Otto Graham
| Otto Graham | |
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Position (s): Quarterback |
Jersey numbers: 60, 14 |
| born December 6, 1921 in Waukegan , Illinois | |
| died on December 17, 2003 in Sarasota , Florida | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1946 - 1955 | |
| NFL Draft : 1944 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th | |
| College : Northwestern University | |
| Teams | |
as a trainer
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| Career statistics | |
| TD - INT | 174-135 |
| The space gained through passes | 23,584 yards |
| QB rating | 86.6 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Otto Everett Graham, Junior (* 6. December 1921 in Waukegan , Illinois ; † 17th December 2003 in Sarasota , Florida ) Nickname : "Automatic Otto", was an American American football player and - coaches . He played quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and in the National Football League (NFL). Graham also played basketball for the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League .
youth
Otto Graham was born to a teacher couple. He still had three brothers. His father was the head of the school orchestra. The children of the family received extensive musical training. Otto played several instruments and won the Illinois High School Championship as a French horn player . He also played in a wind orchestra, which won the US championship. In high school , Graham played basketball, scored the most points in the State League in 1937, and was accepted into the Illinois national team for his athletic achievements. In 1938 he received the same honor as a football player.
Player career
College career
In 1941, Otto Graham received a basketball scholarship from Northwestern University . In his first year playing for the Northwestern Wildcats , he scored the second-most points in the Big Ten Conference and was elected team captain and MVP of his team in the final year of 1943 . He also received a call to the college all-star team , which could beat the reigning champions of the National Basketball League.
On the campus of his college , Graham was seen throwing a football by the football team coach. He was accepted for a trial and then played as halfback and quarterback for the team from Evanston . During his three seasons with the Wildcats, he achieved a quarterback rating of 100.5. He achieved a total of 15 touchdowns by passing, and 18 touchdowns with his own runs in the opposing end zone .
As a football player , he took part in two All-Star games. Graham was voted All American as both a basketball and football player . In 1943 he was awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Football for his athletic achievements . He has also received several awards from college.
Graham was best known for basketball and American football, but was also a baseball player on the sports field. He also continued his musical training in college and played in the school orchestra.
Professional career
In 1944, Otto Graham was drafted fourth by the Detroit Lions in the first round . Prior to the season, he was drafted into the United States Naval Air Corps . In the Navy, he played on a naval football team. From the team he was retrained to quarterback. Graham already had contact with Paul Brown during his military service . Brown was from 1941 to 1943 football coach at Ohio State University , whose football team, like the Northwestern Wildcats, was based in the Big Ten Conference. Brown, who wanted to found a new professional football league immediately after the end of the war, was convinced of Graham's abilities and offered him a professional contract while he was still in the army. While still a member of the United States Navy, Graham signed a contract as a professional footballer for the All-America Football Conference, which guaranteed him an annual income of US $ 7,500 and a bonus of US $ 1,000. In addition, he was paid $ 250 per month for every month he still had to do military service.
After his release, Otto Graham initially played professional basketball for the Rochester Royals . In 1946, his team won the championship in the National Basketball League . Immediately thereafter, Graham ended his basketball career. In the same year, the All-America Football Conference began playing and Graham joined the Cleveland Browns coached by Paul Brown .
The Browns had succeeded before the season to tie numerous later selection players to the team. Players like Mac Speedie , Dante Lavelli or Marion Motley ran for the Browns and the team developed into the top team in the AAFC. The Browns' offensive line , which was responsible for protecting Graham, was superbly filled with players like Frank Gatski , Ed Ulinski and Lou Groza . Graham went on to become the leading quarterback in the AAFC.
By the time the league was dissolved in 1949, Graham led his team to four league titles. In 1946, the New York Yankees were defeated 14: 9 in the AAFC final . While the quarterback of the Yankees, Ace Parker , could not intervene decisively in the game and could only gain 81 yards of space with his passes, Dante Lavelli managed to utilize a pass from Graham for a touchdown. Graham himself achieved a space gain of 213 yards with his passes. The Browns were convinced of their quarterback and increased his salary to $ 12,000 a year. In 1947 the Yankees trained by Ray Flaherty were again defeated in the final. In the 14-3 victory of the Browns, Graham ran a touchdown himself. The following year Graham remained undefeated with his team in the regular season , which brought the return to the championship game with it. Graham was able to contribute a touchdown pass to the 49: 7 win over the Buffalo Bills .
In 1949, the Cleveland team won the final AAFC championship. The game against the San Francisco 49ers was won 21: 7.
After the 1949 season, the AAFC had to stop playing. The Cleveland Browns were inducted into the NFL. The team's triumphant advance also continued in the NFL. As early as the first game of the season in 1950, the Browns made it clear that they can also exist in the NFL. They clearly beat the reigning NFL champions Philadelphia Eagles 35:10. Graham again showed his playing class, threw three touchdown passes and ran one himself. At the end of the season Graham won his fifth title. Opponents in the NFL final were the Los Angeles Rams . By the beginning of the fourth leg of the game, the Rams, who had been very well prepared for the game by their coach Joe Stydahar , were an absolutely equal opponent. It was only in the last part of the game that the Browns were able to decide the game for themselves. Graham threw four touchdown passes in the 30:28 win . In the next three years Graham failed with his Browns in the final, 1951 at the Rams and 1952 and 1953 at the Detroit Lions , 1954 and 1955 Graham won his second and third NFL titles. In 1954 the Detroit Lions suffered a significant 54:10 defeat. Graham threw two touchdown passes and ran the ball three times into the Lions end zone .
In 1955, the Browns again beat the Los Angeles Rams 38:14 in the NFL final. Graham, who had actually resigned after the 1954 season and signed a contract with an income of 25,000 US dollars prior to the 1955 season, scored four touchdowns, two through passes and two through his own runs, but had to experience three of his passports were intercepted. His counterpart at the Rams, Norm Van Brocklin , had a very bad day and threw a total of six interceptions .
After his 10 final participation, Graham finally ended his playing career after this final. Otto Graham achieved numerous best performances during his career. In the years 1947 to 1949, as well as 1952 and 1953, he achieved the highest gain in space in the league through passing play. In the 1946 season he achieved a quarterback rating of 112.1. Graham won 81% of his games, which is still a league record today.
Although he suffered a severe facial injury that required 15 stitches in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in 1953, he never missed any of his team's games during his professional career. He also finished this game. The team's supervisors provided his football helmet with a face shield and he managed to lead his team to a narrow 23:21 win. Graham was the first football player to wear a facemask on his helmet .
Coaching career
From 1958, Graham coached the college all-star team several times. His team managed a 35:19 victory over the Detroit Lions - the reigning NFL title holder - in his first year. From 1959 on he was the sports director and football coach at the United States Coast Guard Academy . In 1963, his football team remained undefeated. From 1966 to 1968 he coached the Washington Redskins . In personal union he was also the general manager of this team. Graham were at the Redskins numerous later members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame such as Sonny Jurgensen , Sam Huff , Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor available. Only in the game year 1966 was his team able to show a balanced record. This season, the Redskins could also defeat the New York Giants with 72:41. The result is still the NFL record today. The next two game years didn't go any better for Graham's team. The team lost more games than they could win. After three unsuccessful years with the Washington, DC team , Graham was replaced by Vince Lombardi and he returned to the United States Coast Guard . There he finally retired in 1985.
Honors
Otto Graham played five times in the Pro Bowl , the final game of the best players of the season. He has been voted All Pro ten times . Graham serves on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team , the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team , the Northwestern University Athletics Hall of Fame , the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He has been voted NFL Most Valuable Player three times and AAFC MVP twice. His shirt number is no longer issued by the Browns. Since 2010, the Browns have honored him at the Cleveland Browns Stadium on the Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor .
Private / death
Otto Graham married his childhood friend during his military service. The couple had three children and two foster children . In 1977, in his cancer diagnosed. He then became involved in the fight against this disease and took part in a golf charity tournament with Joe DiMaggio , among others . He was also elected Honorary Chairman of the American Cancer Society . Graham died of a heart - aneurysm . He lived in Sarasota until his death, where he is buried in the Palms Memorial Park .
Web links
- Homepage of Otto Graham
- biography
- Obituary in the New York Times
- Otto Graham at college
- Otto Graham with the Cleveland Browns
- Coach statistics
- Otto Graham with the United States Coast Guard
- biography
- Otto Graham in the Northwestern University Athletics Hall of Fame
Individual evidence
- ^ College statistics by Otto Graham
- ^ Income from Otto Graham
- ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1946
- ^ AAFC final statistics 1946
- ^ Annual statistics of the Browns, 1947
- ^ AAFC final statistics 1947
- ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1948
- ↑ AAFC endgame statistics 1948
- ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1949
- ↑ AAFC endgame statistics 1949
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Browns 1950
- ↑ NFL endgame statistics 1950
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Browns 1954
- ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1955
- ↑ 1954 NFL endgame statistics
- ↑ 1955 NFL endgame statistics
- ↑ History of the Facemask
- ↑ Photo of Otto Graham with the first facemask ( memento of the original from January 23, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Statistics NFL game Giants vs. Redskins 1966
- ↑ Cleveland Brown's Ring of Honor ( Memento of the original from August 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Grave of Otto Graham
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Graham, Otto |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Graham, Otto Everett Junior; Automatic Otto (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach, basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 6, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waukegan , Illinois , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 17, 2003 |
| Place of death | Sarasota , Florida |