Seventy-two years ago today, on December 9, 1951, Bob Waterfield became the first pro football player to kick five field goals in a game. (Alas, the Rams could have used one more: they lost to the Detroit Lions, 24-22.) Waterfield’s record was tied many times, but it was not topped until 1964, when Gino Cappelletti kicked six for the Boston Patriots. Just three years later, in 1967, Jim Bakken became the first player to kick seven field goals in a game. That record stood for forty years, until Rob Bironas kicked eight field goals in a game in 2007.
Waterfield’s 1951 Bowman card shows him punting, but 1951 was the one year in his career that he didn’t do most of the Rams’ punting. (Norm Van Brocklin did.) Waterfield was still the team’s starting quarterback, though. He finished the year with the league’s best passer rating, and the Rams won the NFL Championship.
Waterfield had been busy in the off-season, too: He starred in a movie called Jungle Manhunt, playing a football player stranded in the jungle–not too much of a stretch. You can see the trailer on IMDB and the full movie on YouTube.
For playing just eight years in the NFL, Waterfield appeared on a remarkable number of cards. You can see them all in the Gallery.
