Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional
football player and coach. He played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...
and
Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
in 1965. His No. 7 jersey was retired by the
Los Angeles Rams in 1952. He was also a motion picture actor and producer.
Born in
Elmira, New York, Waterfield moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
as an infant. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins in 1941, 1942, and 1944. In 1942, he led UCLA to a
Pacific Coast Conference championship and its first
Rose Bowl and was selected as the quarterback on the
All-Pacific Coast team.
From 1945 to 1952, he played quarterback for the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He led the Rams to NFL championships in 1945 and 1951 and was selected as the
NFL's most valuable player in 1945. He was the first-team All-Pro quarterback in 1945, 1946, and 1949. Known as one of the best passers, punters, and place-kickers in the NFL, he set NFL career place-kicking records with 315
extra points and 60 field goals, as well as a single-season record with 54 extra points in 1950, and a single-game record with five field goals in a game.
Waterfield was married to movie actress
Jane Russell
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films.
Russell moved from th ...
from 1943 to 1968. During the 1950s, Waterfield also worked in the motion picture business, initially as an actor and later as a producer. He remained involved in football as an assistant coach during the 1950s and served as the head coach of the Rams from 1960 to 1962.
Early years
Waterfield was born in
Elmira, New York, in 1920,
the son of Staton "Jack" Waterfield (1891–1930) and Frances (Gallagher) Waterfield (1895–1963). In approximately 1921, his family moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and settled in
Van Nuys in the
San Fernando Valley. In 1930, when Waterfield was nine years old, his father, who had become the owner and manager of Van Nuys Transfer and Storage Company, died. Waterfield attended
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys High School (VNHS) is a public high school in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2. The school is home to a Residential Program and three Magnet Programs—Math/Science, P ...
where he was a star football player.
UCLA and military service
Waterfield enrolled at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
(UCLA) where he played
college football for
UCLA Bruins football 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.
[ He led the 1942 Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship and was selected as the first-team quarterback on the ]1942 All-Pacific Coast football team
The 1942 All-Pacific Coast football team consisted of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Pacific Coast teams for the 1942 college football season. The organizations selecting teams in 1942 included the Associated Pr ...
. In the 1943 Rose Bowl
The 1943 Rose Bowl game was the 29th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Friday, January 1. The second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) defeated the #13 UC ...
, the Bruins lost to Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
; 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
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films.
Russell moved from th ...
.[ Two weeks later, he was inducted into the ]United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
and sent to Fort Benning for officer candidate school. He was commissioned as a lieutenant and played quarterback for Fort Benning's 176th Infantry football team in the fall of 1943.
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
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
as a second-team back on the 1944 All-Pacific Coast football team
The 1944 All-Pacific Coast football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Pacific Coast teams for the 1944 college football season. The organizations selecting teams in 1944 included the Associated Press ...
.[Robert Fernas]
"Complete Package: Van Nuys' Bob Waterfield was a Quarterback, Defensive Back, Punter and Kicker during Hall of Fame Career,"
''Los Angeles Times,'' December 25, 1999.
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
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' called him "one of the finest kickers and passers in Coast history."
Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams
Waterfield was drafted by the Cleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...
in the fifth round (42nd overall pick) of the 1944 NFL Draft
The 1944 National Football League Draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli.
Player selections
Round ...
.[ He signed with the Rams in June 1945.
]
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
Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...
, 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 Thanksgiving Day 1945, Waterfield completed 12 of 21 passes for a season-high 329 yards in a 28–21 victory over the Detroit Lions. ]Jim Benton
Jim K. Benton (born October 31, 1960) is an American illustrator and writer. Licensed properties he has created include Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K. Stein, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Meany Doodles, Vampy Do ...
caught 10 of Waterfield's passes for an NFL record of 303 receiving yards in a single game.
On December 16, 1945, in the 1945 NFL Championship Game
The 1945 NFL Championship Game was the 13th National Football League (NFL) championship game. Held on December 16, the Cleveland Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15–14 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
This was the last game bef ...
, Waterfield led the Rams to a 15–14 victory over Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
's Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in below zero weather in Cleveland. One sports writer opined that Waterfield "literally" beat the Redskins "singlehanded."[ Waterfield was responsible for both Cleveland touchdowns on passes of 37 and 44 yards, and his punts kept the Redskins pinned deep in their territory. Rams owner Dan Reeves announced that, before the game, Waterfield had signed a three-year contract for $20,000 per year, which made him the highest-paid player in pro football.][ ]
After the season, Waterfield received the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player, outpacing Steve Van Buren
Stephen Wood Van Buren (December 28, 1920 − August 23, 2012) was a Honduran–American professional football player who was a halfback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 to 1951. Regarded as a powerf ...
by a tally of 65 points to 38.[ ] 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
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
for the 1946 NFL season
The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him. Meanwhile, the All-America Footb ...
. 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
Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...
.[ He was also the league's second leading scorer (61 points). He led the NFL with 37 extra points out of 37 attempts and field goal percentage (66.7%) and finished third in the league with an average of 44.7 yards per punt.] At the end of the season, he was selected by both the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
(AP) and the United Press
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
(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 1948, the Rams finished in third place in the West. Waterfield ranked among the NFL leaders with 15.6 yards per pass completion (first), 14 passing touchdowns (fourth), and 18 interceptions (third), and for the second year had the longest punt in the league, this one measuring 88 yards.][ On October 4, 1948, Waterfield led the Rams to a 28–28 tie with the NFL champion-to-be ]Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
; the Rams trailed, 28–0, in the third quarter, but Waterfield completed 17 of 35 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns to lead the comeback.
In his first four NFL seasons, Waterfield also played defense and intercepted 20 passes.[
]
1949 season
Waterfield and Rams returned to the NFL's elite during the 1949 season. The Rams won the NFL's Western Division championship with an 8–2–2 record and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
in the 1949 NFL Championship Game. In 12 regular season games, Waterfield compiled career highs and ranked among the NFL leaders with 154 completed passes (third), 296 pass attempts (fourth), 2,168 passing yards (second), and 24 interceptions (first).[ For the third time in his career, he was selected as the quarterback on the ]1948 All-Pro Team
The 1948 All-Pro Team consisted of American football players who were chosen by various selectors for the All-Pro team for the 1948 football season. Teams were selected by, among others, the Associated Press (AP), the United Press (UP), ''The Sport ...
, receiving first-team honors from the AP and UP.
1950 season
In 1950, Waterfield shared the quarterback position with Norm Van Brocklin
Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los An ...
with each starting six games. Waterfield's 57.3% completion percentage was the best in the NFL for the 1950 season.[ The 1950 Rams compiled a 9–3, won the National Conference championship, defeated the Chicago Bears in a divisional playoff game, and lost to the ]Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
in the 1950 NFL Championship Game
The 1950 NFL Championship Game was the 18th National Football League (NFL) title game, played on Sunday, December 24 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
In their first NFL season after four years in the rival All-America Football Confere ...
. In the playoff game against the Bears, Waterfield came off the bench suffering from the flu and completed 14 of 21 passes for 280 yards, including touchdown passes of 68, 28, and 22 yards to Tom Fears
Thomas Jesse Fears (December 3, 1922 – January 4, 2000) was a Mexican-American professional football player who was a split end for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL), playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956. He was lat ...
; Waterfield also kicked a 43–yard field goal and three extra points in the game. After the game, George Halas called the Rams "the finest passing team I've ever played against." 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
During the off-season following the 1950 season, Waterfield tried his hand at an acting career. He starred with Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...
in "Jungle Manhunt
''Jungle Manhunt'' is a 1951 adventure film written by Samuel Newman and directed by Lew Landers. It was the seventh entry in the "Jungle Jim" series of films starring Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. Based on the comic strip "Jungle ...
" (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.[ He also had the longest pass in the NFL during the 1951 season, a 91-yard touchdown pass to ]Elroy Hirsch
Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1 ...
in a 42–17 victory over the Chicago Bears.[ 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
Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Graha ...
) on the 1951 All-Pro Team
The 1951 All-Pro Team consisted of American football players chosen by various selectors for the All-Pro team of the National Football League (NFL) for the 1951 NFL season. Teams were selected by, among others, the Associated Press (AP) (chosen in ...
.[
]
1952 season
In 1952, Waterfield shared the Rams' quarterback job with Norm Van Brocklin, each starting six games. The Rams compiled a 9–3 and lost a divisional playoff game against the Detroit Lions. He announced his retirement on December 1, 1952, and 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.[ ]
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.[
]
Motion picture producer and football coach
In 1954, Waterfield went into business with his wife, Jane Russell
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films.
Russell moved from th ...
, forming Russ-Field Productions to produce motion pictures. Their productions included ''Run for the Sun
''Run for the Sun'' is a 1956 Technicolor thriller adventure film released by United Artists, the third film to officially be based on Richard Connell's classic 1924 suspense story, "The Most Dangerous Game", after both RKO's ''The Most Dangerous ...
'' (1956) and ''The King and Four Queens
''The King and Four Queens'' is a 1956 DeLuxe Color American Western adventure comedy/mystery film starring Clark Gable and Eleanor Parker and filmed in CinemaScope. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the film is based on a story written by Margaret ...
'' (1956).
Waterfield also worked as the Rams' kicking coach in 1954 and again in 1955, working with Rams' linebacker Les Richter
Leslie Alan Richter (October 6, 1930 – June 12, 2010) was an American football linebacker who played for the Los Angeles Rams of National Football League (NFL). He also served as the head of operations for NASCAR and president of the River ...
on his placekicking. In 1957, he also worked as an assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
in the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
.
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
William James Wade (October 4, 1930 – March 9, 2016) was an American football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL). He is considered one of the greatest athletes in Nashville and Vanderbilt University h ...
into an outstanding quarterback in 1958, but Waterfield left the team after the 1958 season.
Sid Gillman
Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or w ...
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
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
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.[The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History]
- Bob Waterfield - accessed December 31, 2011
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
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat.
Events
Below, ...
, 1946, and 1949 All-Pro Teams.[
* In 1945, he received the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL's most valuable player.][
* He was selected twice to play in the Pro Bowl (]1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
, 1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
).[
* In 1952, his jersey No. 7 was retired by the Los Angeles Rams.][
* In 1965, he was elected to the ]Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
as part of the third class of inductees.
* In 1969, he was selected as a quarterback on the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team
This is a list of all NFL players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1940s and have been compiled together into this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame retroactively in 1969 to mark the lea ...
.
Family and later years
On April 24, 1943, Waterfield married actress Jane Russell
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films.
Russell moved from th ...
, his sweetheart from Van Nuys High School who had subsequently gained fame as a pin-up girl
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...
. The couple eloped to Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the 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, 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.[
After an extended illness, Waterfield died of ]respiratory failure
Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...
on March 25, 1983, at the age of 62, five weeks before his teammate Van Brocklin. He had been in the intensive care unit
220px, Intensive care unit
An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...
at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank for two weeks prior to his death.[Associated Press]
"Ex-Rams Star Dies after Long Illness,"
''Spokane Spokesman Review,'' March 26, 1983, pg.17.
Head coaching record
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterfield, Bob
1920 births
1983 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American football defensive backs
American football placekickers
American football punters
Cleveland Rams players
Los Angeles Rams coaches
Los Angeles Rams players
UCLA Bruins football players
National Football League players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
United States Army personnel of World War II
Van Nuys High School alumni
Sportspeople from Elmira, New York
Players of American football from Los Angeles
United States Army officers
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
Los Angeles Rams head coaches