Bob Waterfield

UCLA and military service

Waterfield enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he played college football for the Bruins in 1941, 1942, and 1944. During the 1942 regular season, he led the Pacific Coast Conference in passing, completing 53 of 125 passes for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also averaged 40 yards on 60 punts and broke the UCLA school record by appearing in 557 of 600 minutes in UCLA's 10 games. In the 1943 Rose Bowl, the Bruins lost to Georgia; the game was scoreless into the fourth quarter when Waterfield's punt was blocked for a safety. Georgia added a touchdown to post a 9–0 win.

In April 1943, Waterfield was married to Jane Russell. He was commissioned as a lieutenant and played quarterback for the 1943 176th Infantry Spirits football team at Fort Benning.

In June 1944, Waterfield was honorably discharged from the Army due to a knee injury. He returned to college, played for the 1944 UCLA football team, and was selected by the Associated Press as a second-team back on the 1944 All-Pacific Coast football team.

In the East–West Shrine Game played on January 1, 1945, Waterfield led the West team with his passing and kicking to a come-from-behind victory. Hailed as a triple-threat star, he had punts of 87, 75, and 59 yards in the game. He caught the winning touchdown pass with three minutes remaining in the game. At the end of his college career, Al Wolf of the Los Angeles Times called him "one of the finest kickers and passers in Coast history."

Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams Waterfield was drafted by the Cleveland Rams in the fifth round (42nd overall pick) of the 1944 NFL draft.

1945 season As a rookie, Waterfield won the starting quarterback job and led the 1945 Rams team to the NFL championship with a 9–1 record. Waterfield led the NFL with 1,627 yards of total offense, 14 touchdown passes and an average of 9.4 yards per attempt. He also led the league with 17 interceptions. As a defensive back, he intercepted 6 passes.

On December 16, 1945, in the 1945 NFL Championship Game, Waterfield led the Rams to a 15–14 victory over Sammy Baugh's Washington Redskins in below zero weather in Cleveland. One sports writer opined that Waterfield "literally" beat the Redskins "singlehanded."

After the season, Waterfield received the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player, outpacing Steve Van Buren by a tally of 65 points to 38. In this balloting Waterfield became the first unanimous choice for the NFL's MVP honor. He was also a consensus pick as the first-team quarterback on the 1945 All-Pro Team.

1946 season

In January 1946, less than a month after winning Cleveland's first NFL championship, the Rams announced that they would move to Los Angeles for the 1946 NFL season. In their first season in Los Angeles, the Rams compiled a 6–4–1 record and finished in second place in the NFL's Western Division. Waterfield firmly established himself as one of the NFL's multi-talented players. As a passer, he led the NFL in pass attempts (251), completions (127), and passing touchdowns (17) and ranked second with 1,747 passing yards and a 67.6 passer rating. At the end of the season, he was selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press (UP) as the first-team quarterback on the 1946 All-Pro Team.

1947 and 1948 seasons In 1947, the Rams dropped to fourth place in the NFL's West Division, and Waterfield did not rank among the league's leaders in any passing category except interceptions. He did, however, lead the NFL with seven field goals and had an 86-yard punt that was the longest in the NFL during the 1947 season.

In his first four NFL seasons, Waterfield also played defense and intercepted 20 passes.

1950 season In 1950, Norm Van Brocklin was drafted in the fourth round by the Rams. He and Waterfield each started six games that season. Waterfield's 57.3% completion percentage was the best in the NFL for the 1950 season. On the first play from scrimmage in the 1950 NFL Championship Game, Waterfield threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Davis, but the Browns prevailed, 30–28.

1951 season Waterfield (left) signs a 1951 contract with the Los Angeles Rams as head coach Joe Stydahar (right) looks on. During the off-season following the 1950 season, Waterfield tried his hand at an acting career. He starred with Johnny Weissmuller in "Jungle Manhunt" (also known as "Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land"), playing the part of a football player stranded in the jungle.

In the fall of 1951, Waterfield resumed his role as the Rams' regular starting quarterback, starting 10 of the Rams' 12 games at the position. He led the 1951 Rams to an 8–4 record and the NFL championship. During the 1951 season, Waterfield led the NFL with an 81.8 passer rating, an average of 17.8 yards per completion, and 13 field goals made. He ranked second in the league with 98 points scored. At the end of the 1951 season, Waterfield played in his second Pro Bowl and was selected by the UP as the second-team quarterback (behind Otto Graham) on the 1951 All-Pro Team. He was honored with Bob Waterfield Day for the Rams' final home game on December 14, 1952. The Rams retired Waterfield's No. 7 jersey and presented Waterfield with gifts in pregame ceremonies.

The Rams compiled a 9–3 record, tied for best in the National Conference with the Detroit Lions. In the divisional playoff on December 21, he alternated with Van Brocklin on throws and kicked three extra points but threw a late interception as Detroit won 31–21.

Career accomplishments At the time of his retirement in December 1952, Waterfield held four NFL career records (315 extra points and 60 field goals), a single-season record with 54 extra points in 1950, and a single-game record with five field goals in a game, and was tied for another single-game record with nine extra points in a game.

During eight seasons with the Rams, he led the team to two NFL championships and four divisional championships. He averaged 42.4 yards as a punter, and he completed 814 passes for 11,849 yards and 97 touchdowns. Waterfield and Russell had begun dating when she was still a Van Nuys High School student.

Waterfield also worked as the kicking coach for the Rams in 1954 and again in 1955, working with Rams' linebacker Les Richter on his placekicking. In 1957, he also worked as an assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.

In June 1958, Waterfield returned to the NFL as an assistant coach for the Rams. He was assigned to develop the team's quarterbacks. He developed Bill Wade into an outstanding quarterback in 1958, but Waterfield left the team after the 1958 season.

Sid Gillman resigned as the Rams head coach after the team went 2–10 in 1959. In January 1960, Waterfield signed a five-year contract to take over as the Rams' head coach. After two seasons with four wins each, the third season in 1962 was even less successful and he resigned after the eighth game with just one win. Waterfield's overall record as the Rams' head coach was 9–24–1 (.289). He was later a team scout and a rancher near Van Nuys.

Honors and awards Waterfield received numerous awards and honors for his football career, including the following: He was selected as the first-team quarterback on the 1945, 1946, and 1949 All-Pro Teams. In 1969, he was selected as a quarterback on the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.

Family and later years

On April 24, 1943, Waterfield married actress Jane Russell, his sweetheart from Van Nuys High School who had subsequently gained fame as a pin-up girl. The couple eloped to Las Vegas shortly after Waterfield entered the military. They adopted three children, Thomas, Tracy, and Robert John, during the 1950s. Russell filed for divorce in February 1967, charging him with abuse, and Waterfield counterclaimed accusing Russell of habitual intemperance and excessive drinking. The divorce was granted in July 1968, with custody of the two oldest children being granted to Russell and custody of the youngest to Waterfield. He married Janet Ann Green in 1970.

Head coaching record Team Year Regular season Postseason WonLostTiesWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultLAR1960471.375 6th in NFL West – – – –LAR19614100.2866th in NFL West – – – –LAR1962170.1257th in NFL West – – – –Los Angeles Total9241.279 – – – –