Norm Van Brocklin

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58 Years Ago On Opening Day: The Dutchman Goes Wild!

Los Angeles Rams Hall of Fame quarterback Norm "The Dutchman" Van Brocklin entered the 1951 season entrenched in a duel for the starting position with veteran BOB WATERFIELD.

A Waterfield injury sidelined the incumbent quarterback prior to the season opener against the New York Yanks on September 28, and opened the door for Van Brocklin to show his worth.

Norm Van Brocklin took advantage of the opportunity to produce the most prolific passing performance in NFL history.

Van Brocklin threw for an NFL record 554 yards in a 54-14 rout of the Yanks at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback tossed five touchdowns and completed 27 of 41 passes.

The mark still stands as the greatest single passing effort in National Football League history.

"It's the finest exhibition of passing I've ever seen," said Rams Coach JIMMY PHELAN after the game. "Van Brocklin was hitting them in the eye practically every time he threw the ball." Van Brocklin, who passed away at the age of 57 in 1983, remained subdued about the performance. "Everything I threw seemed to be caught and run for a long gain," he said.

The Rams' TOM FEARS averaged 23.1 yards on his seven catches and ELROY "CRAZYLEGS" HIRSCH averaged 19.2 on nine receptions. Los Angeles amassed an NFL record 735 total yards and 34 first downs.

"They don't need me out here anymore," said Waterfield after the game. The two quarterbacks would split time for the rest of the season as the Rams captured the 1951 NFL Championship.

Van Brocklin's record has stood for the past 58 years. Former Houston Oilers quarterback WARREN MOON came the closest to breaking Van Brocklin's mark with a 527-yard day against Kansas City on December 16, 1990.

Top passing performances at various levels of football

BEST GAME PERFORMANCES: MOST YARDS PASSING by LEVEL

Level	Quarterback	Date	Performance
Source: National Football League
High School	David Koral, Pacific Palisades, CA	Sep 22, 2000	764 yards vs. Grant, CA
NCAA Division I-A (FBS)	David Klingler, Houston	Dec 2, 1990	732 yards vs. Arizona St.
NCAA Division III	Zamir Amin, Menlo	Oct 7, 2000	723 yards vs. Cal Lutheran
Canadian Football	League Matt Dunigan, Winnipeg	Jul 14, 1994	713 yards vs. Edmonton
NCAA Division I-AA (FCS)	Robert Kent, Jackson St.	Oct 6, 2001	668 yards vs. Alabama St.
NCAA Division II	Andrew Webb, Fort Lewis	Nov 16, 2002	660 yards vs. Mesa St.
NFL	Norm Van Brocklin, LA Rams	Sep 28, 1951	554 yards vs. NY Yanks
Arena Football League	Clint Dolezel, Houston	May 14, 1999	479 yards vs. Milwaukee

 

BEST OPENING DAY GAME PERFORMANCES
MOST YARDS PASSING

QB	Game	Date	Yards	Attempts	Complete	TD	INT
Source: National Football League
Norm Van Brocklin	L.A. Rams vs. N.Y. Yanks	9/28/51	554	41	27	5	2
Dan Marino	Miami vs. New England	9/4/94	473	42	23	5	1
Kurt Warner	St. Louis vs. Denver	9/4/00	441	35	25	3	3
Drew Bledsoe	New England vs. Miami	9/4/94	421	51	32	4	2
Glen Foley	N.Y. Jets vs. San Francisco	9/6/98	415	30	58	3	1
Pete Beathard	Houston vs. Kansas City	9/9/68	413	48	23	2	3
Phil Simms	N.Y. Giants vs. Philadelphia	9/2/84	409	30	23	4	0
Johnny Unitas	Baltimore vs. Atlanta	9/17/67	401	32	22	2	1

 

STARTING RECORDS OF ACTIVE NFL QUARTERBACKS
(Minimum 10 regular-season starts)

QB, Team	W	L	T	Pct.
Source: National Football League
Tom Brady, New England	87	24	0	.784
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh	51	20	0	.718
Shaun Hill, San Francisco	7	3	0	.700
Tony Romo, Dallas	27	12	0	.692
Joe Flacco, Baltimore	11	5	0	.688
Philip Rivers, San Diego	33	15	0	.688
Matt Ryan, Atlanta	11	5	0	.688
Matt Cassel, Kansas City	10	5	0	.667
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis	117	59	0	.665
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia	82	45	1	.645
Kyle Orton, Denver	21	12	0	.636
Vince Young, Tennessee	18	11	0	.621
Jake Delhomme, Carolina	50	31	0	.617
Rex Grossman, Houston	19	12	0	.613
Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants	42	29	0	.592
Brad Johnson, *	72	53	0	.576
Kurt Warner, Arizona	57	44	0	.564
Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle	58	45	0	.563
Chad Pennington, Miami	43	34	0	.558
Damon Huard, San Francisco	15	12	0	.556
Brian Griese, *	45	38	0	.542
Tarvaris Jackson, Minnesota	10	9	0	.526
Trent Edwards, Buffalo	12	11	0	.522
David Garrard, Jacksonville	24	22	0	.522
Byron Leftwich, Tampa Bay	24	22	0	.522
Mark Brunell, New Orleans	78	72	0	.520
Drew Brees, New Orleans	55	51	0	.519
Todd Collins, Washington	10	10	0	.500
Jeff Garcia, Oakland	58	58	0	.500
Sage Rosenfels, Minnesota	6	6	0	.500
Carson Palmer, Cincinnati	32	33	0	.492
Gus Frerotte, *	45	47	1	.489
Kerry Collins, Tennessee	79	85	0	.482
Derek Anderson, Cleveland	13	14	0	.481
Kyle Boller, St. Louis	20	22	0	.476
A.J. Feeley, Philadelphia	7	8	0	.467
Chris Simms, Denver	7	8	0	.467
Marc Bulger, St. Louis	40	47	0	.460
Jay Cutler, Chicago	17	20	0	.459
Jason Campbell, Washington	16	20	0	.444
Charlie Batch, Pittsburgh	22	28	0	.440
Matt Leinart, Arizona	7	9	0	.438
Daunte Culpepper, Detroit	41	54	0	.432
Anthony Wright, *	8	11	0	.421
Patrick Ramsey, Tennessee	10	14	0	.417
Matt Schaub, Houston	10	14	0	.417
Seneca Wallace, Seattle	5	7	0	.417
Jon Kitna, Dallas	46	69	0	.400
Chris Redman, Atlanta	4	6	0	.400
Josh McCown, Carolina	12	19	0	.387
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay	6	10	0	.375
Alex Smith, San Francisco	11	19	0	.367
Joey Harrington, New Orleans	26	50	0	.342
JaMarcus Russell, Oakland	5	11	0	.313
J.P. Losman, *	10	23	0	.303
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo	4	10	1	.300
Charlie Frye, *	6	14	0	.300
Billy Volek, San Diego	3	7	0	.300
David Carr, N.Y. Giants	23	56	0	.291
Bruce Gradkowski, Oakland	3	9	0	.250
Brooks Bollinger, *	2	8	0	.200
Ken Dorsey, *	2	11	0	.154
Tyler Thigpen, Kansas City	1	10	0	.091

* Free Agents

 

 

 

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