Otto Graham

Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921–December 17, 2003) was a professional American football and basketball player.

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Born in Waukegan, Illinois, Graham graduated from Northwestern University. He played tailback in his college years. Graham also played basketball at Northwestern. Upon joining the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946, he was switched to quarterback. He also played professional basketball in 1946 with the Rochester Royals.

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During the AAFC's four-year existence, the Browns won the championship each year. Graham threw for 10,085 yards and 86 touchdowns, while rushing for 11 more.

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The Browns joined the National Football League in 1950, and won the league championship in their first NFL season. Behind Graham's 88 touchdowns in the NFL, the Browns won two more league titles, in 1954 and 1955. In the 1954 championship game against the Detroit Lions, Graham ran for three touchdowns and passed for three more.

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Graham had an astounding 105-17-4 record with the Browns before he retired after the 1955 season. He is the only NFL QB to take his team to the Championship game every year he played and his 86.6 career pass rating is one of the best of all time. In 1955 Graham won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. In 1965 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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In 1959 he was hired as head football coach at the Coast Guard Academy, where his team went undefeated in 1963. Between 1966 and 1968 he coached the Washington Redskins; who went 17-22-3 during that time period. He then returned to be athletic director of the Coast Guard Academy.

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Graham died of a heart aneurysm in Sarasota, Florida on December 17, 2003.

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December 6: December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 25 days remaining....

1921: 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar)....

December 17: December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 14 days remaining....

Otto Graham related Images and Photos (experimental)

Graham Hill	Graham Norton	Graham Norton	Earnest Graham
Otto Takes Rome	Graham Norton: The Best of So Graham Norton (DVD)	Philipp Otto Runge	Otto Eduard Leopold Bismarck
Otto's Eleven - German Style	Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck (1815-98) 1849	Otto Von Bismarck 1886	Brandon Graham 2010 Action