Cecil Isbell Cecil Frank Isbell ( July 11 , 1915 – June 23 , 1985 ) was an American football player and coach . He played college football as a halfback at Purdue University from 1935 to 1937 . The Green Bay Packers selected Isbell in the first round of the 1938 NFL Draft . He played with Green Bay from 1938 to 1942 and was best known for passing to Don Hutson . Isbell led the Packers to the NFL Championship in 1939 . After retiring from playing , Isbell served as the head football coach at his alma mater , Purdue , for three seasons from 1944 to 1946 , compiling a record of 14 – 14 – 1 . He then coached the Baltimore Colts of the All - America Football Conference from 1947 to 1949 , and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League for two games in 1951 , tallying a career professional coaching record of 10 – 23 – 1 . Isbell was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1967 . Early life and college playing career . Isbell was born in Houston , Texas , the second son of Adger and Sarah Isbell . His older brother Cody was also a football player for Purdue . Cecil also had two younger brothers who played college football , " Dub " Isbell at Rice University and Larry Isbell at Baylor University . Cecil attended Sam Houston High School in Houston . Cecil played for Purdue from 1935 through 1937 . He was voted the Boilermakers ' most valuable player for the 1937 season . In the summer of 1938 , he led the College All - Stars to victory over the NFL champion Washington Redskins at Soldier Field in Chicago . Isbell was named the game ' s MVP as the All - Stars prevailed , 28 – 16 . NFL playing career . Isbell was drafted in the first round of the 1938 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers . When he arrived in Green Bay , the Packers already had an All - Pro tailback , Arnie Herber . who had led the Packers to the NFL Championship in 1936 . Coach Curly Lambeau alternated Isbell and Herber and occasionally used them in the same backfield , with Isbell at halfback . This " platooning " allowed Isbell to learn Lambeau ' s offense , the Notre Dame Box . Isbell was a very accurate passer and a good runner and he led the Packers in rushing and passing in his rookie year . The Packers came in first in the West and faced the New York Giants in the championship game . Isbell rushed 11 times for 20 yards and was 3 of 5 passing for 91 yards , but the Giants prevailed , 23 – 17 . In 1939 , the Packers used the same attack and again Isbell led the team in rushing while catching 9 passes as well . The Packers finished in first again and faced New York in a rematch from the year before . This time the Packers crushed the Giants , 27 – 0 , with Isbell throwing a 27 yard touchdown . From 1940 to 1942 , the Packers finished second in the West to the Chicago Bears each year . Isbell became a more accomplished passer during this time , connecting regularly with Don Hutson in record - setting frequency . In 1941 , Isbell set an NFL record for yards passing with 1479 and led the league in completion percentage ( 56 . 8 % ) and touchdown passes with 15 ( 10 to Hutson ) . The Packers finished the season tied with Chicago but lost to the Bears in a divisional playoff , 33 – 14 . In 1942 , Isbell surpassed his own record with 2021 yards passing and set a new record with 24 touchdown passes . Hutson also set NFL records with 74 receptions , 1211 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns ( Hutson ' s touchdown mark was matched by Elroy Hirsch in 1951 and stood until 1984 ) . Still , the Packers finished second to Chicago , who were 11 – 0 in the regular season . After the 1942 season , Isbell quit the NFL to coach at Purdue . Isbell made it clear he wanted to quit while he was still on top of his game and not be pushed out after getting old and slow , as he had seen happen to other players . He finished with 5945 yards passing , 61 touchdowns , and 52 interceptions . Had he continued to play , he would have probably been considered one of the top passers of his day , right alongside Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman . Coaching career . Isbell started out at Purdue as an assistant coach and took over as head coach in 1944 . He coached there for three years with a 14 – 14 – 1 record . In 1947 , he became a pro coach for the Baltimore Colts in the All - America Football Conference . He coached for 2½ years , never with much success . He was finally fired in 1949 after winning only 10 games . His one claim to fame from those years in the AAFC was he was the first coach of Y . A . Tittle , who went on to great success in the NFL . After a few more years as an assistant coach in the NFL , Isbell quit football for business in the mid 1950s . Honors and death . Isbell was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967 . On June 23 , 1985 , Isbell died in Hammond , Indiana .