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Re: "WHO AM I?" trivia.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2022 12:14 am
by Sonny9
Bob Gill wrote:Well, I know who the second guy is, but I'm stumped on the rest of it.
(A minute or two later:) Oh, wait. I do know who the other guys are. The first guy is Don Looney, father of Joe Don Looney, who used his good start to lead the NFL in receptions and receiving yards in 1940. The second guy is Gaynell Tinsley, who led the league in receiving yards in 1937 and in receptions in 1938. (And also had a 97-yard reception the first year and a 98-yarder the second year.) If not for them, Don Huston would've led the league in receptions AND yards nine straight years, from 1936-44.
That's it.
Re: "WHO AM I?" trivia.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2022 5:45 pm
by Bob Gill
Sonny9 wrote:That's it.
If I remember right, Tinsley's 97-yard reception in 1937 was really a fluke play. It came in the final regular season game, Cardinals vs. the Bears, Dec. 5 or thereabouts. Given the time of year it got dark pretty early, and it was an overcast day to start with, so by the latter part of the fourth quarter they were playing in near-darkness. The Bears were leading 42-21 and the Cards had the ball on their 3-yard line. I believe Tinsley caught the pass from Pat Coffee behind the line of scrimmage, but it was kind of a trick play; he may have lined up as left end, circled around to the other end and taken a flat pass, or something like that. Given the very low visibility, nobody on the Bears saw what happened, and Tinsley was at midfield before anybody knew he had the ball.
I wouldn't claim that's exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure it was something like that. But I think Tinsley's 98-yarder the next year was a more "legitimate" record-breaker. And even that record stood for only a year, until Frank Filchock hooked up with Andy Farkas or somebody for a 99-yarder.
To make this a question in keeping with the title of the thread, who threw that 98-yard TD pass to Tinsley? I'm pretty sure it was the only pass this guy completed all season.