Peyton Manning had what some might consider the best game of his career a week ago this day. That's a bold statement. Throwing seven touchdown passes in a single game draws some attention. It draws a lot of attention in the pass happy, fantasy driven football days of today. Throwing seven touchdowns in a game has been done six times now. It's more than a little surprising that it's been 44 years since the last quarterback threw seven touchdown passes in a single game. A football spends so much time in the air these days. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp was the last quarterback to match the single game touchdown passing standard. 1969. Before that, Y.A. Tittle. 1962. Then, the NFL gives credence to the AFL in recognizing George Blanda in 1961. Chicago Bears quarterback Sid Luckman was the first to throw so many touchdowns in a single game. He did the deed in 1943. Luckman, Blanda, Tittle, Kapp, and now Manning. Luckman, Blanda, and Tittle are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Peyton Manning is an automatic, first ballot Hall of Fame inductee five years after he steps away from football. Kapp may not be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame but he made his mark in sports beyond those seven touchdown throws. He played in a Rose Bowl, Grey Cup, Super Bowl, and NCAA basketball championship. No one else has ever done such a thing. No one else has ever come close to such a thing. Joe Kapp stepped away from an MVP award because football is a team sport. I know of no football player that has stepped away from an individual award in the name of a team sport. In the logs of football history, Luckman, Blanda, Tittle, Kapp, and now Manning are well known football figures. There was another that matched those others with seven touchdowns in a single game.
As the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1954, Adrian Burk threw seven touchdown passes to route the Washington Redskins, 49-21. No matter how many quarterbacks throw for seven touchdowns, Adrian Burk will always be the unknown. Every quarterback today is so well known. It's a real shame. Burk actually had a nice career. Baltimore Colts in 1950. Philadelphia Eagles from 1951-56. He played in two Pro Bowls, 1954 and 1955. He was the second pick in the 1950 NFL Draft. Burk threw 54 touchdown passes beyond the seven that he threw that day in 1954. His football career didn't end after the 1956 season.
Adrian Burk worked as a football official after his football playing career was done. He was working the 1969 Colts-Vikings game when Joe Kapp matched his passing record. A few years later, Burk signaled the touchdown after Franco Harris finished the play that would later be known as "the Immaculate Reception." Adrian Burk has touched football in so many ways that it's really quite shocking that he's not better known. He should be better known. Yet, his name vanishes until another quarterback matches his record. One of these days, someone will hit on eight. Manning only seemed to be picking up steam when he threw his fifth in the third quarter. If someone hits eight, does Adrian Burk just fade away? Someone will remember.
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