Connected sports records
Season reference · 1932–1949
Year by year
No playing statistics for this season.
Did not play in the NFL.
No playing statistics for this season.
Did not play in the NFL.
No playing statistics for this season.
Did not play in the NFL.
Awards & honors
- League MVP · pre-modern honors
- 1947, 1948, 1949
- First-Team All-Pro
- 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Inaugural Class of 1963 · first ballot
- Retired jersey
- #0 · New York Giants and Cardinals franchise
01 / Biography
Life and background
Buchanan and West Virginia University
Arthur was born on April 18, 1912, in Buchanan, West Virginia, into a working-class coal-mining family. He worked in the mines as a teenager before attending West Virginia University.
Military service · 1943–1945
Arthur served in the United States Army during World War II from 1943 through 1945. He missed three NFL seasons and returned to professional football in 1946.
Later life and Hall of Fame
Arthur retired following the 1949 season. He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot as a member of its inaugural Class of 1963. Both the Giants and the Cardinals franchise retired his #0 jersey. The ceremony dates are not documented.
He died on November 5, 2009, at age 97.
02 / Career & Football Identity
The player and the résumé
Arthur Walls played fifteen NFL seasons between 1932 and 1949. He won eight consecutive NFL championships as the Giants’ starting quarterback from 1935 through 1942 and four with the Cardinals from 1946 through 1949. His three-year absence was spent serving in the United States Army during World War II.
New York Giants · 1932–1942
Arthur spent 1932–1934 as a backup quarterback. He received a championship ring in 1934 but did not appear in the title game.
He became the starting quarterback in 1935. Across eight starting seasons, New York went 85–5 and won every NFL Championship Game. The Giants finished undefeated in 1936, 1938 and 1941.
Chicago Cardinals · 1946–1949
After returning from military service, Arthur started four seasons in Chicago. The Cardinals went 45–2 and won four consecutive NFL championships. He won league MVP honors in 1947, 1948 and 1949.
His twelve championship-winning starting seasons were separated by military service, with no intervening losing starting season. His personal postseason record was 12–0; the 1934 backup championship was not an appearance or victory in that record.
Quarterback play
A right-handed field general, Arthur used pre-snap defensive recognition, changes at the line, precise anticipation passing and control of formations and protections. His decision-making and command of the offense helped expand expectations for quarterback play.
Passing milestones and retirement marks
In 1939, Arthur recorded the NFL’s first 2,000-yard passing season. His 32 touchdown passes in 1942 were its first 30-touchdown season. In 1947 he became the first NFL passer to reach 3,000 yards, beginning three consecutive seasons above that mark.
At retirement in 1949, his career passing marks stood at 29,413 yards and 317 touchdowns. His final season produced 3,432 yards and 36 touchdown passes.
04 / Relationships
People in the record
The Walls family
Arthur was the father of Thomas Walls and Everitt Walls. Mac, Trever, Jaxson and Drew were his paternal grandsons.
05 / Legacy & Analysis
What the life and résumé mean
Arthur’s thirteen NFL championships included twelve championship-game victories as a starter. He recorded the league’s first 2,000-yard and 3,000-yard passing seasons, earned three consecutive league MVP honors, and entered the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame class.