“Slinging Sammy” Baugh played football and baseball at TCU before launching his successful NFL career.
The TCU Horned Frogs are less than 50 days from kicking off the 2025 football season with a nonconference road matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels and new head coach Bill Belichick. As we count down the days until kickoff, we’ll highlight a former (or current) Horned Frog whose jersey number represents the number of days left until the opener.
45 – Sammy Baugh (QB, Safety & Punter – 1934-36)
A man TCU legend Dutch Meyer called “the greatest athlete I ever saw”, Baugh played three positions for the Horned Frog football team, serving as the team’s quarterback and punter as well as a defensive back. Baugh played three seasons of football at TCU, throwing for 3,320 yards and 40 touchdowns. A two-time All-American and First-Team All-Southwest Conference honoree in 1935-36, Baugh led the Horned Frogs to 29 victories including wins in the 1936 Sugar Bowl and the 1937 Cotton Bowl. Baugh was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and the TCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1968. Baugh’s No. 45 has been retired by TCU for roughly two decades.
Baugh selected with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 1937 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins and enjoyed an incredibly successful professional career, winning championships in 1937 and 1942 while earning All-Pro honors eight times (four of which were First Team honors). Baugh threw for 21,886 yards and 187 touchdowns, completing nearly 1,700 passes at a rate of roughly 57 percent. A six-time Pro Bowler and a four-time passing yards leader, Baugh also punted and played defensive back for the Redskins, leading the NFL in both punting yards and interceptions during the 1943 season.
Baugh was named to the NFL’s 1940s All-Decade Team, the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, the 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Baugh’s No. 33 was retired by the Redskins (now the Washington Commanders) and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. Baugh played for the Redskins from 1937-52 before beginning a lengthy coaching career that included stints with the New York Giants (1960-61) and the Houston Oilers (1964). Baugh played his prep football at Sweetwater High School, where his No. 21 has been retired since 2006.