Worst RBs/WRs with a 1000 yard season?

[JameisBrownston]

Bob Mann had a memorable season catching passes for the Detroit Lions in 1949. Instead of letting his career flourish, the team tries to undercut him and ask him to take a paycut. He refuses and is traded to the the New York Yanks. The trade turns out great for a new leader at QB for the Lions but Mann goes from a productive season as the NFL's first black 1000 yard receiver to looking for a job. Mann ends up signing with a bad team from Green Bay who embraces him while he never can get his career momentum back. His ability helps the team become more exciting during the years 51-53 but injuries end his career early.

The Lions of course benefit from this lopsided trade that could have been mentioned on other threads, yet Lions fans need to know that without the possible worst circumstances happening to Bob Mann --other than serious injury-- their 50s championship aspirations might not have ever happened.

Definitely one I'd call a good player, just unlucky in multiple ways. Far from deserving of this thread. Why did Mann never play for the Yanks?

[Brian wolf]

According to Mann, who sued the NFL, he was blackballed out of the league. The Yanks were ordered by their coach not to utilize him and he was subsequently cut from the squad which was stupid. He didnt sign again until later during the 1950 season. The league and Bert Bell, may have secretly asked a lousy Packers team to sign him to end his lawsuit, which happened.

Though he felt the Packers were good to him, imagine him staying in Detroit and catching passes from Layne but the team had to send him to NY as payment because the player Layne was traded for, a fullback named Camp Wilson, refused to report. Mann also lost his job in Detroit for a brewing company, in which the Lions, whose team president, Edwin Anderson, had an ownership stake and mistakenly felt Mann led a boycott of the label. A damn double whammy. Not the worst player with a thousand yard season but went through some of the worst circumstances.

Art Powell would help change things for the better for black players during the 60s.

[rhickok1109]

According to Mann, who sued the NFL, he was blackballed out of the league. The Yanks were ordered by their coach not to utilize him and he was subsequently cut from the squad which was stupid. He didnt sign again until later during the 1950 season. The league and Bert Bell, may have secretly asked a lousy Packers team to sign him to end his lawsuit, which happened.

Though he felt the Packers were good to him, imagine him staying in Detroit and catching passes from Layne but the team had to send him to NY as payment because the player Layne was traded for, a fullback named Camp Wilson, refused to report. Mann also lost his job in Detroit for a brewing company, in which the Lions, whose team president, Edwin Anderson, had an ownership stake and mistakenly felt Mann led a boycott of the label. A damn double whammy. Not the worst player with a thousand yard season but went through some of the worst circumstances.

Art Powell would help change things for the better for black players during the 60s.

Mann was definitely blackballed, as I know from a conversation between Jack Vainisi and my dad, who became friends in occupied Tokyo, four years before Vainisi came to Green Bay.
Vainisi spent most of the 1950 season trying to talk Gene Ronzani into signing Mann and Ronzani finally did it because the blacklist would expire at the end of the season and any NFL team would be free to sign him. The Packers acted in defiance of the blacklist, not at the league's behest.
More than 2 years ago, I submitted an article about all this to the Coffin Corner but for some reason it hasn't been published yet.

[Gary Najman]

Thurman Thomas and Frank Gore had knee concerns coming out of college but their NFL careers werent bad ...

I'm convinced that, usually, trying to predict injuries from previous injuries is like trying to predict the next spin of a slot machine from its previous spins. The exceptions are when a guy keeps injuring the same part over and over or is Jimmy Garoppolo.

LenDale White

That's another topic: worst players with a 10 TD season. White had 15!

David Sims led the NFL with 15 TDs (14 of them rushing) in 1978. He only played 3 games after that.

[Gary Najman]

While I'm consider him a good player and he was a two-time Pro Bowler, I'm surprised than Sammy Winder never had a season of 4 ypc. Almost the same with James Wilder, who he was very good (especially in 1984-1985), but also had a low career ypc.

[NWebster]

Earnest Jackson was released after a 1000 yard season for the Eagles in 1985. He'd already been traded from the Chargers. His Eagles season had only 3.6 YPC and he wasn't much as a receiver.

I don't know what happened with Paul Robinson. He ran pretty well down the stretch for the Bengals in 1970. I guess they just liked Essex Johnson and Fred Willis better. Willis and Robinson ended up teaming up in Houston. Robinson got benched there too, then ran for 100 in his last NFL game, against the Bengals. Johnson and Boobie Clark missed going over 1000 in that game.

Earnest would probably have had 1k for three different teams in 3 consecutive seasons were it not for missing three games for the Steelers in '86. He fell just 90 yards shy despite playing in only 13 games.

[Brian wolf]

Thanks for the info on Mann, Ralph. Just another reason why I would rather see Vainisi in the HOF over other contributors.

[Brian wolf]

Getting back to Bob Mann, you have to wonder if the Lions purposely low-balled him to keep any present or future black players in line? Maybe they felt employing him during the offseason to a brewery owned by a Detroit executive would be thorough compensation but he was determined to get proper football payment.

[Brian wolf]

Steve Owens had an injury-plagued career as well after playing well in 1971 for the Lions.

Tony Reed had a similar career with KC as a runner without the Heisman Trophy. A good second year in 1978 before succumbing to injuries.

[sheajets]

The Bears James Allen. One random 1,100 yard season in 2000. His other 4 years in the league were nothing special

Another Bear I'm thinking of is Raymont Harris - 1,033 yards in 1997 with a 3.8 ypc, and 10 TDs; less than 1,500 yards with a 3.7 ypc and 6 TDs in another six seasons combined.

Interesting, had no idea myself he ever got to 1,000 yards.