![pro basketball reference pro basketball reference](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DeYRiKhWAAIGeu1.jpg)
This isn't terribly different from presenting RBI totals for baseball players from before 1920 (the first season the statistic was "official").
PRO BASKETBALL REFERENCE PRO
Given that accounting for these 'unofficial' statistics allows us to paint a richer picture of the history of the game, we think it is a no-brainer to present them on Pro Football Reference, allowing fans to gain a deeper appreciation of some of football's biggest stars in the 1960s and 1970s. In the case of sacks, thanks to decades of research by John Turney and Nick Webster, we have a very thorough accounting of the statistic all the way back to 1960. However, thanks to Official Gamebooks, 'unofficial' tackle totals get published in many places (including here). Heck, we don't even "officially" know how many tackles anyone had in 2020 (or any other season). After all, we don't know how many rushing yards Jim Thorpe had, passing yards Paddy Driscoll had or even how many blocked shots Wilt Chamberlain had. In many cases we accept these holes in the official record and move on.
![pro basketball reference pro basketball reference](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91JLCzLqFBL._AC_SX425_.jpg)
The NFL has only officially counted player sacks since 1982, which means sack records and leaderboards present an incomplete history of pass rushing.