Sport: Baugh's Backfire

When an important man slips on a banana peel, he looks more ridiculous than a little fellow. That's what happened to Sammy Baugh this week. Pro football's greatest passer faded behind his goal line, cocked his arm for a risky pass. The ball hit a goal post, bounced back into the end-zone for a safety and a two-point deficit. That deficit cost the Washington Redskins the world's pro football championship.

Sammy's backfire was due partly to the paralyzing cold in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, mostly to an old side injury. Into his shoes jumped standby quarterback, Frank Filchock, to pitch two touchdown passes. But the damage had been done.

The rival Cleveland Rams had their own steamed-up passer, Bob Waterfield, whom not even near-zero weather could cool off. Besides his ball-handling magic and coffin-corner kicks, Quarterback Bob threw passes all afternoon, completed 14 of 27, two of them for the touchdowns that put the Rams on the championship end of a 15-14 score.

The Rams, Redskins and the rest of the National Football League would now move indoors for a front-office fight with the newly created and rival All-America Conference. Last week, the All-Americas considered New Orleans for a tenth city on their coast-to-coast circuit, admitted giving ex-National Leaguer (and part-owner of Yankee Stadium) Dan Topping $100,000 to join their fold, promised to raid National League player rosters.

Just ahead loomed sport's biggest battle of bankrolls since the old Federal League fought it out with the baseball majors a generation ago.