Sammy Baugh's 446-Yard Pass Game Reshaped Football History

Washington quarterback Sammy Baugh threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns in a 1948 game against the Boston Yanks. The final score was 56-21 in Washington's favor. That performance stands as a benchmark for offensive production in the history of the sport.

The outcome of that matchup was not decided by a single play, but by the volume of passing yards. Baugh’s 446-yard total remained a notable figure in the records. The defense contributed to the blowout as well. Dan Sandifer intercepted the ball four times during the contest. Two of those interceptions resulted in touchdowns for Washington.

The game took place on a date that has since become a marker for various athletic milestones. While the 1948 contest is the primary focus here, the timeline includes other historic moments in American sports. In 1950, Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols became the first African-American to play in an NBA game. His team lost to the Rochester Royals 78-70 on the road.

Horse racing also saw a record set on this calendar day in 1964. Kelso won his fifth consecutive Jockey Club Gold Cup. The race was billed as his final start in New York. He covered the two-mile distance in 3 minutes, 19 and 1/5 seconds. This time broke the world record he had set four years earlier when he was a three-year-old.

Coaching history marks another first for this date. In 1969, Lenny Wilkens earned his first coaching victory. He led the Seattle SuperSonics to a 129-121 win over the Cincinnati Royals. Wilkens would go on to become the NBA’s all-time winningest coach.

In 1987, the Indianapolis Colts signed Eric Dickerson to a three-year contract. Dickerson was the NFL’s single-season rushing champion at the time. The move completed a three-way trade. The Los Angeles Rams received two running backs and six draft choices over two years. Linebacker Cornelius Bennett went to the Buffalo Bills in the third part of the deal.

Also in 1987, jockey Chris Antley became the first rider to win nine races in a single day. He secured four winners in six mounts at Aqueduct. He then won five of eight starts during the evening program at The Meadowlands.

The 2004 season brought a historic loss for the New England Patriots. They fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-20. It was their first defeat in over a year. The team had won 21 straight games, including playoffs, and set a league record with 18 consecutive regular season wins.

More recently, in 2020, England beat Italy 34-5 in Rome. The victory secured the 29th Six-Nations Rugby Championship for the British team. The scoreline reflected a dominant performance on the field in the final match of that tournament.