Cecil Isbell
No. 17 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Tailback | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Houston, Texas, U.S. | July 11, 1915||||||||||||||
Died: | June 23, 1985 Hammond, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 69)||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
College: | Purdue | ||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1938 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
Regular season: | 10–23–1 (.309) | ||||||||||||||
Postseason: | 0–1 (.000) | ||||||||||||||
Career: | NCAA: 14–14–1 (.500) NFL: 10–24–1 (.300) | ||||||||||||||
Coaching stats at PFR | |||||||||||||||
Cecil Frank Isbell (July 11, 1915 – June 23, 1985) was an
Isbell was the head coach of the
Early life and college playing career
Born in Houston, Texas, Isbell was the second son of Adger and Sarah Isbell. His older brother Cody was also a football player for Purdue and his two younger brothers also played college football: William Adger "Dub" Isbell Jr. at Rice Institute and Larry Isbell at Baylor University.
Isbell attended Sam Houston High School in Houston, then went to Purdue, where played from 1935 through 1937. He was voted the Boilermakers' most valuable player for the 1937 season. In the summer of 1938, he led the College All-Stars to victory over the defending NFL champion Washington Redskins at Soldier Field in Chicago. Isbell was named the game's MVP as the All-Stars prevailed, 28–16.[4]
NFL playing career
Isbell was selected in the first round of the
From 1940 to 1942, the Packers finished second in the West to the Chicago Bears each year. Isbell became a more accomplished passer during this time, connecting regularly with Don Hutson in record-setting frequency. In 1941, Isbell set an NFL record for yards passing with 1,479 and led the league in completion percentage (56.8%) and touchdown passes with 15 (10 to Hutson).[6] The Packers finished the season tied with Chicago, but lost to the Bears in a divisional tiebreaker playoff, 33–14. In 1942, Isbell surpassed his own record with 2,021 yards passing and set a new record with 24 touchdown passes. Hutson also set NFL records with 74 receptions, 1,211 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns (Hutson's touchdown mark was matched by Elroy Hirsch in 1951 and stood until 1984). Still, the Packers finished second to Chicago, who were 11–0 in the regular season.
After the 1942 season, Isbell quit the NFL after just 5 years.[7] He finished with 5,945 yards passing, 61 touchdowns, and 52 interceptions. According to Isbell, he retired because he'd been offered a coaching job and he thought it was too good an offer to pass up. He later admitted that accepting the coaching job was a mistake, saying, "If it means anything to anyone, I should've kept playing."
- Former NFL & Green Bay Packers record
- Held the NFL record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 23 games from 1940 to 1942. (These were the last 23 games of Isbell's career.) The record was later surpassed by Johnny Unitas in 1957 before Drew Brees eclipsed it in 2012.[8][9] He held the Green Bay Packer record until it was later surpassed by Brett Favre in 2003.[10]
- First player to pass for 2,000 yards in a season in 1942.[11]
The
Coaching career
Isbell started out at Purdue as an assistant coach in 1943 and took over as head coach in 1944. He coached there for three years with a 14–14–1 record. In 1947, he became a pro coach for the
Honors and death
Isbell was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967. On June 23, 1985, Isbell died in Hammond, Indiana. His tombstone gives his name as Cecil Fay Isbell.
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
---|---|
Won NFL Championship
| |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1938 | GB | 11 | 4 | 37 | 91 | 40.7 | 659 | 7.2 | 53 | 8 | 10 | 55.9 | 85 | 445 | 5.2 | – | 2 |
1939 | GB | 11 | 5 | 43 | 103 | 41.7 | 749 | 7.3 | 51 | 6 | 5 | 66.4 | 132 | 407 | 3.1 | – | 2 |
1940 | GB | 10 | 5 | 68 | 150 | 45.3 | 1,037 | 6.9 | 47 | 8 | 12 | 53.1 | 97 | 270 | 2.8 | – | 4 |
1941 | GB | 11 | 4 | 117 | 206 | 56.8 | 1,479 | 7.2 | 56 | 15 | 11 | 81.4 | 72 | 317 | 4.4 | 24 | 1 |
1942 | GB | 11 | 6 | 146 | 268 | 54.5 | 2,021 | 7.5 | 73 | 24 | 14 | 87.0 | 36 | 83 | 2.3 | 32 | 1 |
Career | 54 | 24 | 411 | 818 | 50.2 | 5,945 | 7.3 | 73 | 61 | 52 | 72.6 | 422 | 1,522 | 3.6 | 32 | 10 |
Head coaching record
College
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten Conference) (1944–1946) | |||||||||
1944 | Purdue | 5–5 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
1945 | Purdue | 7–3 | 3–3 | T–4th | |||||
1946 | Purdue | 2–6–1 | 0–5–1 | 9th | |||||
Purdue: | 14–14–1 | 7–10–1 | |||||||
Total: | 14–14–1 |
Pro
Team | League | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | |||
BCL | AAFC | 1947 | 2 | 11 | 1 | .154 | 4th in AAFC East | – | – | – | – |
BCL | AAFC | 1948 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | T–1st in AAFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Buffalo Bills in Division Playoff. |
BCL | AAFC | 1949 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 6th in AAFC | – | – | – | – |
CRD | NFL | 1951 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 6th in NFL | – | – | – | – |
BCL Total | 9 | 22 | 1 | .290 | 0 | 1 | .000 | – | |||
CRD Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | – | – | – | – | |||
Total[15] | 10 | 23 | 1 | .303 | 0 | 1 | .000 | – |
References
- ^ "Packer hall of famer Cecil Isbell, 69, dies". Milwaukee Sentinel. June 24, 1985. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ "Ex-Packer star Isbell dies". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. June 24, 1985. p. 1, part 3.
- ^ a b "Isbell resigns at Baltimore". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. Associated Press. September 23, 1949. p. 26.
- ^ "Collegians whip Redskins eleven". Tuscaloowa News. Alabama. Associated Press. September 1, 1938. p. 11.
- ^ "1938 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
- ^ "Cecil Isbell Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Cecil Isbell may close grid career as all-star". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. December 22, 1942. p. 8, part 2.
- ^ "Broken record sounds fine to Unitas' former teammates". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ^ "Cecil Isbell" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- ^ Favre, Packers have blast in San Diego, whip Chargers
- ^ Rivers passes through
- ^ "Hall of Very Good Class of 2008". Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ^ Christl, Cliff. "Cecil Isbell". Packers.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ "Isbell moves to pro team". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. February 10, 1947. p. 6, part 2.
- ^ Cecil Isbell Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com