Tobin Rote Tobin Cornelius Rote ( January 18 , 1928 – June 27 , 2000 ) was an American college and Professional Football player who played quarterback for the NFL ' s Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions , the Canadian Football League ' s Toronto Argonauts , and the American Football League ' s San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos . Early life . Rote attended Harlandale High School in San Antonio , Texas , graduating in 1946 . He was named " Most Athletic Boy " by his classmates . Collegiate career . Rote attended Rice University from 1946 – 49 , quarterbacking the Owls under the leadership of head coach Jess Neely . As a senior in 1949 , Rote led the Owls to a 10 – 1 season , capped by a 27 – 13 win over North Carolina in the Cotton Bowl . During the fourth game of the season against rival Southern Methodist that featured cousin Kyle Rote , he led the Owls back from a 14 – 0 deficit to a 41 – 27 win . The next week saw Rote lead a comeback against Texas , turning a 9 – 0 halftime deficit into a 17 – 15 win . With a flawless conference record , the Owls were named outright Southwest Conference champions for the third time . Career in Green Bay . The Green Bay Packers selected Rote in the second round ( 17th overall ) of the 1950 NFL Draft . He would spend a total of seven seasons in Wisconsin , leading the hapless Packers ' offense while the defense annually ranked among the league ' s worst . Besides his passing duties , Rote led the Packers in rushing yards three times and rushing touchdowns five times . During the span of his Green Bay career , Rote ranked 3rd in the NFL in passing touchdowns , trailing only Bobby Layne and Norm Van Brocklin . He also ranked 1st in the league in rushing yards by a quarterback and 2nd in touchdowns . 1956 Season . Rote ' s 1956 season ranks among the greatest in NFL history . On a 4 – 8 team , he led the league in passing yards ( by 294 ) , passing touchdowns ( his 18 being six more than Ted Marchibroda ' s 12 ) . In addition , his 11 rushing touchdowns were second in the league behind only those of Chicago ' s Rick Casares . His 29 total touchdowns were the highest single - season total in NFL history to date and the highest total in the era of the twelve - game schedule . The entire Packers ' offense outside of Rote accounted for just 5 touchdowns . Among quarterbacks , he led the league in pass completions , pass attempts , passing yards , passing touchdowns , rushing attempts , rushing yards , and rushing touchdowns . On to Detroit . After the 1956 season , Rote and defensive back Val Joe Walker were traded to the Detroit Lions for four players ( halfback Don McIlhenny , offensive tackles Ollie Spencer and Norm Masters , and offensive guard Jim Salsbury ) . Rote split time with Bobby Layne , although it was Rote who ended up with more passing touchdowns , fewer interceptions , more rushing yards , more rushing touchdowns , and a better won - lost record as a starter . Layne broke his leg late in the year , leaving Rote to guide the team to an NFL title . Detroit tied San Francisco for the division title , forcing a one - game playoff . Facing a 27 – 7 deficit in the third quarter , Rote led the Lions to a 31 – 27 comeback win and a date with the Cleveland Browns . In one of the greatest playoff performances in history , Rote led the Lions to a 59 – 14 thumping of the Browns . He completed 12 of 19 passes for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns , adding another touchdown on the ground . As for Green Bay , they averaged four points / game fewer than the year before in spite of the addition of future Hall of Famers Bart Starr and Paul Hornung . Layne was traded to Pittsburgh shortly into the 1958 season , leaving Rote to guide the aging and rapidly declining Lions . Rote would lead the team in rushing , making it the fourth time in his career that he did so ( an NFL record for quarterbacks ) . After a disastrous 1959 season , the Lions informed Rote that he would be released . Rather than retire , he headed north of the border to the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL . In the CFL . His three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts were quite eventful . He completed 662 of 1187 passes for 9 , 872 yards and 62 TDs . His 38 TD passes in 1960 was an all - time CFL record . In Rote ' s first season with the Argos he became the CFL ' s second quarterback to exceed 4 , 000 yards passing in a season with 4 , 247 . He also threw 38 touchdowns that season which was then a league record . Thanks to Rote ' s leadership the 10 – 4 – 0 Argonauts in 1960 accomplished something they had not done since 1937 : finish in first place . However they lost the conference final series to Ottawa Rough Riders who went on to win the Grey Cup . Rote ' s 108 yard pass to Jim Rountree in 1961 is still a team record , and in 1960 he threw 7 touchdown passes in a game twice , this being a CFL record at the time . Back to America . Looking for a quarterback to lead the team while a young John Hadl developed , the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League came calling . Rote was 35 years old at the time , but led the Chargers to an 11 – 3 record . For his part in directing the league ' s top offense , Rote was named first - team All - AFL and captured the Associated Press Player of the Year award . Proving that his 1957 performance was no fluke , he led the Chargers to a 51 – 10 win over the Boston Patriots in the championship game . Individually , he accounted for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 / 15 passing , plus another 15 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground . In 1964 , Hadl began receiving more playing time . The Chargers went from 11 – 3 to 8 – 5 – 1 and the offense fell from 1st in the AFL to 4th . Rote was the starter for the 1964 AFL Championship game against the Buffalo Bills , but neither he nor Hadl could do much against the swarming defense . Buffalo won 20 – 7 , and Rote announced his retirement . Death . On June 27 , 2000 , Tobin died from a heart attack .