Lombardi Ave
FanSided

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft history: Number one pick – 1938

By Raymond Rivard

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 2
Next

Cecil Isbell

Cecil Isbell

Over the course of five years from 1938 through 1942, Cecil Isbell, a tailback out of Purdue, not only ran the ball for the Packers, but also threw 818 times, completing 411 for 5,945 yards and 61 touchdowns.

Because of the offense of the times, it was the tailback who did the bulk of the passing in those days. So not only did Isbell throw the forward pass, but he carried the ball 422 times for 1,522 yards and 10 touchdowns. If one wants to consider the early days of the dual-threat player, they need to look no further than the likes of Isbell.

When Isbell was selected by the Packers they already had a high-profile tailback by the name of Arnie Herber and over the course of his first couple of years in Green Bay Isbell and Herber were platoon players and both contributed.

Here is what is written about that platooning on Wikipedia:

"This “platooning” allowed Isbell to learn Lambeau’s offense, the Notre Dame Box. Isbell was a very accurate passer and a good runner and he led the Packers in rushing and passing in his rookie year."

The following are Isbell’s five-year statistics as a passer … you can see that his statistics increased each year, culminating in his best years in 1941 and ’42. Over those two seasons alone he put up 2,500 of his nearly 6,000 career yards.

Year G GS Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate
1938* 11 4 37 91 40.7 659 8 8.8 10 11.0 53 7.2 4.1 17.8 59.9 55.9
1939* 11 5 43 103 41.7 749 6 5.8 5 4.9 51 7.3 6.3 17.4 68.1 66.4
1940 10 5 68 150 45.3 1037 8 5.3 12 8.0 47 6.9 4.4 15.3 103.7 53.1
1941*+ 11 4 117 206 56.8 1479 15 7.3 11 5.3 56 7.2 6.2 12.6 134.5 81.4
1942* 11 6 146 268 54.5 2021 24 9.0 14 5.2 73 7.5 7.0 13.8 183.7 87.0
Career 54 24 411 818 50.2 5945 61 7.5 52 6.4 73 7.3 5.9 14.5 110.1 72.6

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/16/2015.

The following are Isbell’s statistics as a runner …

As you can see, Isbell was pretty consistent through the years, with his first three years his best because of this use as a passer in 1941 and ’42.

Games Rushing Receiving
Year G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD
1938* 11 4 85 445 2 0 5.2 40.5 7.7 5 104 20.8 0 49 0.5 9.5 549 2
1939* 11 5 132 407 2 0 3.1 37.0 12.0 9 71 7.9 0 20 0.8 6.5 478 2
1940 10 5 97 270 4 0 2.8 27.0 9.7 270 4
1941*+ 11 4 72 317 1 24 4.4 28.8 6.5 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 0.1 -0.1 316 1
1942* 11 6 36 83 1 32 2.3 7.5 3.3 83 1
Career 54 24 422 1522 10 32 3.6 28.2 7.8 15 174 11.6 0 49 0.3 3.2 1696 10

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/16/2015.

The following are some of his career highlights, as posted on Wikipedia …

Career highlights and awards

During his career, he helped the NFL explode from a game that was just a degree from rugby into the high-scoring passing league it is today. Without players like Isbell and Don Hutson changing the game forever we may still be watching a league that was best known for three yards and a cloud of dust.

Next: A heartfelt letter to Brandon Bostick

More from Lombardi Ave

Home/Green Bay Packers History