Today’s card of the day is Norm Van Brocklin’s rookie card, a 1951 Bowman. Van Brocklin played quarterback for twelve seasons in the NFL: 1949 to 1957 for the Los Angeles Rams, and 1958 to 1960 for the Philadelphia Eagles. He made the Pro Bowl nine times, and he was named a First-Team All-Pro in his final season. Van Brocklin played on two NFL Championship teams: the 1951 Rams and 1960 Eagles. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
In the first game of the 1951 season, Van Brocklin passed for 554 yards against the New York Yanks, a single-game NFL record that still stands. Remarkably, he started only two games during the 1951 season. Bob Waterfield, another Hall of Famer, was still with the team, and Waterfield started most of the games. The two stars split time at quarterback, and they finished the season with comparable statistics.
After retiring as a player, Van Brocklin served as a head coach in the NFL for thirteen seasons. He was the first head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, a position he held from 1961 to 1966. He then coached the Atlanta Falcons from 1968 to 1974.
Not surprisingly, Van Brocklin appears on a lot of cards in the Gallery.
