Paul Rickards
Pittsburgh Panthers | |
---|---|
Position | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | June 30, 1926 Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. |
Died: | July 26, 1999 (age 73) |
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight | 193 lb (88 kg) |
Career history | |
College | University of Pittsburgh |
High school | Wheeling High School |
Career highlights and awards | |
NCAA passing leader, 1944 |
Paul Edward Rickards (June 30, 1926 – July 26, 1999) was an American football player.
Rickards was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1926, and attended Wheeling High School.[1] He was selected as the quarterback on the All-West Virginia team and also received all-state honors in basketball and excelled in track and field as a hurdler.[2]
He enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall of 1944 and, as an 18-year-old freshman, became the starting quarterback of the 1944 Pittsburgh Panthers football team.[3] He led the NCAA in passing yardage in 1944 with 997 yards.[4]
Less than a week after the 1944 season ended, Rickards was inducted into the Army Air Force.[5]
Rickards was discharged in the fall of 1946.[6] He announced in November 1946 that he would return to the University of Pittsburgh at the midterm break.[7] After two years away from the game, Rickards returned to Pitt for the 1947 season. He had trouble adjusting to coach Mike Milligan's single-wing and saw little playing time in 1947.[8]
In August 1948, after an unsuccessful tryout with the Cleveland Browns, Rickards signed with the Los Angeles Rams.[9] As the Rams had Pro Football Hall of Famer Bob Waterfield as their starting quarterback, Rickards appeared in only three games as a backup with the Rams.[10] He completed two of two pass attempt for four yards. He also had two carries for 21 rushing yards.[1]
In July 1949, Rickards was the first player signed by the Richmond Rebels of the new American Football League.[2] He competed with Ben Raimondi for the starting job at quarterback.[11] During the 1949 and 1950 seasons, he appeared in 17 games for the Rebels, compiling a total of 1,928 passing yards and 28 touchdown passes.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Paul Rickards". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ a b Max Ailor (July 26, 1949). "Rebels Sign Quarterback From Rams: Rickards First Man to Be Inked". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pitt Pins Hopes On Rickards". Pittsburgh Sun-telegraph. November 15, 1944. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1197.
- ^ "Panthers Lose Paul Rickards". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. November 29, 1944. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Rickards Visits Pitt: Grid Star Undecided Whether to Return". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 16, 1946. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tartans Readying For Case". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. November 6, 1944. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jack Sell (July 16, 1948). "Rickards Quits Pitt to Join Cleveland Browns: Star Passer Set Record For Panthers; Was Used Sparingly By Coach Milligan During 1947 Season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rickards Signed By LA Rams". The Pittsburgh Press. August 14, 1948. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Rickards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ "Paul Rickards to Get Another Starting Job". The Richmond News Leader. October 6, 1949. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
- v
- t
- e
- 1937: Patterson
- 1938: O'Brien
- 1939: Eakin
- 1940: Supulski
- 1941: Schwenk
- 1942: Governali
- 1943: Hoernschemeyer
- 1944: Rickards
- 1945: Dekdebrun
- 1946: Layne
- 1947: Enke
- 1948: Heath
- 1949: O'Malley
- 1950: Heinrich
- 1951: Klosterman
- 1952: Bratkowski
- 1953: Garrett
- 1954: Larson
- 1955: Welsh
- 1956: Brodie
- 1957: Grosscup
- 1958: Duncan
- 1959: Norman
- 1960: Snead
- 1961: Miller
- 1962: Mira
- 1963: Trull
- 1964: Rhome
- 1965: Anderson
- 1966: M. Reed
- 1967: Olivas
- 1968: Cook
- 1969: Shaw
- 1970: Plunkett
- 1971: Huff
- 1972: Strock
- 1973: Freitas
- 1974: Bartkowski
- 1975: Penrose
- 1976: Nielsen
- 1977: Williams
- 1978: Ford
- 1979: Wilson
- 1980: McMahon
- 1981: King
- 1982: Dillon
- 1983: Young
- 1984: Bosco
- 1985: Bosco
- 1986: Perez
- 1987: Santos
- 1988: Mitchell
- 1989: Ware
- 1990: Detmer
- 1991: Detmer
- 1992: Klingler
- 1993: Vargas
- 1994: Walsh
- 1995: Maxwell
- 1996: Wallwork
- 1997: Leaf
- 1998: Rattay
- 1999: Rattay
- 2000: Weinke
- 2001: Da. Carr
- 2002: Kingsbury
- 2003: Symons
- 2004: Cumbie
- 2005: Brennan
- 2006: Brennan
- 2007: Harrell
- 2008: Harrell
- 2009: Keenum
- 2010: Moniz
- 2011: Keenum
- 2012: Florence
- 2013: De. Carr
- 2014: Doughty
- 2015: Doughty
- 2016: Mahomes
- 2017: Rudolph
- 2018: Haskins
- 2019: Burrow
- 2020: Jones
- 2021: Zappe
- 2022: A. Reed
- 2023: Penix Jr.
This biographical article relating to an American football quarterback is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e