| Otto Graham | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 14, 60 |
| Born: December 6, 1921 Waukegan, Illinois |
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| Died: December 17, 2003 (aged 82) Sarasota, Florida |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1946–1955 | |
| NFL Draft: 1944 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | |
| College: Northwestern | |
| Professional Teams | |
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Playing career Coaching career |
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| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 174-135 |
| Yards | 23,584 |
| QB Rating | 86. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. In team Sports the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number, or uniform number is the Number Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Waukegan ( IPA: /wɔˈkigən/ is a city in Lake County, Illinois. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the state of Florida in the United States. In an organised Sports league, a season is the portion of one Year in which regulated Games of the sport are in session The 1946 NFL season was the 27th Regular season of the National Football League. The 1955 NFL season was the 36th Regular season of the National Football League. The NFL Draft is an annual Sports draft in which NFL teams select newly-eligible players for their rosters The 1944 National Football League Draft was held on April 19 1944 This is a List of Athletic Conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The 1946 NFL season was the 27th Regular season of the National Football League. The 1955 NFL season was the 36th Regular season of the National Football League. The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington D The 1966 NFL season was the 47th Regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was The 1968 NFL season was the 49th Regular season of the National Football League. A touchdown is the primary method of scoring in American and Canadian football. Passer rating (known as passing efficiency or pass efficiency in NCAA football) is a measure of the performance of Quarterbacks or any other passers 6 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Otto Everett Graham Jr. In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season The National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team was chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994. This is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1950s and have been compiled onto this fantasy group The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities most notably the Associated Press, to the player who is considered most valuable The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities most notably the Associated Press, to the player who is considered most valuable The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities most notably the Associated Press, to the player who is considered most valuable In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. (December 6, 1921 - December 17, 2003) was an American professional football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the AAFC and NFL, as well as the Rochester Royals in the NBL. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The Sacramento Kings are a professional Basketball team based in Sacramento California. The National Basketball League was a professional basketball league in the United States from 1937 to 1949.
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Early life
Born in Waukegan, Illinois, USA, Graham grew up with a strong connection to music, with his father serving as Waukegan High School's band director. Waukegan ( IPA: /wɔˈkigən/ is a city in Lake County, Illinois. However, it would be on a variety of athletic fields where Graham's talents would truly sing, making him the most famous native of Waukegan since comedian Jack Benny. A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American Comedian, vaudevillian
Graham graduated from Northwestern University, attending the school on a basketball scholarship. He was talked into playing football by Northwestern's head football coach, Lynn Waldorf, who saw him throwing a football on campus. Lynn O Waldorf ( October 3, 1902 &mdash August 15, 1981) better known as "Pappy" Waldorf, was a Hall of Fame College By the time he was finished, he had played four years of basketball, three of football, two of baseball and also played the cornet in the Wildcats' school band. Graham's time on the football field would be spent at tailback. A running back ( RB) is the position of a player on an American or Canadian football team who usually lines up in the offensive backfield. He finished third in the 1943 Heisman Trophy voting.
AAFC and NFL career
In 1944, Graham was drafted by the NFL's Detroit Lions, but was obligated to serve in the United States Coast Guard, serving his time with the Coast Guard while it was still operating in the service of the United States Navy. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. His football coach during his Coast Guard-Navy career was Bear Bryant. Even before Graham's term was ended, head coach Paul Brown of the fledgling Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) offered him a two-year contract for $7,500 per season. Paul Eugene Brown ( September 7, 1908 - August 5, 1991) was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 In addition, Brown offered a $1,000 bonus and $250 per month for the duration of the war, an agreement Graham quickly signed. Brown knew all about Graham's talent having been head coach at Big Ten rival Ohio State during the latter's college days.
However, Graham also found time to play one year of professional basketball for the Rochester Royals. The Sacramento Kings are a professional Basketball team based in Sacramento California. In what would become one of his trademarks, the Royals captured the 1945-46 National Basketball League title. The National Basketball League was a professional basketball league in the United States from 1937 to 1949.
Upon joining the Browns in 1946, he was switched to quarterback, where he would lead the team to the league championship game in each of his 10 seasons, winning on seven occasions. Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. During the AAFC's four-year existence, the Browns won the championship each year as Graham threw for 10,085 yards and 86 touchdowns and rushed for 11 more. Graham won the league's Most Valuable Player award in 1947 and 1948, sharing the honor the latter year with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Frankie Albert. The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team Frank Cullen "Frankie" Albert ( January 27, 1920 - September 5, 2002) was a Quarterback in the NFL.
The Browns joined the National Football League in 1950, and won the league championship in their first NFL season, deflecting the criticism of their domination of the AAFC. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 Graham paced the team to a 10-2 record on the season, the only two losses coming against the New York Giants, whose Umbrella Defense proved to be a source of frustration for the quarterback. The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey.
Graham gained revenge in the 1950, 8-3 playoff win against those same Giants. Playing on a frozen field that hindered both team's passing, Graham rushed for 36 yards in the Browns' 4th quarter drive, leading to Lou Groza's field goal which broke a 3-3 tie and gave Cleveland the lead for good. Louis Roy Groza ( January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football Placekicker who played his entire [1]
Graham's clutch play also led to the NFL title one week later. Trailing the Los Angeles Rams by one point with 1:48 remaining and starting their drive at their own 31-yard line, Graham started with a 15-yard run, then followed with passes to receivers Rex Bumgardner and Dub Jones, before running one more play to set up Lou Groza's game-winning 16-yard field goal. The St Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St Rex Bumgardner (born September 6, 1923 in Clarksburg West Virginia) is a former running back in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills Dub Jones is the name of William "Dub" Jones (football player was an American football player Louis Roy Groza ( January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football Placekicker who played his entire
After signing a contract during the offseason that reportedly made him the highest-paid player in the game, Graham helped the 1951 team to 11 consecutive wins following a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team The streak helped him win NFL Player of the Year accolades, but more importantly, helped garner a return match against the Rams.
In contrast to the previous season which saw the Browns win with a late score, it would be the Rams that captured the game on a touchdown pass with 7:35 left in the game. Graham had been sharp in the game's first series, when he moved 54 yards on three pass plays for a quick 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, his later fumble helped set up a Ram touchdown, while a fourth quarter interception put a major dent in the Browns' comeback hopes.
During the 1952 campaign, Graham and the Browns proved to be consistent by winning two games, then losing one over the course of the year to finish with a 9-3 mark. The team's 37-34 loss to the New York Giants in the regular season finale proved to be an omen two weeks later when the Detroit Lions stopped the Browns by a 17-7 score. The pain of losing a second straight championship paled in comparison to the tragedy that befell Graham on January 2. While practicing for the Pro Bowl in Los Angeles, his six-week-old son Stephen died from a severe cold. In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL
During the next season, Graham bounced back, scoring two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks and throwing for 292 yards in the season-opening 27-0 shutout of the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay Wisconsin. That victory would be the first of 11 straight for the Browns, whose bid for a perfect regular season ended one week later with a 42-27 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Despite the 11-1 mark, the team came up short for the third consecutive year in the NFL Championship, falling 17-16 to the Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. Bobby Layne's 33-yard pass to Jim Doran with less than three minutes remaining provided the heartbreak for the Browns.
Graham would go on to win Player of the Year honors that year, but became a painful footnote in the development of the football helmet facemask during a game against the San Francisco 49ers on November 15, 1953. A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football, the modern hard plastic version of which was created by The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. With six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Graham was injured after receiving a blow to the jaw by a 49er player, but returned to the game after receiving 15 stitches. The injury compelled Paul Brown to work toward developing the prototype of what would become the facemask.
Before the start of the Browns' 1954 training camp, Graham's name became connected to the infamous Sam Sheppard murder case. Samuel Holmes Sheppard ( &ndash)was an American osteopathic physician involved in a famous and controversial Murder trial when he was convicted As one of the ostepath's neighbors, Graham and his wife were asked by police for information on Sheppard, with the signal caller noting that the couples had attended local stock car races four days before the murder.
Back on the field, the Browns got off to a sluggish start, dropping two of their first three contests. However, eight straight wins again helped put the team into the title game, facing the Detroit Lions for the third straight season. The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. In what was expected to be his farewell to the game, Graham ran for three touchdowns and passed for three more in a 56-10 rout of the Lions. As expected, Graham announced his retirement following the game.
After his potential successors struggled during the 1955 training camp, Graham was convinced to come back following an appeal from Paul Brown. Shaking off the rust from his brief departure, he led the Browns to a 10-2 regular season mark, then officially closed out his playing career with a 38-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL Championship on December 26, 1955. The St Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar)
During the latter half of his career, Graham's popularity was such that he and his wife Beverly hosted a local television show in Cleveland entitled, At Home With the Grahams. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state
Legacy
During an astounding career in which the Browns compiled a 105-17-4 record, at the time of his retirement Graham's 86. 6 career pass rating (combined AAFC and NFL) served as one of the best of all time, tossing 88 touchdowns in ten seasons of play.
In his final year of play, Graham won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year, and ten years later, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The S Rae Hickok Belt was a trophy awarded to the top professional athlete of the year The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the Hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL In 1999, he was ranked number 7 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking player who had played in the AAFC. Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports
Otto Graham is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest winners in the history of professional sports. Graham played six seasons in the NFL and took the Cleveland Browns to the NFL Championship Game all six seasons, winning three NFL titles. Including four seasons in which his team captured four AAFC titles, Graham played ten total seasons of professional football and made the league championship game all ten seasons, winning seven league titles. In his single season as a professional basketball player, the Rochester Royals (today's Sacramento Kings) also captured the league title. The Sacramento Kings are a professional Basketball team based in Sacramento California. Thus, in 11 seasons as a professional athlete, Otto Graham's teams made the championship all eleven years, winning eight titles.
Midway through his career in 1952, the NFL passed a rule requiring offensive lineman to wear jersey numbers 50-79, in order for the referee's to identify an ineligible receiver. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time In American football and Canadian football, not all players on offense are entitled to receive a forward pass Unlike the more rigid numbering system that would go into effect in 1973, players were not given a grandfather clause if they played in the league before 1952, and Graham had to switch his jersey number from 60 to 14. A grandfather clause is a term used in US English for an exception that allows an old rule to continue to apply to some existing situations when a new rule will apply to all future situations In American football, Uniform numbers are more unusual than in any other sport Although Graham was better known with number 60, the Browns retired his number 14 while 60 remains in circulation, currently worn by defensive end Melila Purcell. Defensive end ( DE) is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football. Melila Purcell III (born February 5, 1984 in Pago Pago, American Samoa) is an American football[[defensive end]] who is a Practice
After retirement
Following his retirement, Graham served as head coach of the College All-Stars in their 1958 clash against the defending NFL champions, leading the squad to a convincing 35-19 victory over the Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. The following year, he accepted a full-time position as head football coach at the Coast Guard Academy, where he served for seven seasons, leading the team to an undefeated campaign in 1963. The United States Coast Guard Academy ( USCGA) is the Military academy of the United States Coast Guard.
Graham found time to return to professional football during the 1964 and 1965 seasons by moonlighting as a radio commentator for the American Football League's New York Jets. Note There were three earlier and unrelated major American professional football leagues of the same name One in 1926, one in 1936-1937 and one in 1940-1941 The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area.
NFL coaching career
Between 1966 and 1968, Graham coached the Washington Redskins, but whatever magic he had as an NFL player disappeared on the sidelines as the team recorded a mark of 17-22-3 during that time period. The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington D The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league.
After resigning the Redskins' post in favor of the legendary Vince Lombardi, Graham returned as athletic director of the Coast Guard Academy before retiring at the end of 1984. Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( June 11, 1913 &ndash September 3, 1970) was an American football coach Athletic director (commonly "athletics director" is a position at many American Colleges and universities, as well as in larger High schools The United States Coast Guard Academy ( USCGA) is the Military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar)
Graham and Lombardi would be linked again when Graham underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in 1977, the disease that claimed Lombardi's life seven years earlier. Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes Cancerous growths in the colon, Rectum and Graham subsequently became a vocal supporter of early detection of the disease.
Death
Graham died of a heart aneurysm in Sarasota, Florida on December 17, 2003. An aneurysm (or aneurism) is a localized blood-filled dilation (balloon-like bulge of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the state of Florida in the United States. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. He was 82. [1] Graham's death was similar to actor John Ritter, who died three months before. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Jonathan Southworth “John” Ritter ( September 17, 1948 &ndash September 11
References
- ^ http://www.cleveland.com/brownshistory/plaindealer/index.ssf?/browns/more/history/19501217BROWNS.html URL Accessed October 15, 2007
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
- College Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
| Preceded by Cliff Lewis |
Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterbacks 1946-1955 |
Succeeded by George Ratterman |
| Preceded by Bill McPeak |
Washington Redskins Head Coaches 1966–1968 |
Succeeded by Vince Lombardi |
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