FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame 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 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 (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 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.
In 1954, Waterfield went into business with his wife, Jane Russell, forming Russ-Field Productions to produce motion pictures. Their productions included Run for the Sun (1956) and The King and Four Queens (1956).
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
In what year did Charles Dickens write A Christmas Carol?
Dickens wrote the story in 1843.
Advice of the Day
Place a vinegar-soaked brown bag on sprains to ease the pain and aid recovery.
Home Hint of the Day
To get the odor of cat urine out of a carpet, sprinkle baking soda on the area. Leave it on for several hours, then vacuum it up. If necessary, repeat the process with fresh baking soda.
Word of the Day
Dink
A soft return in tennis. The tennis ball will drop abruptly after crossing the net.
Puzzle of the Day
Why is it that a man cannot own a cane that is too short?
Because it can never be-long to him.
Born
- Clarence Birdseye (businessman) – 1886
- Jean de Brunhoff (author of Babar books) – 1899
- Kirk Douglas (actor) – 1916
- Redd Foxx (actor) – 1922
- Dame Judi Dench (actress) – 1934
- Beau Bridges (actor) – 1941
- John Malkovich (actor) – 1953
- Donnie Osmond (entertainer) – 1957
- Jesse Metcalfe (actor) – 1978
Died
- Paul Simon (5-term Democratic congressman and 2-term senator from Illinois who ran unsuccessfully for presidential nomination in 1988) – 2003
- Georgia Gibbs (singer) – 2006
- Gene Barry (actor) – 2009
Events
- Robert Cushman gave first known sermon in the United States, in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts– 1621
- Noah Webster established The American Minerva, NY’s first daily newspaper– 1793
- Canada’s first coin club, Numismatic Society of Montreal, formed– 1862
- Lincoln letter sold for $748,000– 1935
- First Heisman Trophy awarded to Jay Berwanger– 1935
- Quebec adopted a new coat of arms– 1939
- British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War II– 1940
- Bob Waterfield became the first professional football player to kick 5 field goals in one game– 1951
- Public debut of the computer mouse, in San Francisco– 1968
- Marguerite d’Youville became first Canadian-born saint– 1990
- Twin polar bear cubs were born at the Hellabrunn Zoo, Munich, Germany– 2013
Weather
- It was 61 degrees F in Boston at 1:00 A.M.– 1980
COURTESY www.almanac.com
