Otto Graham Biography - Early Life, Becomes Pro Athlete, Paul Brown's System, Plays In The Nfl - CONTACT INFORMATION
football game net national
1921-
American football player
Otto Graham was one of the great quarterbacks in National Football League (NFL) history. Possessed of a powerful arm and pinpoint accuracy, Graham almost single-handedly transformed pro football from a running game of the 1940s to the passing game of the 1950s and later. In every one of the ten years Graham played, his team, the Cleveland Browns, reached the championships—first in four seasons in the All America Football Conference (AAFC) and then in six seasons after the Browns joined the NFL. In 1946 he was the first and only athlete to play in the championship game in two pro sports—basketball and football—in the same year. He was elected to the National Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: duey@gwi.net. Online: www.ottograham.net.
Sketch by Gerald E. Brennan
Additional Topics
Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was born December 6, 1921 in Waukegan, Illinois (some sources say Evanston, Illinois). One of four brothers, he grew up in a world of sports and music. Both Graham's parents were music teachers and by the time he left high school he could play piano, cornet, violin and French horn. When he was sixteen
Otto Graham
years old, Graham was named the Illinois Frenc…
After the outbreak of World War II Graham joined the Navy, marrying Beverly Collinge after his training was completed. Transferred to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Graham worked briefly with Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later won fame as the coach of the University of Alabama's "Crimson Tide." After the conclusion of the war, Graham began playing pro basketball with th…
Graham ushered in another revolutionary change. Paul Brown inaugurated a system in which the coach decided all plays from the sidelines and used substitutes as messengers to shuttle plays into the huddle before each scrimmage. More ego-driven quarterbacks would have rebelled. Graham was reportedly unhappy with the system, but he never challenged Paul Brown's leadership. Graham sometimes cha…
In 1950 the AAFC folded and the Browns, along with the Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers, joined the National Football League. Intent on putting the upstart AAFC champs in their place, the NFL scheduled the Browns to play their first game against the two-time world champion Philadelphia Eagles. Graham's first pass of the game went for a touchdown. By the time the clock had run out…
Despite his retirement from pro football, Graham remained active in the college game. From 1958 until 1965 he coached the College All-Stars in their annual game against the NFL champion team. His teams won in 1958 and 1963. In 1959, on the recommendation of George Steinbrenner—who later became the controversial owner of the New York Yankees baseball franchise—Graham became Athletic D…
"Otto Graham." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Volume 21. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Affleck, John. "Older Browns Remember '50." Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (August 8, 1999): D8. Butler, Jason. "Maestro of the Browns; Multitalented Otto Graham, 77, has one regret." Austin American-Statesman (July 21, 1999): C7. Daly, Dan. "&#x…
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