|
Number Crunching: #15
by Chris Brophy
14/7/2009
We watch football for many reasons and players play for many reasons but winning is the ultimate and at #15 we find many a football champion, both as a member of a team and in terms of individual achievements. The choice was tough, but eventually we went with an old school runner who set marks that stood for a significant period of time. Read on to find out about the Diner’s all time number 15:
FD’s All Time #15: Steve Van Buren, Running Back (Philadelphia Eagles)
 In many of the previous articles on this subject we have been able to tell the tale of players who have stretched the game and record books through the air. Now, for the first time, we get to run the rule over a player who pushed the boundaries of his era on the ground and is arguably the greatest player in Philadelphia Eagles history.
Born in Honduras, Steve Van Buren was unfortunately orphaned as a child and sent to New Orleans to live with relatives. Whilst no one would wish that experience on anyone without that set of events the NFL may well never have been blessed by the talents of Van Buren.
As a sophomore in high school, he tried and failed to make the football team but as a senior he was getting national attention and was offered the chance to go to LSU. In his college career he starred on the football field but was also a track star. In his senior college season he gained 832 yards gaining him the attention of NFL teams. The Eagles, on the advice of his college coach Bernie Moore drafted him with the 5th overall selection of the 1944 draft.
In his rookie year he made an immediate impact, sharing time running the ball with Jack Hinkle and Mel Bleeker as well as showing himself to be a fantastic return man. He returned 15 punts at a huge average of 15.3 yards and a TD whilst also bring 8 kicks back at an average of 33.3 yards with another score. In a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers he rushed for 129 yards and a 70 yard TD. That total would be a team record for rushing yards in a game by a rookie until 2001 and the 70 yard run would remain the longest of Van Buren’s entire career. The Eagles had only ever had one winning season before Van Buren had joined the franchise (and that was the 1943 season when they went 5-41-1). With Van Buren on board, they would post a winning season every year until his final, injury plagued season.
 In his second season he would win the NFL’s rushing title for the first time with 832 yards and a whooping 15TD’s. He also claimed a triple crown of leading the league in rushing, scoring and kick-off returns. Van Buren was a true superstar, a tough runner but with breakaway speed and a tough, heads down style that was earning him many a nickname Wham Bam and Blockbuster showed the kind of respect he was gaining around the league for his bruising type of running but Supersonic Steve meant many also knew he was fast enough to take it the distance at any time. He was actually unable to carry the ball in his left arm due to an old shoulder injury so always carried right handed. When not running he was an excellent blocker and like most players of the time, played both ways. On defense he was regarded as a solid tackler and he recorded 9 career interceptions, including 5 in his rookie season of 1944.
In 1947 he led the league in rushing for the second time as he set an NFL record for yards rushing in a season with 1008. This was only the second time the four digit barrier had been breached in NFL history. The following season he would again lead the league but with only 945 yards this time, however, it would help him and his team to the ultimate reward.
Having made the NFL Championship game, the Eagles were set to host the Chicago Cardinals. A massive snowstorm hit the area on the day and Van Buren decided to stay home believing the game had no chance of being played. The league commissioner Bert Bell did consider calling the game off but players from both sides that were at the stadium wanted the game to go ahead. Eagles coach Greasy Neale realised Van Buren was missing and called him up. Informed the game was on Van Buren had only one way to make the game. Today, if this situation happened, a car or even a helicopter would be dispatched but Van Buren made do with public transport and walking several blocks in knee deep snow. Once there, the game turned into a messy defensive battle but Van Buren scored the decisive touchdown in the 4th quarter after the Eagles recovered a Cardinals fumble in their own half of the field. Van Buren’s 5 yard TD run was enough as the Eagles won 7-0 and become NFL champions.
 In 1949, Van Buren set the bar even higher, he beat his own league record for rushing yardage in a season with 1146 yards (becoming the first player to ever break 1000 yards twice in a career) as well as taking the ball in for a score eleven times (plus another score as a receiver). That mark for yardage in a season would stand as an NFL record until beaten by Jim Brown nine years later and it would remain a team until 1978! In one game – against the Steelers – he managed to rush for 205 yards. He had also become the first ever player to lead the league in rushing three straight seasons (since matched by Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Emmitt Smith). The Eagles once again made the Championship game and once again, Van Buren’s contribution was vital. This time, it rained for all it was worth and Van Buren splashed and dashed his way for 196 yards off 31 carries. He wouldn’t score a TD this time but his ability to help the Eagles keep the ball and move steadily down the field enabled the Eagles to post another shut out win in the Championship game 14-0 this time. His performance is one of the great rushing games of NFL title game history. Van Buren claimed to be motivated by the Rams defenders telling him pre-game he was going down. He only went down after ripping off a chuck of useful yardage it seems!
That was the highest of highs for Van Buren, he was beginning to wear down and injuries were starting to tell. He led the team in carries but was only taking each one for 3.3 yards and he was only second on the team in rushing behind Frank Ziegler and the team slipped to a 6-6 record. In his final year Van Buren limped to only 327 yards and a lowly 2.9 yards per carry. He was going to try and play in 1952 but he injured his knee at training camp and that was that.
He retired and did so as the NFL’s all time leading rusher at the time. He remained atop of the all-time rushing charts until passed by Joe Perry in 1958. He had been named All-Pro in one form or another seven times, won four rushing, one scoring, one punt return and one kick return title and for his career amassed 5860 yards and 69 rushing TD’s. He added eight more TD’s via returns and receiving for a grand total of 77. He was named to the 1940’s NFL’s All-Decade team and in 1965 was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Honourable Mentions:
-
Bart Starr, Quarterback (Green Bay Packers)
-
Neil Lomax, Quarterback (St Louis/Phoenix Cardinals)
-
Jack Kemp, Quarterback (Steelers, Chargers, Bills)
 Although never mentioned in the best quarterback of all-time debates, Bart Starr is no doubt one of the biggest winners as a quarterback in pro football and a Packers legend. He led the Pack to five NFL titles and victory in the first two Super Bowls, being named game MVP both times. He also coached the Packers for nine seasons.
Neil Lomax has been discussed in a previous Diner history article as he led a very good Cardinals offense that was unfortunate to be stuck in the dominant NFC East. His career was ended by a serious hip injury.
The late Jack Kemp is probably as well known for being a successful politician as he was for being a successful football player. He started his career bouncing around the NFL before finding a home in the newly formed AFL. He starred with the Chargers before an injury limited him. Attempting to hide him on the waiver wire was a massive mistake by the Chargers as the Bills claimed him for $100 and he would lead the Bills to two AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965 (he was named MVP of the ’65 game and season). By the time his career was over the was the AFL’s all-time leading passer although he was overlooked for the all-time AFL team in favour of Joe Namath and Len Dawson.
Learn More about past NFL greats in our History Archive
|
