Dan Towler
 Towler, circa 1953 | |||||||||||||
| No. 32 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Halfback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | March 6, 1928 Donora, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died: | August 1, 2001 (aged 73) Pasadena, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| College: | Washington & Jefferson | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1950: 25th round, 324th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Daniel Lee "Deacon" Towler (March 6, 1928 – August 1, 2001) was an American football player. He played in the National Football League (NFL) as a fullback for the Los Angeles Rams from 1950 through 1955. He was the NFL leading rusher in 1952 and ranked among the top four rushers each year from 1951 to 1954. He graduated from Washington & Jefferson College.[1][2][3]
The football statistics website Football Nation calls Towler "the greatest running back you don't know," and "a bright, shining star who lit up the NFL for an oh-so-brief but spectacular three-year period unlike any before or since."[4] "[F]or a three-year period in the early 1950s," says Football Nation, "Towler was the closest thing the NFL has ever produced to an unstoppable ball carrier."[4]
The Professional Football Researchers Association named Towler to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006.[5]
After retiring from football, Towler was named pastor of the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church in Pasadena, California.[6] He was also a chaplain at California State University, Los Angeles and president of the Los Angeles County Board of Education.
NFL career statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the NFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1950 | RAM | 12 | 1 | 46 | 130 | 2.8 | 34 | 6 | 8 | 63 | 7.9 | 17 | 0 |
| 1951 | RAM | 12 | 5 | 126 | 854 | 6.8 | 79 | 6 | 16 | 257 | 16.1 | 46 | 0 |
| 1952 | RAM | 12 | 11 | 156 | 894 | 5.7 | 44 | 10 | 11 | 68 | 6.2 | 13 | 0 |
| 1953 | RAM | 12 | 9 | 152 | 879 | 5.8 | 73 | 7 | 11 | 125 | 11.4 | 49 | 1 |
| 1954 | RAM | 12 | 7 | 149 | 599 | 4.0 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 127 | 12.7 | 36 | 0 |
| 1955 | RAM | 7 | 3 | 43 | 137 | 3.2 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 4.2 | 11 | 0 |
| 67 | 36 | 672 | 3,493 | 5.2 | 79 | 43 | 62 | 665 | 10.7 | 49 | 1 | ||
Playoffs
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1950 | RAM | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1951 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 16 | 36 | 2.3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 13 | 54 | 4.2 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
| 1955 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 14 | 64 | 4.6 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | 45 | 156 | 3.5 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 21 | 0 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ "Dan Towler". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
- ^ "Dan Towler". databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009.
- ^ "Dan Towler". NFL All-Time Players. NFL Enterprises LLC.
- ^ a b Terrible Towler: the greatest RB you don't know
- ^ "Hall of Very Good Class of 2006". Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ^ Dick Strite (August 7, 1957). "Highclimber". Eugene Guard. p. D1.