Y. A. Tittle

Y. A. Tittle
No. 14
Position:	Quarterback
Career information
College:	LSU
NFL draft:	1948 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6
Career history
	Baltimore Colts (1948-1950); San Francisco 49ers (1951-1960); New York Giants (1961-1964);
Career highlights and awards
	6x Pro Bowl selection ; (1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962); 1963 AP NFL MVP; 2x UPI NFL MVP (1957, 1962); 1961 NEA NFL MVP; 1963 NEA NFL MVP; New York Giants #14 retired;
	Pro Football Hall of Fame

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. He 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 212 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 [1].

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.

On April 23, 2007, Tittle was waiting to be interviewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam for Halberstam's new book The Game about the 1958 NFL championship football game between the then Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. Halberstam died of internal injuries sustained in an automobile accident which occurred while he was en route to interview Tittle.

Career statistics

NFL Regular season

3,817 passes attempted
2,118 passes completed
28,339 passing yards
212 passing touchdowns
221 passes intercepted
73.6 quarterback rating

AAFC Regular season

578 passes attempted
309 passes completed
4,731 passing yards
30 passing touchdowns
27 passes intercepted
78.6 quarterback rating

External links

Famous Y.A. Tittle Photo

Preceded by Jim Taylor	NFL Most Valuable Player 1963 season	Succeeded by Johnny Unitas
Preceded by Frankie Albert	San Francisco 49ers Starting Quarterbacks 1953-1960	Succeeded by John Brodie
Preceded by Charlie Conerly	New York Giants Starting Quarterbacks 1961-1963	Succeeded by Gary Wood