Sul Ross State University
A Member of the Texas State University System

"Slingin' Sammy" Baugh

Slingin’ Sammy Baugh dies at 94

Legendary collegiate and professional quarterback Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, who later lent his time and presence for Sul Ross State University scholarship opportunities, died Wednesday evening, Dec. 18. He was 94.

Baugh, an All-American at Texas Christian University and an All-Pro career with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League, died at Fisher County Hospital in Rotan, according to his son, David Baugh. He said his father had battled Alzheimer's disease and dementia for several years and recently had been ill with kidney problems, low blood pressure and double pneumonia.

He was the last surviving member of the inaugural class (1963) of the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

Baugh revolutionized professional football with his passing prowess, leading the league in passing six times and throwing 187 touchdown passes in a 16-year career with the Redskins (1937-52). He led the Redskins to five league championship games and titles in 1937 and 1942. In addition, he was a superb punter and defensive back, leading the NFL in punting, passing and passes intercepted in 1943. He once threw four touchdown passes and intercepted four opponents’ tosses in a single game, and twice completed six scoring strikes in a single contest.

Following his retirement, he coached at Hardin-Simmons University and with the fledgling New York Titans (now Jets) of the newly-formed American Football League. He lived and ranched on a 7,600-acre spread near Rotan for most of his adult life.

His friendship with Sul Ross alum Bob O’Day, then the golf coach at West Texas College in Snyder, led to his involvement with the Slingin’ Sammy Baugh Celebrity Golf Tournament. The tournament, organized by O’Day, the late Jesse Hatfield and other members of the Panhandle, Plains and Permian Basin Chapter of the Sul Ross Alumni Association, raised well over $100,000 in scholarships.

From 1999-2003, the tournament, held first in Colorado City and later in Snyder and Midland, attracted numerous former Texas collegiate and professional athletes and coaches. Among the participants included legendary coaches Darrell Royal, Bobby Knight and Spike Dykes, and former football stars Don Maynard, Bobby Joe Conrad, Ernie Holmes, E. J. Holub, Bake Turner, John David Crow, Charley Taylor, Elvin Bethea, Donny Anderson, Walt Garrison, Olympic sprinter Dean Smith and numerous other athletic standouts.
 
In 2002, Baugh was the recipient of the first Slingin’ Sammy Baugh Award for Outstanding Service to Sul Ross.

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.

Pictured left to right: Darrell Royal, Sammy Baugh, Walt Garrison, and Bob O'Day at the 1st Annual "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh Celebrity Tournament in Colorado City, TX. (1999) (Photo by Steve Lang)