Chicago Bears Quarterbacks: Top 10 All-Time
#5 All-Time Bears QB, Ed Brown
With the 68th pick in the sixth round of the 1952 draft, Charles Edward (Ed) Brown was selected by George Halas and the Chicago Bears but wasn’t on the team until 1954 as he spent the next two years with the Marines. Upon rejoining the Bears, Brown was relegated to 3rd-string duty and didn’t see any action that first year. In 1955, however, Brown became the starting QB and began to make an impact as he threw for 1,307 yards and led the Bears to an 8-4 record and second-place finish behind the LA Rams.
In 1956 Brown played his best season with the Bears, leading them all the way to the championship game against the New York Giants. Brown and the Bears were hammered by the Giants on an icy field and lost convincingly 47-7, but Brown’s regular season numbers were noteworthy. He guided the team to a record of 9-2-1 while completing 96 of 168 passes (57.1%) for a league-leading 1,667 yards on 9.9 yards per attempt.
Brown specialized in the deep ball, something that wasn’t seen nearly as often back then as it is now, and the result was often a high number of INTs to go with the passing yards and TDs he accumulated. Despite the mixed results, Brown’s style of play was ahead of its time. Before moving on to #4, here is a rundown of Brown’s accomplishments with the Bears:
- 4th-winningest QB in team history (41-25)
- 5th most rushing yards by a QB in team history (841)
- 6th most passing TDs in team history (63)
- 7th most passing yards in team history (9,698)
Next: #4: Fiery Competitor