bellamy, Ron. (September 19, 2003). "Ducks have been shut out of success against the Wolverines". Euegene Register-Guard.
(November 21, 1948). "Final Coast Conference standings". Eugene Register-Guard.
(November 22, 1948). "California Bears get Rose Bowl Bid". Eugene Register-Guard.
Strite, Dick. (January 2, 1949). "Oregon, Cal both drop bowl games". Eugene Register-Guard.
"Year-by-Year Bowl Facts", ''Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book'', National Collegiate Athletic Association, p. 366, 2007.
{{College Football HoF
"Winners".
[http://www.attcottonbowl.com/files/history/1949/rsrc/1949-Classic-Recap.pdf ''1949 Classic Recap'']{{dead link. (February 2018). pdf]] format)
(July 12, 1949). "Van Brocklin inks contract with pro Rams". Eugene Register-Guard.
(July 12, 1949). "Norm Van Brocklin signs with Rams". Spokesman-Review.
"1949 NFL Draft Listing".
(December 25, 1950). "Browns win pro title; Groza's kick thriller". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
(December 24, 1951). "Van Brocklin pitches L.A. Rams to victory". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
"Cleveland/St. Louis/LA Rams Team Encyclopedia".
Schwartz, Larry. (November 19, 2003). "Van Brocklin's 554 yards passing still a record".
"History: Norm Van Brocklin's record-setting 554 yards". Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Myers, Bob. (September 29, 1951). "Rams smack Yanks in opener 54–14". Free Lance-Star.
(December 27, 1955). "Browns blast Rams in record tilt". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
(January 3, 1958). "Van Brocklin retires as Rams' quarterback". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(January 3, 1958). "High pressure of running club one reason Van quit LA Rams". Eugene Register-Guard.
(May 27, 1958). "Eagles get Van Brocklin". Milwaukee Sentinel.
(May 26, 1958). "Van Brocklin traded to Eagles by Rams". Eugene Register-Guard.
"1960 NFL Standings & Team Stats".
Lea, Bud. (December 27, 1960). "Eagles win NFL title". Milwaukee Sentinel.
"1951 Los Angeles Rams Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees".
"1960 Philadelphia Eagles Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees".
Longman, Jeré. (January 6, 2011). "Eagles' 1960 Victory Was an N.F.L. Turning Point".
"1960 NFL All-Pros".
https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/06/norm-van-brocklins-daughter-looks-back-at-eagles-championship-qb-first-vikings-coach/
(January 19, 1961). "Van Brocklin signs as Vikings' coach". Times-News.
(January 18, 1961). "Van Brocklin hired to coach Vikings". Eugene Register-Guard.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/09/13/the-dutchman-is-half-an-inch-away
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-first-game-bears-60th-anniversary-fran-tarkenton/600098049
https://www.vikings.com/news/longform/fran-tarkenton-joshua-dobbs-quarterbacks-launch-pads
"Minnesota Vikings Coaches".
(February 11, 1967). "Tarkenton will return 'under no circumstances'". Eugene Register-Guard.
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."https://time.com/archive/6630666/football-right-between-the-ears/
(February 12, 1967). "Van Brocklin surprises Viks – resigns". Eugene Register-Guard.
(March 8, 1967). "Giants trade draft picks for Tarkenton". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Fitzpatrick, Frank. (January 19, 2018). "Norm Van Brocklin: The ghost at the NFC title game".
"Norm Van Brocklin – Football".
Speer, Ron. (October 2, 1968). "Van to have 5-year pact". Eugene Register-Guard.
"Atlanta Falcons Team Encyclopedia".
"Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons – November 19th, 1973".
"1974 Atlanta Falcons Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees".
Shearer, Ed. (November 6, 1974). "Van Brocklin fired by Atlanta". Daily News.
(May 3, 1983). "Football great Norm Van Brocklin, who quarterbacked 12 years... – UPI Archives".
(March 2, 1979). "Van Brocklin is officially hired". Robe News-Tribune.
(January 17, 1980). "Van Brocklin says goodbye to college life". Eugene Register-Guard.
(May 2, 1983). "Former UO great Van Brocklin dies". Eugene Register-Guard.
https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/06/norm-van-brocklins-daughter-looks-back-at-eagles-championship-qb-first-vikings-coach/
Collier, Gene. (October 30, 2014). "Van Brocklin's record stands test of time".
(December 27, 1981). "Best and worst of 1981 sports quotes". Pittsburgh Press.
(March 26, 1983). "Former Rams star Waterfield dies". Wilmington Morning Star.
"Norm Van Brocklin (1992) – Hall of Fame".
"NFL Passing Yards Single Game Leaders".
Kelly, Doug. (September 28, 2022). "A Passing Record Even Marino, Manning and Brady Haven't Touched".

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