Slingin' Sammy Baugh, original Hall of Famer, dies at 94

Baugh guided the Redskins to five title games and two championships, playing his entire career without a face mask. His No. 33 is the only jersey Washington has retired.

Baugh's reputation blossomed as a star high school football, baseball and basketball player in Sweetwater. It began to grow during his college days at TCU.

It was there that he picked up the nickname "Slingin' Sammy" -- but it wasn't for his passing. It was for the rockets he fired to first base as a shortstop and third baseman.

"Everybody thought I was a better baseball player growing up," he said in 2002. "I thought I was going to be a big league baseball player."

As an All-American football player, he led TCU to a 29-7-3 mark, including Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl victories. He masterfully executed an early ancestor of the West Coast offense at TCU, and he credits Horned Frogs coach Dutch Meyer with his NFL success.

"I was a little ahead of a lot of football players in those days because of Dutch," he said.

"Sam Baugh will always remain an integral part of TCU," athletic director Danny Morrison said in a statement. "His accomplishments have left an undeniable impact on our football program and the sport in general. TCU is extremely fortunate and honored to call Sam Baugh one of its own."

Baugh was known to make blunt, witty remarks.

After the Redskins' 73-0 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 1940 championship, a writer asked if the outcome would have been different had an end not dropped an early touchdown pass.

"Yeah," drawled Baugh. "It would have been 73-7."

Baugh was known for his reclusiveness.

After his NFL career, Baugh retreated to his 7,600-acre West Texas ranch about 95 miles southeast of Lubbock. The Hall of Fame and the Redskins have tried to lure him east for ceremonies over the years, and he always turned them down.

For years he drove to Snyder three or four times a week for golf, until sore knees, searing heat and the 100-mile round trip made those outings too tough.

But he always enjoyed football season.

"I'll watch it all damn day long," Baugh, who often sprinkled his conversation with mild obscenities, told the Associated Press in a 2002 interview. "I like the football they play. They got bigger boys, and they've also got these damn speed merchants that we didn't have in those days. I'd love to be quarterback this day and time."

He bought the Double Mountain Ranch, named for two hills that jut out of the flat earth north of his house, in 1941. He and his wife, Edmonia, who died in 1990, raised five children on the arid expanse covered with mesquite trees, prickly pear cactus and about 500 cows.

He came to the ranch full time in the mid-1960s, after several two years coaching the New York Titans and a year with the Houston Oilers.

In addition to his son David, Baugh is survived by sons Todd Baugh, of Billings, Mont., and Stephen Baugh, of Midland; daughter Frances Baugh, of Lubbock; sister Nell Kindrick, of Garland; 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.