American football player
 Towler, circa 1953 | |||||||||
| No. 32 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Halfback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1928-03-06)March 6, 1928 Donora, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | August 1, 2001(2001-08-01) (aged 73) Pasadena, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Washington & Jefferson | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1950 / round: 25 / pick: 324 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Daniel Lee "Deacon" Towler (March 6, 1928 – August 1, 2001) was an American football player. He played in the National Football League (NFL) as a fullback for the Los Angeles Rams from 1950 through 1955. He was the NFL leading rusher in 1952 and ranked among the top four rushers each year from 1951 to 1954. He graduated from Washington & Jefferson College.
The football statistics website Football Nation calls Towler "the greatest running back you don't know," and "a bright, shining star who lit up the NFL for an oh-so-brief but spectacular three-year period unlike any before or since." "or a three-year period in the early 1950s," says Football Nation, "Towler was the closest thing the NFL has ever produced to an unstoppable ball carrier."
The Professional Football Researchers Association named Towler to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006.
After retiring from football, Towler was named pastor of the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church in Pasadena, California. He was also a chaplain at California State University, Los Angeles and president of the Los Angeles County Board of Education.
References
- "Dan Towler". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
- "Dan Towler". databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009.
- "Dan Towler". NFL All-Time Players. NFL Enterprises LLC.
- ^ Terrible Towler: the greatest RB you don't know
- "Hall of Very Good Class of 2006". Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- Dick Strite (August 7, 1957). "Highclimber". Eugene Guard. p. D1.
External links
Deacon Dan Towler Official website
| Los Angeles Rams 1950 NFL draft selections | |
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| Los Angeles Rams 1951 NFL champions | |
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| NFL annual rushing yards leaders (Jim Brown Award) | |
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| Starting in 2022, the rushing yards leader is officially given the Jim Brown Award |
- 1928 births
- 2001 deaths
- African-American Methodist clergy
- American Methodist clergy
- American football fullbacks
- California State University, Los Angeles people
- Los Angeles Rams players
- University and college chaplains in the United States
- Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players
- Western Conference Pro Bowl players
- People from Donora, Pennsylvania
- Players of American football from Washington County, Pennsylvania
- School board members in California
- 20th-century American clergy
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen