1948 Baltimore Colts (AAFC) |
| 2nd place • Eastern Division • 7-7-0 .500 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Cecil Isbell |
| Lou DeFlippo | Assistant Coach |
| Tom Stidham | Line |
| SCORES | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | Venue | Attendance | ||||
| Sun | 8/8/1948 | N | Los Angeles Dons | 21 | 27 | L | Portland, OR | Multnomah Stadium | 15000 | |
| Sun | 8/22/1948 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 42 | L | San Francisco, CA | Kezar Stadium | 35139 | |
| Fri | 8/27/1948 | A | Cleveland Browns | 21 | 17 | W | Toledo, OH | Scott High School Stadium | 13417 | |
| Sun | 9/5/1948 | H | New York Yankees | 45 | 28 | W | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 31800 | |
| Fri | 9/10/1948 | A | Chicago Rockets | 14 | 21 | L | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 25816 | |
| Thu | 9/16/1948 | A | New York Yankees | 27 | 14 | W | New York, NY | Yankee Stadium | 18959 | |
| Sun | 9/26/1948 | H | Brooklyn Dodgers | 35 | 20 | W | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 34554 | |
| Tue | 10/5/1948 | H | Cleveland Browns | 10 | 14 | L | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 22329 | |
| Sun | 10/10/1948 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 56 | L | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 37209 | |
| Fri | 10/15/1948 | A | Los Angeles Dons | 29 | 14 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 40019 | |
| Sun | 10/24/1948 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 21 | L | San Francisco, CA | Kezar Stadium | 27978 | |
| Sun | 10/31/1948 | A | Buffalo Bills | 17 | 35 | L | Buffalo, NY | Civic Stadium | 23964 | |
| Sun | 11/7/1948 | A | Cleveland Browns | 7 | 28 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 32314 | |
| Sun | 11/14/1948 | H | Chicago Rockets | 38 | 24 | W | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 21899 | |
| Sun | 11/21/1948 | H | Los Angeles Dons | 14 | 17 | L | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 25228 | |
| Sun | 11/28/1948 | A | Brooklyn Dodgers | 38 | 20 | W | New York, NY | Ebbets Field | 7629 | |
| Sun | 12/5/1948 | H | Buffalo Bills | 35 | 15 | W | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 33090 | |
| Eastern Division Playoff | ||||||||||
| Sun | 12/12/1948 | H | Buffalo Bills | 17 | 28 | L | Baltimore, MD | Muncipal Stadium | 27327 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Lee Artoe | 44 | ROT-RDT | 6-2 | 234 | 31 | Santa Clara; California | 14 | 14 |
| Dick Barwegen | 31 | LOG-M?LB | 6-1 | 227 | 26 | Purdue | 12 | 12 |
| Hub Bechtol | 57 | RDE-ROE | 6-3 | 202 | 22 | Texas Tech; Texas | 12 | 12 |
| Pete Berezney | 47 | ROT-RDT-LOT-LDT | 6-2 | 240 | 25 | Notre Dame | 13 | 0 |
| Ernie Blandin | 41 | LOT-LDT | 6-4 | 248 | 29 | Tulane | 14 | 14 |
| Herb Coleman | 22 | C | 6-0 | 200 | 25 | Notre Dame | 1 | 0 |
| Bert Corley | 22 | C-LB | 6-2 | 215 | 28 | Mississippi State | 9 | 9 |
| Lamar Davis | 51 | LOE-DB | 6-1 | 185 | 27 | Georgia | 14 | 14 |
| Spiro Dellerba | 77 | LB-FB | 5-11 | 200 | 25 | Ohio State | 14 | 0 |
| Aubrey Fowler | 80 | DB-LOH | 5-10 | 160 | 28 | Arkansas | 13 | 13 |
| Lu Gambino | 89 | FB-LOH-ROH | 6-1 | 205 | 25 | Indiana; Maryland | 10 | 2 |
| Bill Garrett | 30 | ROG-MG | 6-1 | 237 | 23 | Mississippi State | 14 | 13 |
| Ed Grain | 33 | LOG-LDG | 6-0 | 230 | 26 | Pennsylvania | 11 | 1 |
| Rex Grossman | 74 | K | 6-1 | 215 | 24 | Indiana | 14 | 0 |
| George Groves | 37 | OG-DG | 5-11 | 195 | 27 | Marquette | 1 | 0 |
| Billy Hillenbrand | 82 | LOH-LDH? | 6-0 | 188 | 26 | Indiana | 14 | 14 |
| Al Klug | 38 | ROG-RDG | 6-1 | 215 | 28 | Marquette | 13 | 0 |
| Jake Leicht | 81 | DB-LOH | 5-9 | 170 | 29 | Pasadena CC; Oregon | 14 | 14 |
| Lew Mayne | 88 | ROH-RDH S? | 6-1 | 190 | 28 | Texas | 7 | 0 |
| Len McCormick | 26/28 | C-LB | 6-3 | 232 | 26 | Schreiner Institute JC; Southwestern (Texas); Baylor | 9 | 5 |
| John Mellus | 48 | LDT | 6-0 | 214 | 31 | Villanova | 14 | 14 |
| Bus Mertes | 73 | FB | 6-0 | 201 | 29 | North Central; Iowa | 14 | 12 |
| John North | 55/56 | ROE-RDE | 6-2 | 200 | 27 | Vanderbilt | 14 | 11 |
| Bob Nowaskey | 52 | LDE-LOE | 6-0 | 205 | 30 | George Washington | 13 | 13 |
| Charlie O'Rourke | 66 | QB | 5-11 | 175 | 31 | Boston College | 14 | 1 |
| Bob Pfohl | 85 | ROH-RDH | 6-0 | 200 | 22 | Purdue; Merchant Marine; Purdue | 14 | 14 |
| Ollie Poole | 54 | LOE-LDE-ROE-RDE | 6-3 | 220 | 26 | Mississippi; North Carolina; Mississippi | 11 | 5 |
| Al Sidorik | 49 | LOT-LDT-LOG-LB | 6-0 | 248 | 29 | Decatur JC; Mississippi State | 7 | 1 |
| Jack Simmons | 32 | LG | 6-4 | 236 | 24 | Detroit Mercy | 10 | 0 |
| Joe Smith | 56 | ROE-RDE | 6-1 | 198 | 26 | Schreiner Institute JC; Texas Tech | 12 | 1 |
| Jim Spruill | 46 | ROT-RDT | 6-3 | 225 | 25 | Rice | 14 | 4 |
| Ralph Stewart | 20/23 | LB-C | 6-0 | 205 | 23 | Missouri; Notre Dame; Missouri | 14 | 14 |
| Johnny Sylvester | 83/85 | ROH-RDH-LOH-LDH | 6-0 | 183 | 26 | Temple | 11 | 1 |
| Y.A. Tittle | 63 | QB | 6-0 | 182 | 22 | Louisiana State | 14 | 13 |
| Sammy Vacanti | 67 | S-QB | 5-10 | 202 | 26 | Iowa; Purdue; Nebraska | 4 | 0 |
| Johnny Vardian | 87 | ROH-RDH | 5-8 | 167 | 27 | none | 11 | 0 |
| Win Williams | 53 | ROE-LOE-DE | 6-2 | 185 | 25 | Rice; Louisiana-Lafayette; Rice | 14 | 2 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 2 | Bobby Layne | QB | Texas |
| 2 | 10 | Bill Garrett | T | Mississippi State |
| 3 | 12 | Earl Cook | G | Southern Methodist |
| 4 | 20 | Dan Sandifer | B | Louisiana State |
| 5 | 26 | Joe Smith | E | Texas Tech |
| 6 | 29 | Gene Ruszkowski | T | Ohio University |
| 7 | 35 | Jim Batchelor | B | Texas A&M-Commerce |
| 8 | 43 | Rex Olsen | B | Brigham Young |
| 9 | 47 | Aubrey Fowler | B | Arkansas |
| 10 | 55 | Jack Fitch | B | North Carolina |
| 11 | 59 | Don Ettinger | T | Kansas |
| 12 | 67 | Paul Redfield | T | Colgate |
| 13 | 75 | Stan Magdziak | B | William & Mary |
| 14 | 83 | Dick Deranek | B | Indiana |
| 15 | 91 | Dyke Norman | B | Washington & Lee |
| 16 | 99 | Dick Working | B | Washington & Lee |
| 17 | 107 | George Sparger | C | North Carolina |
| 18 | 115 | Rollin Prather | E | Kansas State |
| 19 | 123 | Norm Mosley | B | Alabama |
| 20 | 131 | Carmen Ragonese | B | New Hampshire |
| 21 | 139 | Bob Walker | B | Colorado Mines |
| 22 | 147 | Ray Borneman | B | Texas |
| 23 | 155 | Al Tillman | C | Oklahoma |
| 24 | 163 | Bob Pfohl | B | Purdue |
| 25 | 171 | Lou Levanti | C | Illinois |
| 26 | 179 | Sam Zatkoff | E | Illinois |
| 27 | 187 | Harry Jagade | B | Indiana |
| 28 | 195 | Ben Bendrick | B | Wisconsin |
| 29 | 203 | Rex Grossman | B | Indiana |
| 30 | 211 | Dick Reinking | E | Southern Methodist |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 77 | 68 | 87 | 101 | 333 |
| Opponents Totals | 71 | 93 | 56 | 107 | 327 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 218 | 120 | 84 | 14 | / % | / % | 84 | 743 | |
| Opponents Totals | 224 | 125 | 84 | 15 | / % | / % | 73 | 556 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Hillenbrand | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | ||
| Rex Grossman | 0 | 43 | 43 | 100.0 | 10 | 18 | 55.6 | 0 | 73 |
| Lamar Davis | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Bob Pfohl | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Bus Mertes | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Y.A. Tittle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Jake Leicht | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| John North | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Win Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Lu Gambino | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Charlie O'Rourke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Joe Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 43 | 43 | 43 | 100.0 | 10 | 18 | 55.6 | 1 | 333 |
| Opponents Totals | 46 | 43 | 46 | 93.5 | 2 | 11 | 18.2 | 1 | 327 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rex Grossman | 10 | 18 | 55.6 | 51 | 1/ | 4/ | 3/ | 1/ | 1/ | |
| Team Totals | 10 | 18 | 55.6 | 1/ | 4/ | 3/ | 1/ | 1/ | ||
| Opponents Totals | 2 | 11 | 18.2 | 1/ | 1/ | 0/ | 0/ | 0/ |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus Mertes | 155 | 680 | 4.4 | 4 | |
| Billy Hillenbrand | 100 | 510 | 5.1 | 7 | |
| Bob Pfohl | 107 | 455 | 4.3 | 4 | |
| Lu Gambino | 54 | 194 | 3.6 | 39t | 1 |
| Y.A. Tittle | 52 | 157 | 3.0 | 4 | |
| Jake Leicht | 20 | 88 | 4.4 | 1 | |
| Aubrey Fowler | 6 | 30 | 5.0 | 0 | |
| Lew Mayne | 14 | 26 | 1.9 | 0 | |
| Charlie O'Rourke | 7 | 15 | 2.1 | 1 | |
| Johnny Vardian | 6 | 13 | 2.2 | 0 | |
| Joe Smith | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Spiro Dellerba | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Rex Grossman | 8 | -3 | -0.4 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 532 | 2166 | 4.1 | 39 | 22 |
| Opponents Totals | 504 | 2522 | 5.0 | 54 | 21 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y.A. Tittle | 289 | 161 | 55.7 | 119 | 2522 | 8.7 | 15.7 | 80t | 16 | 5.5 | 9 | 3.1 | 90.3 | |||
| Charlie O'Rourke | 51 | 24 | 47.1 | 23 | 377 | 7.4 | 15.7 | 3 | 5.9 | 4 | 7.8 | 59.0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 340 | 185 | 54.4 | 142 | 2899 | 8.5 | 15.7 | 80t | 19 | 5.6 | 13 | 3.8 | 85.6 | |||
| Opponents Totals | 364 | 177 | 48.6 | 165 | 2438 | 6.7 | 13.8 | 70t | 23 | 6.3 | 22 | 6.0 | 66.4 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Hillenbrand | 50 | 970 | 19.4 | 78t | 6 |
| Lamar Davis | 41 | 765 | 18.7 | 80t | 7 |
| Win Williams | 32 | 360 | 11.3 | 2 | |
| Bob Pfohl | 13 | 134 | 10.3 | 1 | |
| Jake Leicht | 12 | 134 | 11.2 | 1 | |
| John North | 8 | 204 | 25.5 | 80t | 1 |
| Joe Smith | 8 | 131 | 16.4 | 1 | |
| Bus Mertes | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 0 | |
| Lu Gambino | 6 | 28 | 4.7 | 0 | |
| Johnny Vardian | 3 | 26 | 8.7 | 21 | 0 |
| Lew Mayne | 2 | 33 | 16.5 | 0 | |
| Hub Bechtol | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 14 | 0 |
| Bob Nowaskey | 1 | 31 | 31.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Ollie Poole | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 185 | 2899 | 15.7 | 80t | 19 |
| Opponents Totals | 177 | 2438 | 13.8 | 70 | 23 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Davis | 5 | 110 | 22.0 | 54 | 0 |
| Jake Leicht | 5 | 91 | 18.2 | 59 | 0 |
| Aubrey Fowler | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spiro Dellerba | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Rex Grossman | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 13 | 0 |
| John North | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Len McCormick | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Dick Barwegen | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Smith | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Sylvester | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 22 | 262 | 11.9 | 59 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 13 | 208 | 16.0 | 53 | 2 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie O'Rourke | 66 | 2546 | 38.6 | 76 | 1 | 318 | ||||
| Team Totals | 66 | 2546 | 38.6 | 76 | 1 | 318 | 33.8 | |||
| Opponents Totals | 58 | 0 | 597 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Hillenbrand | 18 | 231 | 12.8 | 0 | ||
| Jake Leicht | 8 | 139 | 17.4 | 0 | ||
| Bob Pfohl | 2 | 102 | 51.0 | 92t | 1 | |
| Aubrey Fowler | 4 | 41 | 10.3 | 0 | ||
| Johnny Vardian | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 | ||
| Lew Mayne | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Johnny Sylvester | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Lamar Davis | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 40 | 597 | 14.9 | 92t | 1 | |
| Opponents Totals | 31 | 318 | 10.3 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Pfohl | 17 | 366 | 21.5 | 0 | ||
| Billy Hillenbrand | 16 | 356 | 22.3 | 43 | 0 | |
| Jake Leicht | 4 | 83 | 20.8 | 0 | ||
| Johnny Vardian | 3 | 66 | 22.0 | 0 | ||
| Lew Mayne | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 0 | ||
| Lu Gambino | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 0 | ||
| Win Williams | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Aubrey Fowler | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Bus Mertes | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Spiro Dellerba | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Bill Garrett | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Hub Bechtol | 0 | 4 | 4L | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 52 | 1062 | 20.4 | 43 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 61 | 0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John North | 1 | ||||||
| Team Totals | 33 | 21 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 1 | |
| Opponents Totals | 30 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 0 |
| Player Deaths |
| NFL Boxscores |
| NFL Game Officials |
| NFL Training Camps |
| NFL Roster Limits |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Super Bowl Scores |
| Privacy Policy |
| ©2006-2025 Pro Football Archives. All Rights Reserved. |
| Last Updated: November 20, 2025 |