Bob Waterfield Robert Stanton " Bob " Waterfield ( July 26 , 1920 – March 25 , 1983 ) was an American football player , a hall of fame quarterback in the National Football League . Early Years . Born in Elmira , New York , Waterfield grew up in southern California in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles . He attended Van Nuys High School , in Van Nuys and went on to play college football for UCLA . He led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship in 1942 and a berth in the 1943 Rose Bowl against the University of Georgia . The game was scoreless into the fourth quarter until Waterfield ' s punt was blocked for a safety . Georgia added a touchdown to post a 9 - 0 win . Waterfield entered the U . S . Army in 1943 and while in the service he was selected with the 42nd overall pick of the 1944 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams . He was discharged from the military due to a knee injury and returned college and played for UCLA in 1944 . Pro Football . His rookie year in professional football was in 1945 and he started immediately . Waterfield was taken in quickly by fans , becoming the first ever rookie to win the league ’ s Most Valuable Player and unanimous All - NFL choice . He ended the season with a win in the NFL Championship game , where he threw touchdown passes of 37 and 44 yards as the Rams beat the Washington Redskins 15 - 14 . After the season , he signed a three - year contract for $ 20 , 000 per year , which made him the highest - paid player in pro football . In 1946 , the Rams moved to Los Angeles , California , where Waterfield became the star on the West Coast ' s first major professional franchise . He would later split time at quarterback with Norm Van Brocklin , who joined the team as a rookie in 1949 . Behind this duo , Los Angeles played in three straight title games , 1949 - 1951 . Runners - up in the first two , the Rams regained the league title in the 1951 championship game with a 24 - 17 win over the Cleveland Browns . It was the Rams ' only league title during their 49 seasons in southern California ( 1946 – 94 ) . In a 1948 regular season game , the Rams were behind the to - be - champion Philadelphia Eagles 28 - 0 . Waterfield managed to rally the team for a tie on four late touchdown passes . In the 1950 divisional playoffs , he was unable to practice due to a severe flu he had endured . However , he came off the bench anyway and threw three touchdown passes in a 24 - 14 win over the Chicago Bears . In his first four seasons , he also played defense and intercepted a career total of 20 passes . As a place kicker , he had 315 successful PATs and 60 field goals , and as a punter , had a 42 . 4 yard average . While an accomplished kicker and punter , Waterfield was best known for his ability to throw the deep ball . He led the NFL in passing in the 1946 and 1951 seasons , and ended his eight - year career with 814 completions , 11 , 849 yards and 97 touchdowns . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the third class in 1965 . Coach and scout . After several years in the film industry , Waterfield was hired as the Rams ' head coach in 1960 . After two seasons with four wins each , the third season in 1962 was even less successful and he resigned after the eighth game with just one win ; his overall record was 9 - 24 - 1 ( . 289 ) . He was later a team scout and a rancher near Van Nuys . Personal life . On April 24 , 1943 , he married actress Jane Russell , whom he had known from Van Nuys High School . The couple eloped to Las Vegas shortly after Waterfield entered the military . They adopted three children during the 1950s . Russell divorced Waterfield in 1968 . He married Janet Ann Green in 1970 . Death . After an extended illness , Waterfield died of respiratory failure on March 25 , 1983 , at the age of 62 . He had been in the intensive care unit at St . Joseph Medical Center in Burbank for two weeks prior to his death .