Early life

Born in La Ceiba, Honduras, Van Buren was orphaned at age ten and was sent to live with relatives in New Orleans, Louisiana. There he attended Warren Easton High School, and tried out for the football team originally as a sophomore, but did not make the team. Later that year he dropped out of high school and went to work in an iron foundry. He returned to high school two years later and made the team as an end his senior year. He played well enough that season to earn an athletic scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge.

College career

At LSU, he was used primarily for blocking until his senior season, when head coach Bernie Moore moved him to tailback because of a lack of players due to World War II conscription. Van Buren received a Class IV-F exemption due to an eye defect, and so was able to avoid conscription. He began the 1943 season by scoring four touchdowns in a 34-27 win over Georgia, including the game-winning touchdown with less than two minutes left to play. His final game was the 1944 Orange Bowl against Texas A&M, in which he ran for two touchdowns and threw for one more to give LSU a 19-14 victory. He finished the season with 847 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. He also led the nation with 98 points scored (110 including the bowl game).

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

The fifth overall pick of the 1944 NFL draft, Van Buren ran for 444 yards in nine games during his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also led the league in returning punts as a rookie. In 1945, Van Buren led the NFL in rushing for the first time, and also led the league in scoring and kickoff return yards. That season he set an Eagles single-season record with 15 rushing touchdowns, which stood until 2011. He won three additional rushing titles in 1947, 1948, and 1949, becoming the first running back in NFL history to achieve three consecutive rushing titles. Jim Brown (twice), Earl Campbell, and Emmitt Smith have since managed that feat. All four are in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. In 1948, he scored the 50th touchdown of the Eagles' season, setting the record for most touchdowns scored in a season.

1948 NFL Championship game

Van Buren's signature game came in 1948 on December 19. Playing in a blizzard for the NFL championship against the Chicago Cardinals, Van Buren scored the only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles their first league title. Ironically, he almost missed the game at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Thinking the game wouldn't be played in the blizzard, he remained home until Eagles head coach Greasy Neale called him and told him the game was still on. He had to catch 3 trolleys and walk 6 blocks in order to make the game on time.. Van Buren finished with 98 yards on 26 carries with a touchdown. The Eagles won their second championship the next year against the Rams in the mud in Los Angeles, as Van Buren set a league record with 196 yards rushing.

Retirement

After a knee injury before the 1952 season, Van Buren retired as the NFL record holder for career rushing yards and career rushing touchdowns. He broke Clarke Hinkle's record of 3,860 yards on October 3, 1949 when he rushed for 135 yards on 33 attempts and scoring two touchdowns in a 22-14 win over the Detroit Lions. He also scored three times returning kickoffs, three times on receptions, and twice on punt returns for a total of 77 touchdowns. Van Buren retired as the first and only player to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season twice, the first player to rush for over 10 touchdowns in a season (accomplishing the feat 3 times), and he held the top 2 single-season records in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Professional statistics

Year	G	Rushing						Punt returns						Kickoff returns
		Att	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg		Ret	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg		Ret	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg
1944	9	80	444	5	70	5.6		15	230	1	55	15.3		8	266	1	97	33.3
1945	10	143	832	15	69	5.8		14	154	0	24	11.0		13	373	1	98	28.7
1946	9	116	529	5	58	4.6		5	89	1	50	17.8		11	319	0	63	29.0
1947	12	217	1,008	13	45	4.6		-	-	-	-	-		13	382	1	95	29.4
1948	11	201	945	10	29	4.7		-	-	-	-	-		14	292	0	34	20.9
1949	12	263	1,146	11	41	4.4		-	-	-	-	-		12	288	0	35	24.0
1950	10	188	629	4	41	3.3		-	-	-	-	-		5	110	0	26	22.0
1951	10	112	327	6	17	2.9		-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-
Career	83	1,320	5,860	69	70	4.4		34	473	2	55	13.9		76	2,030	3	98	26.7

Honors

• Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 1965.
• Ranked number 77 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999.
• Number 15 retired by the Philadelphia Eagles

Personal life

Van Buren lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after his football career. He died of pneumonia on August 23, 2012, in Lancaster at the age of 91.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]