Elmer Angsman Elmer Angsman ( December 11 , 1925 – April 11 , 2002 ) was an American football running back in the NFL . He was born on the south side of Chicago in 1925 , the son of Elmer and Helen Angsman . Elmer attended Mount Carmel High School and also starred for Notre Dame in college from 1943 to 1945 ( playing on the 1943 National Championship team and the College All - Star team that defeated the world champion Cleveland Rams . ) , played 7 seasons in the NFL , all with the Chicago Cardinals . After graduating from Notre Dame in three years with a degree in journalism Angsman was the youngest player ever drafted to play in the NFL at the age of 20 with the 16th overall pick of the 1946 draft . Angsman was part of Charles Bidwill ’ s " Dream Backfield " . Although Bidwill did not live to see it the talented corps that included Charlie Trippi , Paul Christman , Pat Harder , and Angsman would go on to achieve great success . In the 1947 NFL championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles , Angsman scored twice on runs of 70 yards each . The final touchdown , a run up the middle like the first against Eagle coach Greasy Neale ' s famed 5 - 2 - 4 defense , put the game out of reach . Angsman finished the game with 10 carries for 159 yards . His 15 . 9 yard per carry average is still an NFL post - season record ( 10 carries or more ) . The 1947 title was the Cardinal franchise ' s last championship . Don Paul , a former defensive back for the Cardinals and later the Cleveland Browns , once said " He was . . . A straight ahead north and south runner who would just as soon leave cleat marks on your balls as run around you . " Angsman and the Cardinals never reclaimed the glory of the 1947 championship season . In 1948 , Angsman led the Cardinals in rushing , with 412 yards and 7 touchdowns , and the Cards edged the Chicago Bears for the West Conference title . They met the Eagles once again in the 1948 title game now referred to as " The Blizzard Bowl " . The field was covered by snow and the entire game was played in a storm . The Cardinals running attack was greatly hampered and the Eagles star Steve Van Buren was the only player who could run effectively in the conditions . Angsman mustered only 33 yards on 10 carries . Only 5 passes were completed by both teams combined . Van Buren ' s 5 yard TD run in the fourth quarter was the only scoring as the Eagles won their first championship , 7 - 0 . The Cardinals ' visionary coach , Jimmy Conzelman , quit after the 1948 season and the Cardinals drifted into mediocrity . Angsman had his best season in 1949 with 674 yards rushing on 125 carries and 6 TDs . He , Pat Harder , and Charlie Trippi shared running duties and combined for 1674 yards and 16 TDs that year ( in comparison , Steve Van Buren set the NFL single season rushing record in 1949 with 1146 yards ) . However , the future of NFL success lay in dynamic passing attacks such as that possessed by the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns . Angsman ' s production fell off significantly in 1950 and 1951 , with 363 and 380 yards , respectively , and an average under 3 . 5 yards per carry . By 1952 , with stunning rookie halfback Ollie Matson joining the club , Angsman was relegated to a seldom - used backup role . He retired after the 1952 season at age 27 . He finished with career statistics of 683 carries , 2908 yards ( 4 . 3 avg ) , and 27 touchdowns . He caught 41 passes for 654 yards and 5 touchdowns . Angsman was selected to the 1950 Pro Bowl . After his NFL career , Angsman was a color commentator for ABC and later NBC calling college and pro games most notably the 1968 Sugar Bowl . He is a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame . Angsman owned various companies after commentating finding success in paper manufacturing and eventually retiring to Juno Beach , Florida . In April 2002 , Elmer Angsman died of a heart attack while playing golf with lifelong friends . He is survived by wife - Diane Angsman , son - John Angsman , grandchildren - Jim Angsman , Jeff Angsman , Jackie Angsman , Jay Angsman , Joe Angsman