Edward Frank Danowski (September 30, 1911 – February 1, 1997) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player who 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 ...

and halfback 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 grew up in Aquebogue, his father, Anton, was a Polish immigrant.

Football career

A graduate of Fordham University, Danowski played for the New York Giants for seven seasons (1934–1939, 1941). Although statistics are not kept for his record of wins and losses during his career, Danowski proved a worthy quarterback presence for seven seasons, with the Giants having just one losing season during his time with the team, as he served as the primary starter from 1935 to 1939, leading the Giants to four NFL Championship games (1934, 1935, 1938, 1939). Danowski's best season as a pro was in 1935, as he threw for 794 yards and 10 touchdowns on a combined 57-of-113 (all of which were league highs) with nine interceptions, and became the first quarterback in league history to throw for more touchdowns than interceptions in a season. He also ran for 335 yards on 130 carries for two touchdowns as he was named First-team All-Pro. Danowski also led the league in passer rating in 1937 and 1938 (with rates of 72.8 and 66.9, respectively). Since records of the passer rating were tabulated for the 1936 season, Danowski was the first quarterback to lead the league in passer rating in consecutive years, which would not occur again until

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American Republican politician who most recently served as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served a ...

did so in 1948-49. In the

1934 NFL Championship Game The 1934 NFL Championship Game, also known as the Sneakers Game, was the second scheduled National Football League (NFL) championship game. Played at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 9, it was the first title game for the newly ...

the team faced the 13-0 and heavily favored Chicago Bears. He went 6-of-11 for 83 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions while running for 59 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown as the Giants rallied from being down 13-3 in the final quarter to score four touchdowns (two from

Ken Strong Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 – October 5, 1979) was an American football halfback and fullback who also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted ...

and the others being by Danowski) to win 30-13 in a game commonly referred to as the "Sneakers Game", as the Giants switched to the shoe in the third quarter to play better on the frozen Polo Grounds surface. The following

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

, he led the Giants back to the title game. Facing the Detroit Lions, he went 4-of-7 for 88 yards with a touchdown and an interception while running for 14 yards on seven carries and returning kicks for 51 combined yards. However, in a game of rushing the Lions outpaced them (running for 246 yards on 65 carries while passing just five times while New York ran for 106 yards on 44 carries) in a 26-7 rout. In 1938, the Giants returned to the title game. Facing the Green Bay Packers at home, he threw 7-of-11 for 74 yards for two touchdowns. His touchdown pass to

Hank Soar Albert Henry Soar (August 17, 1914 – December 24, 2001) was an American football running back and defensive back in the National Football League who went on to have a long career as an umpire in Major League Baseball. Soar played nine seasons f ...

from 23 yards in the third quarter proved the winning score as New York overcame being outrun and outpassed with turnover luck (3 to 1) as Danowski became the first quarterback to win and lose two NFL Championship games. The two teams met again the following

for the title, with Green Bay not to be denied this time at home. Danowski threw 4-of-12 for 47 yards with three interceptions while the Packers routed them 27-0. Pulling Danowski from the game did not help matters much, as Eddie Miller,

Tuffy Leemans Alphonse Emil "Tuffy" Leemans (November 12, 1912 – January 19, 1979) was an American football fullback and halfback who played on both offense and defense. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and was named in 1969 to th ...

, and Len Barnum went a combined 5-of-14 for three interceptions. By 1939, the Giants would start other players in the position that ranged from Miller to Leemans (who generally served as a fullback), and a permanent quarterback for the team would not occur until

Charlie Conerly Charles Albert Conerly Jr. (September 19, 1921 – February 13, 1996) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1948 through 1961. Conerly was inducted into the College Football Hal ...

was drafted in 1948. After having left the game in 1939, he returned for one more season in 1941, making appearances in six games. He threw a combined 12-of-24 for 179 yards and two touchdowns to three interceptions as

helped lead the Giants to an NFL Championship game appearance and Danowski left the game for good after the season ended.

Coaching career

After leaving football, he returned to Rose Hill as the head coach for the Rams from 1946 to 1954, amassing a record of 29–44–3 (.401). His 1949 squad reached #20 in the polls.

Personal life

His son, John Danowski, is the head

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

coach at Duke University as well as the longtime coach of the Hofstra Pride, and his grandson, Matt Danowski, is second in Division I in total points in NCAA lacrosse history. Ed was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made s ...

on Long Island, New York, in the Football Category with the Class of 1991.

Head coaching record

References

External links