Back, Chicago Cardinals
Age: 27
4th season
in pro football, 3rd in APFA/NFL & with Cardinals (2nd
complete)
College: Northwestern
Height: 5’11” Weight: 160
Prelude:
Driscoll played
football and baseball in college, briefly spending time with the Chicago Cubs
in 1917. While in the military during World War I, he was with the Great Lakes
Naval Station team that won the 1919 Rose Bowl. Driscoll joined the Hammond
Pros in 1919 and moved on to the Chicago Cardinals of the new American Professional
Football Association (later renamed NFL) in ’20. Deceptively mild-mannered and
small in stature, he was an outstanding all-around player who was an elusive
halfback and kick returner, precision punter, and outstanding drop-kicker. He
was a first-team All-APFA selection by the Rock Island Argus in 1920 and scored
25 points in 1921. He also coached the Cardinals in each of those seasons,
compiling a 9-5-4 record. Driscoll continued as a player-coach in 1922.
1922 Season Summary
Appeared in all
11 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Scoring
Rushing TDs – 0
Receiving TDs –
2 [1, tied with Dunc Annan, Charlie Mathys & Scotty Bierce]
Other TDs – 0
Total TDs – 2
Field Goals – 8
[1]
Extra Points – 4
[8, tied with Hank Gillo & Pete Henry]
Points – 40 [5]
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: George Halas, Canton Daily News
Cardinals went 8-3
to finish third in the NFL.
Aftermath:
In six seasons
with the Cardinals (three of which he was also the coach), Driscoll scored 17
touchdowns and kicked 37 field goals, leading the league three times, and 31
PATs for a total of 244 points, topping the NFL with 78 in 1923. He received
first-team All-NFL recognition after four of those seasons. Following the 1925
season, in which the team won the NFL title, the financially-strapped Cardinals
sold Driscoll’s contract to the Bears. Driscoll spent three more seasons with
the Bears, scoring 43 points and again receiving consensus first-team All-NFL
honors in 1927. Overall for his career, he scored 31 touchdowns and kicked 63
extra points and 51 field goals for a total of 402 points. Driscoll’s scoring
total was the NFL record until 1942 and his field goal total the league
standard until 1952, with his single-season record of 12 in 1926 not exceeded
until 1950. Driscoll received at least some first-team All-NFL recognition
after seven seasons and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class
of 1965. He later became a long-time assistant coach for the Bears and was head
coach in 1956 and ’57.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing: Yards,
TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards,
Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches,
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC since
1970
