Y. A. Tittle

Infobox NFLretired


|caption=
width=
position=Quarterback
number=14
birthdate=birth date and age|1926|10|24
Marshall, Texas
deathdate=
debutyear=1948
finalyear=1964
draftyear=1948
draftround=1
draftpick=6
college=Louisiana State
teams=
* Baltimore Colts (1948-1950)
* San Francisco 49ers (1951-1960)
* New York Giants (1961-1964)
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=242-221
stat2label=Yards
stat2value=28,339
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=73.6
nfl=TIT474616
highlights=
* 7x Pro Bowl selection (1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963)
* 3x All-Pro selection (1957, 1962, 1963)
* 1x AP MVP (1963)
* 2x UPI NFL MVP (1957, 1962)
* 2x NEA NFL MVP (1961, 1963)
* New York Giants #14 retired
HOF=214

Yelberton Abraham Tittle (born October 24, 1926 in Marshall, Texas), better known as Y. A. Tittle, is a former American football quarterback in the NFL who played for the Baltimore Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Giants. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1971.

Career

Tittle began his career with the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1948, who eventually joined the NFL in 1950. The Colts became defunct after that season, and Tittle joined the San Francisco 49ers. He played there for ten seasons, through 1960, often struggling for playing time. In 1951 and 1952, Frankie Albert also played quarterback extensively, and then from 1957 through 1960, John Brodie took time on the field away from Tittle.

Tittle was traded after the 1960 season, when the 49ers decided that Brodie was their quarterback of the future. Tittle joined the New York Giants, where he would have some of his best seasons. In 1963, his penultimate year, Tittle set what was then an NFL record by throwing 36 touchdown passes. After a poor 1964 season, however, Tittle retired.

In a career lasting 17 years, Tittle passed for 33,070 yards, and 242 touchdowns, and twice received the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. In 1971, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.One of pro football's greatest quarterbacks never to win the NFL Championship, Tittle did throw seven touchdown passes in the October 28, 1962, game against the Washington Redskins that the Giants won 49-34.

In 1961 the San Francisco 49ers traded Y. A. Tittle to the New York Giants for guard Lou Cordileone, who by 1962 was playing for the Los Angeles Rams while Tittle went on to lead the Giants to three straight Eastern Division titles, part of a team that featured such great players as Del Shofner, Aaron Thomas, Joe Walton, Frank Gifford, Alex Webster, Dick Lynch, Jimmy Patton, Roosevelt Brown, Andy Robustelli, Sam Huff, Erich Barnes and Joe Morrison.

Legacy

For his career, Tittle had impressive numbers. He threw for 28,339 yards and 242 touchdowns, while also rushing for 999 yards and 33 touchdowns, not including his totals in the AAFC.

The only thing missing from Tittle's impressive resumé was an NFL championship. The Giants lost the title game every year from 1961 to 1963. The 1963 game was especially disappointing, as Tittle hurt his leg and struggled all game as the Giants lost to the Chicago Bears 14-10.

The following year, Tittle's final season, the Giants were nowhere close to contention, falling to a 2-10-2 record. Tittle's performance fell from 36 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 1963 to 10 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in 1964. He retired after the season.

Tittle currently owns Y. A. Tittle Insurance & Financial Services [http://www.yatittleins.com/] .

Distinction

Y.A. Tittle was the first and one of only seven quarterbacks in NFL history to have achieved consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons. The others are Steve Bartkowski, Brett Favre, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Jeff Garcia and Peyton Manning. Tittle's 36 touchdown passes in the 1963 season would remain an NFL record until Marino threw 48 touchdown passes in 1984.

In his most prolific college season with LSU, Tittle passed for 780 yards, impressive for the time, leading the Fighting Tigers to a 9-1 record and a #8 ranking in the final AP poll. LSU then tied Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Tittle lettered for the Tigers from 1944-47 and LSU compiled a record of 23-11-3 during that time span.

In a famous game against Ole Miss in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on November 1, 1947, Tittle broke through the middle of the Rebel line and appeared to be on his way to a possible winning touchdown for LSU. Ole Miss tacklers, however, crushed Tittle's belt on his football pants while he was crashing through the line. As Tittle ran down the field, he continued to grab at his pants because of the broken belt. He was unsuccessful in his efforts, however, and when his pants fell to his knees, the Rebel defense caught up to him and tackled him short of the goal line. Ole Miss eventually won the game 20-18.

Tittle is a member of the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.

Career statistics

NFL Regular season

* 3,817 passes attempted
* 2,118 passes completed
* 28,339 passing yards
* 253 passing touchdowns
* 208 passes intercepted
* 81.4 quarterback rating

AAFC Regular season

* 578 passes attempted
* 309 passes completed
* 4,731 passing yards
* 30 passing touchdowns
* 25 passes intercepted
* 81.1 quarterback rating

ee also

*Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
*History of the New York Giants (1925-1978)

External links

* [http://pro-football-reference.com/players/TittY.00.htm Tittle's entry on pro-football-reference.com]
* [http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=214 Tittle's entry on the Pro Football Hall of Fame site]
* [http://www.manlyweb.com/sports/injuries/yatittle-photo.htm Famous Y.A. Tittle Photo]
* [http://www.footballcardgallery.com/player/Y.A.+Tittle/ Gallery of Y.A. Tittle football cards]