Teams
- New York Giants (1948-1961)
Accolades
- NFL Champion (1956)
- 2x Pro Bowl (1950, 1956)
- Second-Team All-Pro (1959)
- Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL MVP (1959)
“Charlie is the best player who is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He has better numbers than some quarterbacks who are there.”
—Wellington Mara, Former Owner, New York Giants (source)
Charlie Conerly is a name seemingly all but lost to the annals of football history. But if a guy named Johnny Unitas had never come along, we might actually be talking about Charlie Conerly as one of the great quarterbacks in league history. More on that later. Along with running back Frank Gifford, Conerly helped run the offense of the dominant team in the Eastern Conference during the late 1950s and is one of the truly great quarterbacks for the New York Giants, one of pro football’s oldest and most-storied franchises.
Mississippi native Charlie Conerly was taken in the 13th round of the 1945 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Instead of heading straight to the NFL though, he elected to continue his education at Ole Miss before being traded to the New York Giants before the 1948 season. He would be the primary signal caller for the mostly-unremarkable G-Men in ’48 and ’49. In 1950, he would share some quarterbacking duties with Travis Tidwell. Together they would lead the 10-2 Giants to a first place tie in the American Division with new AAFL carryovers, the Cleveland Browns. In a playoff match-up between the two for the right to play in the NFL Championship Game, the Browns would emerge as the victors 8-3. As the primary starter, Conerly would struggle in a 3-for-12 performance for 48 yards and two interceptions (for his part, Tidwell went 0-for-3). It was an unceremonious finish to an otherwise outstanding year.
Despite having the most interceptions per attempt in the league, Conerly would lead the Giants to a 9-2-1 year in 1951. But with Cleveland going 11-1, the Giants fell short of an NFL Championship Game appearance. In a strange reversal of the previous year, the Giants would regress in 1952 while Conerly would improve. He would have the league’s best touchdowns per attempt ratio (7.7%), and his interceptions per attempt would be nearly halved. But New York would go 7-5 in spite of a 3-0 start, and finish one game behind Cleveland for the American Division title. But in 1953, it began to start falling apart. Conerly’s 13 TD passes were countered by a league-worst 25 INTs. Giants fandom was beginning to get fed up, holding signs like “Goodbye, Charlie” and “Get a New Quarterback” at games.
Instead of giving up on Charlie Conerly in 1954, new Head Coach Jim Lee Howell invested in the man by bringing in former Army assistant coach Vince Lombardi to serve as offensive coordinator. Howell would also invest in the defense as well, bringing in Tom Landry to serve as D-Coordinator. The Giants bounced back to 7-5 in what would be Conerly’s best season since his rookie campaign. His 17 TD passes and 8.1% TD rate were both second-best in the league, while his 5.2% interception rate was fourth. He would share quarterbacking duties with his back-up, Don Heinrich, in 1955. Both would perform similarly, throwing TDs and INTs in equal measure and with passer ratings within a half-point of each other (although Conerly’s was slightly better). The Giants would finish 6-5-1.
The 1956 season saw the New York Giants finally emerge. While Conerly took two-thirds of the snaps that season, he outplayed Heinrich during his appearances. Previously struggling with interceptions, Conerly would be the league’s best with a 4.0% interception per attempt rate. His 75.0 passer rating trailed only the Bears’ Ed Brown for tops in the league. Most importantly, at 8-3-1, the Giants were back in their first NFL Championship Game in ten years, when they lost to the Chicago Bears 24-14. Their opponent in ’56 was, coincidentally, George Halas’ Bears. It was a chance to avenge the loss from a decade prior, and for Conerly to show that he, not Chicago’s Brown, was the league’s best QB. The game was an absolute blow-out. In the 47-7 triumph, Conerly would go 7-for-10 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. His 152.1 passer rating remains the best passer rating in an NFL Championship Game/Super Bowl in league history, and the eighth-best in postseason history. Three years after being booed off the Polo Grounds by his own fans, Charlie Conerly was now an NFL champion.
The 1957 season was a disappointing setback for the Giants. Despite a 7-2 start, they would drop their final three to a 7-5 finish. Conerly went back to taking the bulk of snaps over Heinrich, finishing third in the NFL in completion percentage and interception rate. But the Giants would bounce back tremendously in 1958. After a 5-3 start, they would win out and claim a share of the NFL East crown. Conerly would again share some playing time with Heinrich, putting up slightly better numbers. With an NFC Championship Game berth on the line, the Giants would shut out the Browns 10-0. While Heinrich would struggle at 1-for-7 for 31 yards and two INTs, Conerly would perform well. He went 7-for-11 for 75 yards and a game-deciding 10-yard TD rush in the first quarter. It was on to the 1958 NFL Championship. A game that would become perhaps the most important game in league history.
The Giants were the hosts for the 1958 title game at Yankee Stadium. Their opponents were an emerging power in the Baltimore Colts, led by a talented Coach in Weeb Eubank, and a stud at QB named Johnny Unitas. Down 14-10 in the fourth quarter, Conerly would connect with Frank Gifford on a 15-yard TD pass to put the Giants up three. A national television audience tuned to the thrilling final two minutes, as Unitas connected on four mid-range passes to get into field goal range. Steve Myrah’s 20-yard kick was true, sending the NFL Championship Game to sudden death overtime for the first time in league history. Conerly and the Giants had the first shot, but were forced into a punt. Then Unitas would drive the Colts up-field 80 yards for the game-winning hand-off to Alan Ameche. Charlie Conerly had been outstanding, going 10-for-14 for 187 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. But Unitas and the Colts were the champs.
In 1959, the Giants were out for revenge. Charlie Conerly would have, by far, his best season. His 102.7 passer rating was ten points higher than second-place Unitas. He easily had the league’s best INT rate, a miniscule (for the time) 2.1%. He also led the league in yards per attempt (8.8) and yards per completion (15.1). Conerly and the Giants would have the league’s best record at 10-2, and he would split MVP accolades among various entities with Unitas. There was only one way to solve who was truly the league’s best, and that was on the field. And so, the Giants and Colts had their rematch for the NFL championship, this time in Baltimore, on December 27, 1959. For three quarters, Conerly and the G-Men would get close to the end zone, but couldn’t punch it in, resulting in three Pat Summerall field goals. It was still enough for a 9-7 lead going into the fourth. But that was when Unitas would take over, scoring both a rushing and passing TD. A defensive touchdown and field goal later, the Colts were up 31-9. Conerly would throw a 32-yard TD pass late in the game, but by then it was too late: Colts 31, Giants 16. He would pass for 226 yards and a touchdown, but be hampered by two interceptions in the tough finish to a great season.
At the beginning of the 1960 season, Charlie Conerly was already 39 years of age. Vince Lombardi had moved on to coach the Green Bay Packers, while Tom Landry left to lead the expansion Dallas Cowboys. The Giants would be a solid 6-4-2 in ’60, but only good enough for third place in the NFL East. But in ’61, under new Head Coach Allie Sherman, they would go 10-3-1 and win the East. By this point, 40-year old Conerly was backing up new Giants starter Y.A. Tittle. In the NFL Championship Game, New York faced Lombardi and his Packers. They would eat the Giants alive, 37-0. Conerly would come in for an ineffective Tittle, putting up a fine 4-for-8 for 54 yards in the loss. It would be Conerly’s last as he would fade into the sunset, holding virtually every Giants passing record.
Charlie Conerly had a splendid NFL career. When it looked like it was over in 1953, and that he would become nothing more than footnote in league history, Jim Lee Howell and Vince Lombardi would come along and turn him from an afterthought into one of pro football’s premier players. He would play in three NFL Championship Games, winning one (and nearly winning them all). He was mostly terrific in those games too, save for two interceptions in the 1959 game. And all this was in his late 30s, the twilight of most quarterbacks’ careers. After his playing days, he found continued fame as The Marlboro Man. Although virtually unknown to younger generations of football fans, he was a seven-time Hall of Fame finalist throughout the ‘70s and early ‘80s. At this point, it doesn’t look like a bust in Canton is in the cards. But football fans during the 1950s will always recognize Charlie Conerly as one of the best signal callers that the game had to offer.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 0.082 | -0.131 | -0.050 | 0.102 | -0.034 | 0.011 | 0.072 | 0.053 |
| Playoffs | -0.056 | -0.164 | -0.127 | 0.278 | 0.270 | 0.045 | 0.005 | 0.182 |
Longevity Bonus = 2.1 Title Bonus = 0.5
Index Score = 3.407 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 155)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 18th | 154th | 126th | 26th | 127th | 77th | 31st | 50th |
| Playoffs | T-98th | 131st | 118th | 5th | 6th | 38th | 51st | 16th |
Note: Charlie Conerly threw 604 passes from 1948-1949. As this study only encompasses NFL/AFL quarterbacking since 1950, those seasons are not taken into account.
Why is he on the Top 50 list?
The big assists to Conerly, and deservedly so, are the bonus points for longevity (2.1) and the 1956 NFL title (0.5). Still, he was one of the league’s great winners, finishing 18th in terms of win-loss deviation and helping guide three Giants teams to NFL title games over four years. Even though he didn’t throw the ball often, he made it count, finishing 31st in terms of TDs per attempt. He also became one of the league’s most dependable passers, and finished 26th in terms of fewest total turnovers per game, and 50th in interceptions per attempt. He also thrived in the postseason, finishing 5th in fewest turnovers per game, and 6th in average of yards/completion + yards/attempt, highlighted by an incredible 19.5 yards per attempt and 27.9 yards per completion, in the 1956 NFL Championship Game.
Why isn’t he higher on the list?
During the regular season, he’s a bottom 50 guy in three categories: total touchdowns per game (126th), average of yards/completion + yards/attempt (127th), and especially total yards per game (154th). The biggest explanation such a low placement in total yards per game was the running prowess of Frank Gifford combined with playing in an era where QBs would often share drives with teammates (in Conerly’s case, Don Heinrich).
The Quarterback Project 