Steve Van Buren
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Football, 1938-51
Warren East High School/LSU/NFL
Inducted: 1985
After a standout career at Warren Easton under legendary coach and Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Famer, Johnny
Brechtel, Steve Van Buren went on to star in football at LSU and in the NFL.
As a senior at LSU in 1943, Van Buren scored four touchdowns in the Tigers’ opening game upset of Georgia and never looked back, finishing the year with 98 points (top in the nation) and 847 rushing yards (second in the nation) – both were LSU records which stood until the 1970s.
Selected for the Orange Bowl after the 1943 season, LSU turned to Van Buren in a battle against powerhouse Texas A&M. The six-foot, 200-pounder had 24 carries for 160 yards (LSU ran for 181 total) while running for two scores and passing for another in LSU’s 19-14 upset of the Aggies, a team which had topped LSU during the regular season. It was the first bowl victory in LSU history.
"He probably was the greatest running back in Southeastern Conference history," LSU coach Bernie Moore recalled, "and I used him as a blocking back until his last year. The folks in Baton Rouge never let me forget that."
After his Orange Bowl performance, Van Buren was selected No. 5 overall in the 1944 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He quickly acquired multiple nicknames due to his smashmouth running style, including “Wham Bam”, “Moving Van”, and “Supersonic Steve.”
After being selected as an All-Pro as a rookie in 1944, he would lead the league in rushing, scoring, and kickoff returns in 1945. He would earn All-Pro honors four times while leading the league in rushing four times as well. During the age of a 12-game season, Van Buren was the first NFL player to rush for 10 touchdowns in a season – and he did that three times – and the first to record multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
He was a key player for the Eagles as they advanced to three straight NFL title games, with victories in two of them. He scored the only touchdown in the 1948 NFL Championship game against the Chicago Cardinals and in the 1949 game, he set postseason records with 31 carries and 196 rushing yards.
Van Buren closed his NFL career with 5,860 yards and 77 touchdowns, while also tallying nine interceptions on defense.
Born in La Ceiba, Honduras, he was sent to New Orleans at a young age to live with his grandparents after his parents died.
Van Buren was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. He was also selected to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. His number was retired by the Eagles and he’s a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He was also selected for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (1961).
