The Packers, meanwhile, had their own considerable stable of stellar performers such as: running backs Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, quarterback Bart Starr, wide receiver Max McGee, linebacker Ray Nitschke, and legendary coach, Vince Lombardi.
Prior to the game, Sports Illustrated, in a December 19th, 1960 article titled “Dutch is The Difference,” cited Van Brocklin as one of the two or three best quarterbacks in all football, “who studies and probes defenses with great patience” and when he finds the flaw he is looking for “he attacks it with vigor, intelligence and, usually, wonderful success.” The magazine predicted that with Van Brocklin, the Eagles might just win their first football championship in 11 years. But at kick-off time, the odds-makers had the Eagles as 2-point underdogs.
At Franklin Field on the day after Christmas, Van Brocklin did throw to Tommy MacDonald for one score, but the championship game proved to be primarily a defensive battle. In the fourth quarter, with the Packers ahead 13-10, Van Brocklin took the Eagles on a 39-yard scoring drive following a 58-yard kick-off return by Ted Dean to put the Eagles up, 17-13, which proved to be the winning margin. Thus, the “Dutchman” added another distinction to his career – becoming the only QB to defeat a Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay team in championship play. Van Brocklin also won MVP honors in that game.
Coach Norm Van Brocklin of the Minnesota Vikings conferring with his quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, 1961, L.A. Coliseum.
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1970: Norm Van Brocklin, during his time as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons football team.
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Coach Van Brocklin
After his championship season with the Eagles, Norm Van Brocklin retired from active play and became the first head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, then an expansion team. There, between 1961 and 1966, he coached players such a quarterback Fran Tarkenton and wide receiver Paul Flatley, bringing the Vikings to a 2nd place finish in 1964 at 8-5-1. Overall, Van Brocklin compiled a 29-51-4 mark with Minnesota through 1967, when he resigned.
A year later, he became head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in midseason, a team that had won only three games in more than two seasons. Van Brocklin posted a 37-49-3 record with the Falcons, leading them to their first winning seasons, 7-6-1 in 1971, and 9-5 in 1973. In 1974, with the team 2-6, he was let go. Van Brocklin by this time had settled into a local area about 35 miles east of Atlanta, owning a pecan farm there, where he began to spend more time. He was also a sports analyst for a time on Ted Turner’s WTBS “SuperStation” in Atlanta. His last football job was as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech under Pepper Rodgers in 1979, working with running backs. That year, he also underwent brain surgery twice to correct an oxygen shortage and remove a blood clot.
Norm Van Brocklin died of a heart attack in May of 1983. He was 57 years old. ”He was a fierce competitor, a no-nonsense guy on the field,” said Marion Campbell, who had played with Van Brocklin. Tommy McDonald, his favorite receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles team, said of Van Brocklin: ”His play calling was absolutely fantastic..” Norm Van Brocklin was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He played 12 seasons, had 23,611 yards passing, 1,553 completions and 173 touchdown passes. He was also named to the Pro Bowl nine times.
1971: Norm Van Brocklin with his hall of Fame bust at induction ceremonies at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Record Still Stands
Norm Van Brocklin’s 554 yards passing performance from September 1951 still stands today as the NFL single-game passing record.
In pro football history, quarterbacks achieving 500 yards or more passing in a single game is quite rare, occurring only 26 times during the last 70 years.
In addition to Van Brocklin, seventeen other quarterbacks have thrown one game each of 500 yards or more, including: Y.A. Tittle (1962), Vince Ferragamo (1982), Phil Simms (1985), Dan Marino (1988), Warren Moon (1990), Boomer Esiason (1996), Elvis Grbac (2000), Matthew Stafford (2012), Eli Manning (2012), Matt Schaub (2012), Tony Romo (2013), Philip Rivers (2015), Derek Carr and Matt Ryan (2016), Jared Goff (2019), Dak Prescott (2020), and Joe Burrow (2021).
Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints has done so twice (2006 and 2015), as has Tom Brady, once in 2011, and most recently in February 2018 in Super Bowl LII, throwing for 505 yards in a losing effort against the Philadelphia Eagles. But with that performance, Brady set the Super Bowl passing record (Brady is also the only QB to throw for more than 450 yards in back-to-back Super Bowls-2017 and 2018). Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the only quarterback who has thrown for more than 500 yards four times (2009, 2014, 2017 and January 2021 [playoff game]).
Michael MacCambridge’s book, “America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation,” 2005 paperback, Anchor Books, illustrated, 608 pp. Click for copy. Although no quarterback has yet eclipsed Van Brocklin’s 554 yards (Warren Moon and Matt Schaub have come closest, each with 527-yard performances, followed most recently by Joe Burrow at 525 yards), given the nature of the modern passing game, it is no doubt just a matter of time before the 554-yard record is surpassed. In fact, 16 of the 500-yard performances have occurred since 2010.
Additional football-related stories at this website include:
“Big Game, New Era,” (the famous Colts-Giants NFL Championship game of December 1958, which was also a pro football turning point, as the nationally-televised “greatest game” sent pro football into the realm of national obsession and big-time big business);
“I Guarantee It” (a profile of Joe Namath, his famous prediction for Super Bowl III, his bio & pro career, and his off-the-filed activities);
“Bednarik-Gifford Lore” (the respective playing careers of Chuck Bednarik and Frank Gifford, and one famous on–the-field meeting between the two );
“Slingin` Sammy” (career of quarterback Sammy Baugh and Washington Redskins history, 1930s-1950s); and
“Celebrity Gifford” (a detailed look at the advertising, sports broadcasting, and TV/film/radio career of Frank Gifford ). See also the “Annals of Sport” category page for other sports stories.
Thanks for visiting – and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research, writing, and continued publication of this website. Thank you – Jack Doyle
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Date Posted: 30 January 2016
Last Update: 11 February 2024
Comments to: jackdoyle47@gmail.com
Article Citation:
Jack Doyle, “Dutchman’s Big Day: NFL Passing
Record,” PopHistoryDig.com, January 30, 2016.
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Football Books at Amazon.com…
Michael MacCambridge’s 2005 book, “The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation.” Click for copy.
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NFL History, Rob Fleder, et al., “NFL 100: A Century of Pro Football,” with Peyton Manning intro. Click for copy.
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Ray Walker’s book, “The Ultimate Pittsburgh Steelers Trivia Book,” 2020 edition. Click for copy.
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Sources, Links & Additional Information
Best Passing Yardage
Top Ten: 1950s
1- Johnny Unitas, 1959 Baltimore Colts
2899 yds, 193-367, 52.6%, 32 TD, 14 INT
2- Bill Wade, 1958 Los Angeles Rams
2875 yards, 181-341, 53.1%, 18 TD, 22 INT
3- Otto Graham, 1952 Cleveland Browns
2816 yards, 181-364, 49.7%, 20 TD, 24 INT
4- Otto Graham, 1953 Cleveland Browns
2722 yards, 167-258, 64.7%, 11 TD, 9 INT
5- Norm Van Brocklin, 1954 L. A. Rams
2637 yards, 139-260, 53.5%, 13 TD, 21 INT
6- Norm Van Brocklin, 1959 Phila. Eagles
2617 yards, 191-340, 56.2%, 16 TD, 14 INT
7- Johnny Unitas, 1957 Baltimore Colts
2550 yards, 172-301, 57.1%, 24 TD, 17 INT
8- Bobby Layne, 1958 Dt. Lions/Pt. Steelers
2510 yards, 145-294, 49.3%, 14 TD, 12 INT
9- Bobby Thomason, 1953 Phila. Eagles
2462 yards, 162-304, 53.3%, 21 TD, 20 INT
10-Norm Van Brocklin, 1958 Phila. Eagles
2409 yards, 198-374, 52.9%, 15 TD, 20 INT
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Source: “List of the Day: Best Passing Yardage Seasons, 1950s NFL,” Today in Pro Football History, March 30, 2010
Note: In the 1950s, the best quarterbacks threw for 2,500-2,800 yards for an entire season. Now, NFL quarterbacks throw for 4,000 -5,000 yards a season. Teams also play 16 games a season as opposed to 12 in the 1950s, and there’s a lot more passing in today’s offensive strategies.
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“Rams Easily Beat Yanks by 54 to 14; Van Brocklin Passes for 554 Yards, New League Record–Tosses for Five Touchdowns,” New York Times, September 29, 1951, p. 12.
Tex Maule, “The Eagles Have Gone Dutch; Norman Van Brocklin, A Quarterback With a Mind of His Own and The Best Arm in the League, May Bring Philadelphia Back into the NFL Championship Picture,” Sports Illustrated, October 13, 1958.
“Dutch Is the Difference,” Sports Illustrated, December 19, 1960.
“Norm Van Brocklin,” Wikipedia.org.
“Norm Van Brocklin: NFL’s Outspoken Coach; Wherever the Young Chief of the Minnesota Vikings Goes, The Fur Flies,” Saturday Evening Post, 1962.
“Norm Van Brocklin,” Pro Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1971).
AP, “Norm Van Brocklin Is Dead at 57; Star Quarterback in Hall of Fame,” New York Times, May 3, 1983.
Ron Fimrite, “Mr. Hollywood and The Dutchman: Two Legends, Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin, Shared a Job at Quarterback for the Great Postwar Ram Teams,” Sports Illustrated, October 6, 1995.
Fred Bowen, “Best Single-game Passer in NFL? It’s No One You’ve Seen Play; L.A. Rams’ Norm Van Brocklin Still Owns the Record – From 1951,” WashingtonPost.com, October 21, 2015.
“List of 500-Yard Passing Games in The National Football League,” Wikipedia.org.
“List of the Day: Best Passing Yardage Seasons, 1950s NFL,” Today in Pro Football History, March 30, 2010.
Josh Katzowitz | NFL Writer, “Remember When: Van Brocklin’s 554-Yard Day Has Lasted 6 Decades,” CBSsports.com, September 6, 2013.
Chase Stuart, “Norm Van Brocklin and Otto Graham: Who Was Better?, FootballPerspective .com, February 22, 2015.
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