Benny Friedman Benjamin " Benny " Friedman ( March 18 , 1905 – November 24 , 1982 ) was an American football quarterback who played for the University of Michigan ( 1924 – 1926 ) , Cleveland Bulldogs ( 1927 ) , Detroit Wolverines ( 1928 ) , New York Giants ( 1929 – 1931 ) , and Brooklyn Dodgers ( 1932 – 1934 ) . He is generally considered the first great passer in professional football . In 1926 , Friedman earned the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award as the Big Ten MVP . In 2005 , Friedman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Playing career . Friedman became the starting quarterback and placekicker midway through his sophomore year at Michigan ( On defense , he played in the backfield ) . In 1925 and 1926 , he led the Wolverines to consecutive 7 – 1 seasons and first place finishes in the Big Ten Conference . Against Indiana in 1925 , Friedman accounted for 44 points , throwing for five touchdowns and kicking two field goal s and eight extra point s . The following year , he was a consensus first - team All - American and most valuable player of the Big Ten . In 1927 , Friedman joined his hometown Cleveland Bulldogs in the National Football League . After a successful rookie season in Cleveland , he had a spectacular second year playing for the Detroit Wolverines . In 1928 , Friedman led the NFL in passing touchdown s , rushing touchdowns and scoring as well as extra points ( He may have led in other categories , too , but the NFL did not record yardage stats in those days . ) Friedman ' s performance so impressed New York Giants owner Tim Mara that Mara bought the whole Wolverines team just so he could have the rights to the quarterback . With the Giants in 1929 , Friedman led the league again with 20 touchdown passes . Friedman ' s passing proficiency was especially noteworthy considering that most teams rarely threw the ball in those days . The football used at the time was rounder and more difficult to throw . Friedman called plays at the line of scrimmage and threw on first and second down , when most teams waited until third down . " Benny revolutionized football . He forced the defenses out of the dark ages . " George Halas later said . No NFL team would surpass 20 passing touchdowns in a season until 1942 . Friedman often experienced media bias because of his Jewishness , being referred to in the press by names like " Jew boy " and " descendant of Palestine " In 1931 , Friedman suffered a knee injury that hampered the rest of his career . He moved to the Brooklyn football Dodgers in 1932 as a player - coach while simultaneously serving as an assistant coach at Yale University . He led the league in completion percentage in 1933 and retired after the 1934 season . At the time of his retirement , he owned the NFL record for touchdown passes with 66 . Retirement . After leaving the Dodgers , Friedman coached City College of New York until 1941 . For decades afterward , the college ' s beaver mascot took on the moniker " Benny the Beaver . " He served in the Navy during World War II . He then moved to Brandeis University in Massachusetts , where he served as athletic director from 1949 to 1961 and head football coach from 1951 to 1959 , when the football team was disbanded as part of a cost - cutting effort . Friedman suffered from heart disease and diabetes in his later years , requiring a leg amputation in 1978 . Despondent over his health and inability to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame , he took his own life in 1982 . Despite his impressive numbers , Friedman was not chosen for the Hall of Fame until 2005 . Some people attributed this to his relentless self - promotion and campaigning for induction , which was considered bad form , while others attribute it to latent prejudice against him for his ethnic background . Friedman is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame , and of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame .