Strong Arm Tactics:
A
History
and Statistical Analysis of the Professional Quarterback
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Strong Arm Tactics: A |
The World Football League
In 1974, the World Football League started up with much fanfare, signing stars away from the NFL for big contracts - most of which were never fulfilled. NFL quarterbacks who jumped to the WFL included Daryle Lamonica, George Mira and Virgil Carter. Within two years, the badly planned and under capitalized WFL was bankrupt and kaput. The WFL, though, gave future NFL quarterbacks Danny White, Gary Danielson, Pat Haden and Johnny Walton a start in professional football. Walton was one of six black quarterbacks given a shot in the WFL. Three others, Dave Mays, Reggie Oliver and Matthew Reed, later surfaced in the CFL; the last two were Eddie McAshen and D.C. Nobles. This table lists the leading passers for the two-year WFL.
WFL Quarterbacks, by rating
| Quarterback | Years | Attempts | Comp | % | Yards | Y/Att | TD | Int | Rating |
| Dennis Dummit | 1974 | 5 | 4 | 80.0% | 72 | 14.4 | 2 | 0 | 158.3 |
| Pat Haden | 1975 | 163 | 98 | 60.1% | 1404 | 8.6 | 11 | 9 | 87.6 |
| Gary Valbuena | 1974 | 75 | 39 | 52.0% | 650 | 8.7 | 6 | 4 | 86.0 |
| Virgil Carter | 1974 | 358 | 195 | 54.5% | 2634 | 7.4 | 27 | 16 | 84.6 |
| John Huarte | 1974-75 | 373 | 192 | 51.5% | 2966 | 8.0 | 28 | 18 | 83.0 |
| Tony Adams | 1974 | 510 | 276 | 54.1% | 3905 | 7.7 | 23 | 18 | 79.4 |
| Jim Ettinger | 1974-75 | 21 | 11 | 52.4% | 182 | 8.7 | 1 | 1 | 77.9 |
| Danny White | 1974-75 | 350 | 183 | 52.3% | 2635 | 7.5 | 21 | 17 | 76.8 |
| Randy Johnson | 1974 | 197 | 113 | 57.4% | 1368 | 6.9 | 11 | 11 | 74.2 |
| Don Horn | 1975 | 272 | 158 | 58.1% | 1742 | 6.4 | 11 | 12 | 72.3 |
| Bruce Shaw | 1974 | 17 | 7 | 41.2% | 66 | 3.9 | 1 | 0 | 72.2 |
| Edd Hargett | 1974-75 | 398 | 209 | 52.5% | 2663 | 6.7 | 20 | 18 | 71.6 |
| Dave Mays | 1974 | 174 | 98 | 56.3% | 997 | 5.7 | 5 | 5 | 70.5 |
| George Mira | 1974-75 | 567 | 278 | 49.0% | 3923 | 6.9 | 29 | 26 | 69.7 |
| Don Van Galder | 1974 | 21 | 13 | 61.9% | 77 | 3.7 | 0 | 0 | 68.9 |
| Norris Weese | 1974 | 280 | 142 | 50.7% | 1847 | 6.6 | 14 | 14 | 67.7 |
| Frank DiMaggio | 1974 | 27 | 11 | 40.7% | 240 | 8.9 | 2 | 2 | 66.9 |
| Bob Davis | 1974-75 | 608 | 322 | 53.0% | 4193 | 6.9 | 28 | 35 | 66.3 |
| Bill Donckers | 1974 | 8 | 4 | 50.0% | 41 | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 65.1 |
| King Corcoran | 1974-75 | 645 | 325 | 50.4% | 4072 | 6.3 | 34 | 36 | 64.7 |
| Johnnie Walton | 1975 | 338 | 167 | 49.4% | 2405 | 7.1 | 19 | 22 | 64.5 |
| Tom Sherman | 1974-75 | 555 | 268 | 48.3% | 3689 | 6.6 | 22 | 25 | 64.5 |
| Reggie Oliver | 1974 | 198 | 101 | 51.0% | 1415 | 7.1 | 7 | 12 | 60.9 |
| Gary Danielson | 1974-75 | 75 | 37 | 49.3% | 412 | 5.5 | 1 | 2 | 59.4 |
| Mike Taliaferro | 1974 | 143 | 74 | 51.7% | 853 | 6.0 | 5 | 8 | 58.4 |
| Eddie McAshan | 1974 | 14 | 5 | 35.7 | 88 | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 58.0 |
| Sonny Sixkiller | 1975 | 144 | 72 | 50.0% | 799 | 5.5 | 7 | 9 | 57.0 |
| Bubba Wyche | 1974 | 384 | 195 | 50.8% | 2371 | 6.2 | 11 | 22 | 55.8 |
| John Stofa | 1974 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% | 24 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 55.4 |
| Pete Beathard | 1974-75 | 381 | 188 | 49.3% | 2133 | 5.6 | 9 | 18 | 54.7 |
| Mike Ernst | 1975 | 157 | 84 | 53.5% | 1013 | 6.5 | 5 | 12 | 52.3 |
| Greg Barton | 1974 | 165 | 78 | 47.3% | 820 | 5.0 | 6 | 10 | 49.1 |
| Jerry Tagge | 1975 | 34 | 18 | 52.9% | 265 | 7.8 | 1 | 5 | 48.9 |
| Rick Cassata | 1975 | 97 | 45 | 46.4% | 505 | 5.2 | 6 | 8 | 48.7 |
| David Fowler | 1975 | 42 | 18 | 42.9% | 225 | 5.4 | 1 | 2 | 48.2 |
| Leo Hart | 1974 | 37 | 12 | 32.4% | 176 | 4.8 | 1 | 1 | 46.7 |
| Milt Holt | 1975 | 16 | 5 | 31.3% | 91 | 5.7 | 1 | 1 | 46.6 |
| D.C. Nobles | 1974-75 | 172 | 77 | 44.8% | 996 | 5.8 | 8 | 14 | 45.1 |
| Matthew Reed | 1975 | 208 | 81 | 38.9% | 1252 | 6.0 | 4 | 11 | 44.0 |
| Don Trull | 1974 | 31 | 16 | 51.6% | 117 | 3.8 | 2 | 4 | 42.7 |
| Denny Duron | 1974-75 | 66 | 29 | 43.9% | 494 | 7.5 | 2 | 6 | 42.1 |
| Kay Stephenson | 1974 | 149 | 68 | 45.6% | 815 | 5.5 | 4 | 11 | 41.1 |
| Jim Ousley | 1974-75 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| Rousell Williams | 1975 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| Daryle Lamonica | 1975 | 19 | 9 | 47.4% | 90 | 4.7 | 1 | 3 | 39.3 |
| Jim Fassell | 1974-75 | 39 | 16 | 41.0% | 205 | 5.3 | 0 | 4 | 36.0 |
| Ken Johnson | 1974 | 55 | 22 | 40.0% | 313 | 5.7 | 1 | 4 | 34.9 |
| Brian Dowling | 1974-75 | 93 | 44 | 47.3% | 523 | 5.6 | 2 | 11 | 32.5 |
| Buddy Palazzo | 1974 | 5 | 3 | 60.0% | 23 | 4.6 | 0 | 1 | 31.7 |
| Bill Cappleman | 1974 | 112 | 44 | 39.3% | 650 | 5.8 | 4 | 11 | 31.3 |
| Wayne Estabrook | 1974-75 | 61 | 20 | 32.8% | 228 | 3.7 | 1 | 4 | 23.1 |
| Eric Guthrie | 1974 | 21 | 7 | 33.3% | 79 | 3.8 | 1 | 2 | 21.8 |
| Harry Theofiledes | 1974 | 17 | 6 | 35.3% | 32 | 1.9 | 0 | 1 | 19.5 |
| Mike Yancheff | 1974 | 15 | 5 | 33.3% | 104 | 6.9 | 0 | 6 | 19.2 |
| Maurie Dagineau | 1974 | 9 | 4 | 44.4% | 17 | 1.9 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 |
| Eddie Crone | 1974 | 10 | 4 | 40.0% | 34 | 3.4 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 |
