Enigma Puzzle #18

[enigma]

I once had a very good day, better than anyone else would have for more than ten years.

When I was done, I had accomplished more than any one like me.

I was the best at my job during my final campaign.

Who am I?


***Note: These clues may not be enough to work with, but I feel if I reveal too much, it'll be to easy. Be gentle. I'm new at this.***

[Danny]

Well, right off the bat it sounds like a professional athlete.

[rkmsuf]

http://www.mattscdsingles.com/acatalog/9625%20new.jpg

[Blackadar]

Those are very vague clues. They could apply many times over.

Greg Louganis

Nadia Cominichi

Olga Korbett

Greg LeMond

Just to name a few that qualify in all 3 statements.

[WSUCougar]

I'm thinking maybe a pro quarterback.

[Frozenrope]

I was thinking Bob Beamon, with 'the final campaign' and all perhaps being his 3rd jump that broke the record. But no dice. :)

[henry296]

The first clue implies they set a record that lasted for more than 10 years.

The second clue implies they held a career record when they retired.

The third clue implies either a championship or All-Star in their last season.

[VPI97]

I'm thinking maybe a pro quarterback.
I once had a very good day, better than anyone else would have for more than ten years.
Who has held the single game record for passing yards in a game?

When I was done, I had accomplished more than any one like me.
Yards? Total career?

I was the best at my job during my final campaign.
All-Pro? MVP?


FYI, I already tried Koufax
1) Perfect game
2) Number of Cy Youngs
3) All-Star in final season

[Danny]

Its not passing yards in a game. The all time leader had held it since 1951

[Huckleberry]

Horses?

[rlfreeze]

bump. I suck at these, but they are fun. Let's knock this one out.

[Cuckoo]

Campaign could also refer to a military or political campaign, although the latter wouldn't be likely given the other two clues.

Just thinking out loud.

[enigma]

Here's a Monday morning hint:

Think football.

[JeeberD]

Not John Elway... :(

[albionmoonlight]

Not Gary Anderson

[digamma]

I'm thinking college football--because of my final campaign. Maybe winning a Heisman or a position specific award in his final season.

[albionmoonlight]

Nor is it Barry Sanders.

Are we thinking enough about college football?

[digamma]

Nor is it Barry Sanders.

Are we thinking enough about college football?I was thinking Anthony Thompson. Set the single game rushing record in 1989. And had the record for most touchdowns in a career when he graduated. But the single game record was broken only two years later. Oh well.

[QuikSand]

Walter Payton held the NFL single game rushing record for some time before Corey Dillon broke it. He retired atop the list of career rushers. But I can't get the third clue to fit.

I tried it, in various forms, with no luck -- so I guess that's just a misleading dead end.

[enigma]

Walter Payton held the NFL single game rushing record for some time before Corey Dillon broke it. He retired atop the list of career rushers. But I can't get the third clue to fit.

I tried it, in various forms, with no luck -- so I guess that's just a misleading dead end.

You're on the right track.

[JeeberD]

I thought for sure it was Jim Brown, but no dice...

[Huckleberry]

Could this page help?

http://www.hickoksports.com/history/nflgamerecords.shtml

[henry296]

I thought Walter Payton, and even tried sweetness but it didn't work either.

[digamma]

I thought for sure it was Jim Brown, but no dice...
Yeah, I thought Jim Brown too...

Held the record for most points in an NCAA game for more than 10 years.

Retired as the league's all time leading rusher.

MVP in his final season.

Couldn't get it to work though.

[Danny]

Losers, I tried Brown a long while ago. You guys need to get quicker with your incorrect guesses.

[QuikSand]

I wonder if this thread

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=30651

...was started as a hint toward this puzzle?

[enigma]

I wonder if this thread

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=30651

...was started as a hint toward this puzzle?

No.

Here's a fresh hint:

I was a running back that retired at the peak of my career, to pursue greater wealth elsewhere...



...



...



...



...Before Jim Brown did.

***edit... I expect this clue will probably give it away... whoever wins, please post the answer that I have PM'ed to this account***

[gottimd]

I think I got it.....

[Franklinnoble]

Well?

Did you get it or not?

[gottimd]

I just PM'ed him pretty recently. No response yet.

[enigma]

I'm the enigma, bish!

Sorry gottimd, you are supposed to log into the enigma account with the answer as the password. But if it makes you feel better, all your guesses were wrong...

The man you're looking for was Clifford Battles.

"cliffbattles"

Biography:
When a modern-day professional athlete threatens to retire 'because I can make more money doing something else,' the natural tendency is to question the validity of the claim. But there is at least one member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who did just that. He quit at the absolute peak of his career and he did make more money 'on the outside' -- 33 percent more, to be exact. That is the incredible story of Cliff Battles, one of the most brilliant running backs pro football has known. After only six years in the National Football League, 28 years old and in perfect condition and a member of a championship team, Battles quit the Washington Redskins when owner George Preston Marshall refused to raise his salary above $3,000. So Battles became an assistant coach at Columbia University, where he was paid $4,000. In his brief time in the pros, Battles made an indelible impression. He gained 3,622 yards rushing in six years and, up to 1938, no one had ever approached that career total. He had led the league in rushing twice and had been a member of the official all-league team three times, including his last two seasons. In 1937, the Redskins' first year in Washington, Battles had teamed with rookie Sammy Baugh to give the Redskins not only a league title, but one of the most explosive running-passing threats in history. This rare combination should have meant misery for other NFL teams for years to come. Ironically, Baugh may inadvertently have been a factor in Battles' premature retirement. Sammy was himself thinking of quitting pro football for baseball after his brilliant rookie season and Marshal1 was expending all of his efforts in trying to re-sign his ace passer. Cliff will now admit that this concentration of effort by Marshall on Baugh with little or no time left to negotiate with Battles was a considerable factor in his eventual retirement. If Marshall slighted Battles in 1938, it was the same Marshall who had used progressive measures to first sign the Phi Beta Kappa star from tiny West Virginia Wesleyan College. In 1930 Battles made three touchdowns on dashes of 90, 96 and 98 yards. Marshall had first spotted Battles in 1931 when Cliff was a halfback for an outmanned Wesleyan eleven playing Georgetown. He saw in Battles the characteristics of a super star for his new pro team to be started in Boston in 1932. So he sent an envoy with instructions not to return until he had the speedy halfback's name on the dotted line. Battles signed with Boston, whom he chose over Portsmouth Spartans and New York Giants precisely because Marshall had sent a representative instead of a letter. Reportedly, he was also swayed by the fact that Marshall was from West Virginia. Marshall was not disappointed with his prize catch. Cliff played on just so-so teams in Boston until the final season in the Hub City; when the Redskins won the divisional championship. Still, Battles was No. 1 in rushing as a rookie, and finished second to teammate Jim Musick as a sophomore. At 6'1 and 195 pounds, he could hit the line with a fullback's authority yet was fast enough to outrace any pursuer and had plenty of elusive moves to get out of tight spots. In his greatest single game, he rushed for 215 yards against the New York Giants, a record that stood for 17 years. Battles' heroics led the Redskins to a division title in 1936, but Boston fans wouldn't support the team. Owner Marshall switched the Championship Game against Green Bay to a neutral field -- New York's Polo Grounds. Battles' worth to the team was unmistakable when an injury forced him out in the early moments of the title game. The Redskins stumbled miserably without him. So when Marshall moved the Redskins to Washington in 1937, he had one all-league halfback in Battles and quickly added a second in Baugh. Still, the Redskins battled the New York Giants down to the wire for the divisional crown with the issue to be decided on the season's final day in New York's Polo Grounds. Thousands of Redskins' fans made the trip to New York by train to see their heroes play and they weren't disappointed as the Redskins prevailed, 49-14. Baugh clinched the NFL passing title and Battles the rushing crown, and, in what proved to be his final game in regular season, he had one of his finest days. He scored three touchdowns on scrimmage runs of four and 73 yards and an interception return of 76 yards. There wasn't a happy Redskin fan that day that could possibly have known that this was th the last time this super-star would play pro football.

[gottimd]

Sorry, didn't know that. Damn, I thought it was Steve Van Buren, but I couldn't find anything about him retiring to do something more "lucrative" money wise.