Otto Graham

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL biography

Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten championship appearances, and winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the AAFC and NFL playoffs. He holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt, with 8.63. He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, at 81.0%. Long-time New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a friend of Graham's, once called him "as great of a quarterback as there ever was."<ref name="Graham obit" />

Graham grew up in Waukegan, Illinois, the son of music teachers. He entered Northwestern University in 1940 on a basketball scholarship, but football soon became his main sport. After a brief stint in the military at the end of World War II, Graham played for the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League (NBL), winning the 1945–46 championship. Paul Brown, Cleveland's coach, signed Graham to play for the Browns, where he thrived. Graham's 1946 NBL and AAFC titles made him the first of only two people to have won championships in two of the four major North American sports (the second was Gene Conley). After he retired from playing football in 1955, Graham coached college teams in the College All-Star Game and became head football coach for the Coast Guard Bears at the United States Coast Guard Academy. After seven years there, he was hired as head coach of the Washington Redskins in 1966. Following three unsuccessful years with them, he resigned and returned to the Coast Guard Academy, where he served as athletic director until his retirement in 1984. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

Early life and collegeEdit

Born into a family of four boys in Waukegan, Illinois, Graham set a first state record at birth weighing 14 lbs 12 oz.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Graham's first interest growing up was music; both parents were music teachers.Template:Sfn Encouraged by his parents—his father having taught famous comedian Jack Benny—<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he took up several instruments: the piano, violin, cornet and French horn.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Graham also excelled in athletics, and attended Northwestern University on a basketball scholarship in 1940.<ref name="Schwartz on Graham">Template:Cite news</ref> There he played on the varsity basketball team as a freshman and continued to study music.Template:Sfn<ref name="Graham primary-source bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Graham did not take up football until his sophomore year, when Northwestern coach Pappy Waldorf saw him throwing in an intramural game and invited him to practice with the team.<ref name="Schwartz on Graham" />Template:Sfn Northwestern's coaches were impressed with his running and passing, and Waldorf convinced him to sign up.<ref name="Schwartz on Graham" />Template:Sfn Although football became Graham's primary sport, he also played baseball and continued on the basketball team. As a senior, he was named a first-team basketball All-American.Template:Sfn

He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi social fraternity (formerly The Wranglers).

Graham's first game for the Northwestern Wildcats football team was on October 4, 1941, when he caught a Kansas State punt and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. He ran and passed for two more touchdowns in the 51–3 victory.Template:Sfn<ref name="Otto Graham in first Wildcats game">Template:Cite news</ref> After scoring another pair of touchdowns in a win against Wisconsin, Graham passed to his wide receivers for two touchdowns in a victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, coached by Paul Brown, the Buckeyes' only loss of the 1941 season.Template:Sfn<ref name="Graham against Ohio State">Template:Cite news</ref> Northwestern ended the year with an 11th-place showing in the Associated Press Poll.Template:Sfn<ref name="College Poll Archive, 1941">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As America's involvement in World War II intensified after the Template:Nowrap attack on Pearl Harbor, Graham signed up for service alongside many fellow student-athletes, entering the U.S. Coast Guard.<ref name="Schwartz on Graham" />Template:Sfn He was able to stay at Northwestern as he waited to be called for active duty. The Wildcats struggled in 1942 as their players joined the war effort, winning only one game.Template:Sfn<ref name="DBF 1942 Northwestern stats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Graham still had 89 completions, setting a single-season passing record in the Big Ten Conference, a division of major college teams from the Midwestern United States.Template:Sfn<ref name="Graham Northwestern stats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The following year, Military Enlistees from other schools enrolled at Northwestern, where the U.S. Navy had a training station.Template:Sfn<ref name="Northwestern and World War II">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 1943 season was a strong one for Northwestern. The team beat Ohio State, the defending national champions, and a good military team at Great Lakes Naval Station.Template:Sfn<ref name="1943 Northwestern results">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Wildcats lost to Notre Dame and Michigan, however, and finished the season with an 8–2 record and a ninth-place ranking in the AP Poll.Template:Sfn<ref name="1943 Northwestern results" />Template:Sfn Graham set another Big Ten passing record, was named the conference's Most Valuable Player, received All-American honors and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.Template:Sfn<ref name="Graham named MVP of Big Ten">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Graham named All-American, 1943">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="1943 Heisman Trophy voting">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the end of his college career, he held a Big Ten Conference record for passing yards with 2,132.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Graham's career at Northwestern officially ended in February 1944, when he moved to Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, in the Navy's V-5 cadet program, a pilot training course.<ref name="Graham leaves Northwestern, 1944">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Graham to train at Colgate, 1944">Template:Cite news</ref> He played basketball for Colgate before moving to North Carolina Pre-Flight later in 1944, where he played on the Cloudbusters football team under coaches Glenn Killinger and Bear Bryant.Template:Sfn<ref name="Graham at Colgate, 1944">Template:Cite news</ref>

Impressed by Graham's performances in Northwestern's wins over Ohio State in 1941 and 1943, Paul Brown came and offered him a contract worth $7,500 per year ($Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year dollars) in 1945 to play for a professional team he would be coaching in Cleveland in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC).Template:Sfn Graham would not receive his salary until he started playing, however, and Brown added a monthly stipend of $250 ($Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year) until the end of the war.Template:Sfn It was a large amount of money at the time. "All I asked was, where do I sign?" Graham said later. "Some of the other navy men said I was rooting for the war to last forever."Template:Sfn Graham was also drafted by the National Football League's Detroit Lions, but he did not sign a contract or play a game with the team as the war wore on.Template:Sfn

Large numbers of athletes came home as the conflict wound down in Europe following Germany's surrender in mid-1945. The AAFC's first season was not set to start until the fall of 1946, and Graham occupied the intervening months by joining the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League (NBL), a forerunner of the National Basketball Association.Template:Sfn In March 1946, the Royals swept a best-of-five series against the Sheboygan Red Skins to win the NBL title.<ref name="Royals win championship">Template:Cite news</ref>

Professional careerEdit

Cleveland Browns in the AAFC (1946–1949)Edit

By the time Graham was discharged from the Navy late in the summer of 1946, training camp for Brown's new team, the Cleveland Browns, had already begun.Template:Sfn Concerned that Graham was not ready to start, Brown put in Cliff Lewis at quarterback in the first game of the season. Graham, however, soon replaced Lewis in Brown's T formation offense.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Handing the ball to fullback Marion Motley and throwing to ends Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie, Graham led the team to a 12–2 regular-season record and a spot in the championship game against the AAFC's New York Yankees.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Browns won that game, touching off a period of dominance.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The team won each of the AAFC's four championships between 1946 and 1949, and had professional football's second perfect season in 1948 by finishing undefeated and untied.Template:Sfn By doing this the Browns became pro football's first undefeated championship team. Between 1947 and 1949 the Browns played 29 consecutive games without a defeat.

Graham's play was crucial to Cleveland's success. He averaged 10.5 yards per pass and had a quarterback rating of 112.1 in 1946, a professional football record until Joe Montana surpassed it in 1989.Template:Sfn Graham was named the AAFC's Most Valuable Player in 1947 and shared the Most Valuable Player award with Frankie Albert of the San Francisco 49ers in 1948.Template:Sfn He led the league in passing yards between 1947 and 1949.Template:Sfn The AAFC dissolved after the 1949 season, and three of its teams, including the Browns, merged into the more established National Football League.Template:Sfn Graham was the AAFC's all-time leading passer, throwing for 10,085 yards and 86 touchdowns.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Graham became the Browns' uncontested leader, but he was also "just one of the guys", tackle Mike McCormack said in 1999. "He was not aloof, which you see a lot of times today."Template:Sfn He was good at spinning and moving in the pocket, skills he learned playing basketball.Template:Sfn In his autobiography, Paul Brown praised Graham's ability to anticipate his receivers' route-running by watching their shoulders.Template:Sfn "I remember his tremendous peripheral vision and his great athletic skill, as well as his ability to throw a football far and accurately with just a flick of his arm", Brown said.Template:Sfn His short passes were hard and accurate, teammates later said, and his long balls were soft. "I used to catch a lot of them one-handed", Lavelli said. "He had great touch in his hands."Template:Sfn He was nicknamed "Automatic Otto" for his consistency and toughness.Template:Sfn

Cleveland Browns in the NFL (1950–1955)Edit

With Graham at the helm, the Browns continued to succeed when they joined the NFL in 1950. Graham was voted the United Press NFL Player of the YearTemplate:Sfn and led the Browns to a 10–2 record, which set up a playoff against the New York Giants for a spot in the championship game.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Browns' only two losses of the season had come against the Giants, but in a frozen Cleveland Stadium on Template:Nowrap Cleveland beat New York.Template:Sfn With the game tied 3–3 in the fourth quarter, Graham gained 45 yards by running with the ball on a long drive to set up a 28-yard Lou Groza field goal that put the Browns ahead 6–3.Template:Sfn A safety after the ensuing kickoff made the final score 8–3.Template:Sfn

The win put Cleveland in the NFL championship game against the Los Angeles Rams.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Graham's rushing and passing were again key to the Browns' 30–28 victory. He drove the offense downfield as time expired to set up a last-minute Groza field goal that sealed the win.Template:Sfn Graham had 99 yards rushing in the game, adding 298 yards of passing and four touchdowns.Template:Sfn

Cleveland posted an 11–1 record in 1951, losing their only game to the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener.Template:Sfn That gave the Browns another spot in the championship game, again against the Rams.Template:Sfn This time, however, the Rams won 24–17. Graham fumbled the ball in the third quarter, setting up a touchdown that put the Rams ahead 14–10.Template:Sfn Three of his throws were intercepted, but he put up 280 yards of passing and a touchdown.Template:Sfn After the season, Graham was named the league's Most Valuable Player.Template:Sfn

File:1954 Bowman Otto Graham.png

1954 Bowman football card

With Graham at quarterback, Cleveland finished the 1952 season with a 9–3 record and faced the Detroit Lions in the NFL championship game.Template:Sfn Despite gaining 384 total yards to Detroit's 258, Graham, who was the NFL Player of the Year,Template:Sfn and the Browns lost their second straight championship, 17–7.Template:Sfn Cleveland had several long drives that ended with missed field goals, and a fourth-quarter touchdown was negated because Graham's throw to Pete Brewster was first tipped by receiver Ray Renfro; under rules in place at the time, balls deflected by offensive teammates were automatic incompletions.Template:Sfn After the season, as Graham was practicing for the Pro Bowl in Los Angeles on Template:Nowrap his six-week-old son Stephen died from a severe cold.<ref name="Graham baby dies">Template:Cite news</ref>

The 1953 season began with a 27–0 win over the Green Bay Packers in which Graham passed for 292 yards and ran for two touchdowns.Template:Sfn It was the first of 11 straight victories for the Browns, whose only loss came in the final game of the season to the Philadelphia Eagles.Template:Sfn Near the end of the season in a game against the 49ers, Graham took a forearm to the face from Art Michalik that opened a gash on his chin requiring 15 stitches. Graham's helmet was fitted with a clear plastic face mask, and he came back into the game; the injury helped inspire the development of the modern face mask.Template:Sfn Despite an 11–1 record, Cleveland lost in the championship game for the third year in a row, falling to the Detroit Lions 17–16.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Two of Graham's passes were intercepted. He said after the game that he wanted to "jump off a building" for letting his teammates down. "I was the main factor in losing", he said. "If I had played my usual game, we would have won."Template:Sfn Still, Graham finished the season as the NFL's leading passer and again won the Most Valuable Player award.Template:Sfn

Before the start of the Browns' 1954 training camp, Graham was questioned as part of the Sam Sheppard murder case. Sheppard, an osteopath, was accused of bludgeoning his pregnant wife to death, and Graham and his wife, Beverly, were friends with the couple. Graham told police that while he and Beverly liked the Sheppards, they did not know much about their relationship.<ref name="Graham questioned in Sheppard case">Template:Cite news</ref>

The 1954 season was a transitional one for the Browns. Many of the players who joined the 1946 team had retired or were nearing the end of their careers.Template:Sfn Graham, meanwhile, told Brown that he would retire after the season.Template:Sfn After losing the first three games, Cleveland won eight in a row and earned another shot at the championship, again against the Lions.Template:Sfn This time, the Browns won 56–10 as Graham ran for three touchdowns and passed for three more.Template:Sfn He announced his retirement after the game.Template:Sfn After Graham's potential replacements struggled during the 1955 training camp and preseason, Brown convinced Graham to come back and play one more year.Template:Sfn He was offered a salary of $25,000 ($Template:Inflation today), making him the highest-paid player in the NFL.Template:Sfn The Browns lost the opener against the Washington Redskins, but went on to a 9–2–1 regular-season record and another chance at a championship.Template:Sfn Graham threw two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Browns beat the Rams 38–14.Template:Sfn When Brown took Graham out of the game in the fourth quarter, the crowd in the Los Angeles Coliseum gave him a standing ovation.Template:Sfn It was the final performance of a 10-year career in which Graham's team reached the championship each year and won seven. "Nothing would induce me to come back", he said later.Template:Sfn He was the NFL's passing leader and Most Valuable Player in 1955.Template:Sfn He also won the Hickok Belt, awarded to the best professional athlete of the year.<ref name="Graham Hickok Belt">Template:Cite news</ref> Without Graham, the Browns floundered the following year and posted a 5–7 record, their first losing season.Template:Sfn

Graham and head coach Paul Brown created the modern T-formation quarterback position and the modern pro offense. Graham led his league in every major passing category each in multiple seasons and finished his career with a career all-time pro record Yds/Att of 9.0. Until 2016, he held the record for career rushing touchdowns by a pro quarterback with 44. The Browns' record with Graham as starting quarterback was 57–13–1, including a 9–3 record in the playoffs.Template:Sfn He still holds the NFL career record for yards per pass attempt, averaging 8.63.<ref name="Graham career stats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, with 0.810.<ref name="Winning percentage">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Graham was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.<ref name="Graham HoF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Having won seven championships in 10 seasons and reached the championship game in every year he played, Graham is regarded by sportswriters as one of the greatest winners of all time and one of the best professional quarterbacks to play the game.<ref name="Greatest dynasty article">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="CBS Top QBs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Bleacher Report top players">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He never missed a game in his career.Template:Sfn

Graham wore number 60 for much of his career, but he was forced to change it to 14 in 1952 after the NFL passed a rule requiring offensive linemen to wear jersey numbers 50–79 so referees could more easily identify ineligible receivers.<ref name="Graham obit">Template:Cite news</ref> The Browns retired his number 14, while 60 remains in circulation.<ref name="Graham obit" /> While at Northwestern, Graham wore number 48.Template:Sfn<ref name="CBHOF page">Template:College Football HoF</ref>

Coaching careerEdit

When Graham retired from football, he planned to focus on managing the insurance and appliance businesses he owned.<ref name="Graham retirement">Template:Cite news</ref> However, in 1957 Graham signed on as an assistant coach for the college squad in the annual College All-Star Game, an exhibition contest no longer played between the NFL champion and a selection of the best collegiate players from around the country.<ref name="Graham decides on Coast Guard">Template:Cite news</ref> The next year, he was named head coach of the team.<ref name="Graham to coach all-stars">Template:Cite news</ref> With Graham coaching the all-stars in 1958, the team beat the Detroit Lions 35–19.<ref name="Graham's all-stars win">Template:Cite news</ref>

Coast Guard AcademyEdit

Following his convincing win in the all-star game, Graham's friend George Steinbrenner helped get him a job as the head football coach for the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.<ref name="Graham obit" /><ref name="Graham hired at Coast Guard">Template:Cite news</ref> Graham, by then 37 years old, was also named athletic director and given a salary "in five figures".<ref name="Graham hired at Coast Guard" /> School officials said the hiring did not mean Coast Guard would "go big time"; the Division III school played a relatively short schedule at the time against smaller schools in New England.<ref name="Graham hired at Coast Guard" /> The Coast Guard team had a 3–5 record in Graham's first year as coach in 1959, but improved steadily over the ensuing three years.<ref name="Graham CG stats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The team went undefeated in 1963, earning the academy its first-ever post-season bowl appearance.<ref name="Coast Guard Tangerine game">Template:Cite news</ref> Coast Guard lost to Western Kentucky 27–0 in the Tangerine Bowl.<ref name="Coast Guard loses Tangerine">Template:Cite news</ref> Graham continued to coach in the College All-Star Game while at Coast Guard, and his college team beat Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in a 20–17 upset in 1963.<ref name="Graham's all-stars beat Packers">Template:Cite news</ref> Graham was offered coaching jobs in the NFL numerous times during his tenure at Coast Guard, but he said in 1964 that he was content to stay at the small school on a $9,000 salary. He said he deplored the "win at all costs philosophy" that was necessary to be successful in the professional ranks.<ref name="Graham says won't leave Coast Guard">Template:Cite news</ref>

Washington RedskinsEdit

Despite his reservations about the professional game, Graham, who moonlighted as a television and radio commentator for the American Football League's New York Jets in 1964 and 1965, left the Coast Guard Academy after seven years in 1966 to become head coach and general manager of the NFL's Washington Redskins,<ref name="Graham with Jets">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Graham named Redskins coach">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Graham's three seasons (1966–1968) were similarly unsuccessful, with an overall record of 17–22–3.<ref name="Graham Redskins record">Template:Cite news</ref> With a 7–7 record in 1966, the Redskins slipped to 5–6–3 in 1967. Calls for his firing in 1968 intensified as the team's performance worsened to 5–9;<ref name="Editorial calls for Graham's firing">Template:Cite news</ref> The Washington Daily News called for his firing in a front-page editorial in November.<ref name="Editorial calls for Graham's firing" /> With two years remaining on a five-year contract (and an option for another five years), Graham was displaced by Vince Lombardi in early February 1969.<ref name=yvoiaw>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ghnocmt>Template:Cite news</ref>

Return to Coast Guard AcademyEdit

After being dismissed as the Redskins' coach, Graham returned to the Coast Guard Academy as athletic director and said he planned to stay there until he retired.<ref name="Graham steps back from Redskins">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Graham returns to Coast Guard">Template:Cite news</ref> He coached the college team in the College All-Star Game in 1970 for his tenth and final time.<ref name="Graham before 1970 all-star game">Template:Cite news</ref> The college stars lost for the seventh time in a row that year, falling 24–3 to the Kansas City Chiefs.<ref name="Chiefs beat all-stars, 1970">Template:Cite news</ref> He was replaced in 1971 by Blanton Collier, who had retired after succeeding Brown as Cleveland's head coach.<ref name="Collier named all-star coach">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1974, Graham was named Coast Guard's football coach once again, although he resigned two years later to focus on his duties as athletic director.<ref name="Graham named football coach">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Graham resigns as Coast Guard coach">Template:Cite news</ref> In nine years of coaching, Graham's Coast Guard teams had a combined record of 44–32–1.<ref name="CFBDW Graham stats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After eight more years as the school's athletic director, Graham retired in 1984.<ref name="Graham retires from Coast Guard">Template:Cite news</ref>

Later life and deathEdit

An avid golfer and tennis player, Graham partnered with New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio in numerous golf tournaments later in life.<ref name="Graham fights to remember" /> He retired to a house on a golf course in Florida.<ref name="Graham fights to remember">Template:Cite news</ref> Graham overcame colon cancer in 1977, but was later plagued by heart ailments and other health problems.Template:Sfn He was diagnosed as being in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease in 2001, and died of a heart aneurysm in Sarasota, Florida, on December 17, 2003.<ref name="Graham obit" /><ref name="Graham fights to remember" /> He had two sons and a daughter with his wife Beverly.<ref name="Graham NYT obit">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013, Northwestern's fundraising department created the Otto Graham Society to honor his achievements at the school and support its athletics programs.<ref name="Otto Graham Society page">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2014, a new gymnasium at Waterford Country School was dedicated to Otto Graham's memory.<ref name="New gymnasium dedicated to Otto Graham">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

NFL/AAFC career statisticsEdit

Legend
	UPI NFL MVP/POTY
	Won the NFL championship or AAFC Championship
	NFL record
	Led the league
Bold	Career high
Underline	Incomplete data

Regular seasonEdit

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Fumbles
Year	Team	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1946	CLE	14	9		95	174	54.6	1,834	10.5	79	17	5	112.1	30	−125	−4.2	0	1	0	0
1947	CLE	14	9		163	269	60.6	2,753	10.2	99	25	11	109.2	19	72	3.8	—	1	0	0
1948	CLE	14	14		173	333	52.0	2,713	8.1	78	25	15	85.6	23	146	6.3	—	6	0	0
1949	CLE	12	11		161	285	56.5	2,785	9.8	74	19	10	97.5	27	107	4.0	—	3	0	0
1950	CLE	12	12	10–2	137	253	54.2	1,943	7.7	80	14	20	64.7	55	145	2.6	20	6	6	6
1951	CLE	12	12	11–1	147	265	55.5	2,205	8.3	81	17	16	79.2	35	29	0.8	12	3	7	5
1952	CLE	12	12	8–4	181	364	49.7	2,816	7.7	68	20	24	66.6	42	130	3.1	21	4	4	4
1953	CLE	12	11	10–1	167	258	64.7	2,722	10.6	70	11	9	99.7	43	143	3.3	21	6	8	3
1954	CLE	12	12	9–3	142	240	59.2	2,092	8.7	64	11	17	73.5	63	114	1.8	14	8	3	1
1955	CLE	12	12	9–2–1	98	185	53.0	1,721	9.3	61	15	8	94.0	68	121	1.8	36	6	7	4
Career<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! 126 !! 114 !! 57–13–1 !! 1,464 !! 2,626 !! 55.8 !! 23,584 !! style="background:#e0cef2;"\| 9.0 !! style="background:#e0cef2;"\| 99 !! 174 !! 135 !! 86.6 !! 405 !! 882 !! 2.2 !! 36 !! 44 !! 35 !! 23

PostseasonEdit

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Template:Abbr
Year	Team	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1946	CLE	1	1	1–0	16	27	59.3	213	7.9	23	1	1	81.2	3	–19	–6.3	3	0	0
1947	CLE	1	1	1–0	14	21	66.7	112	5.3	35	0	0	79.9	4	21	5.3	24	1	0
1948	CLE	1	1	1–0	11	24	45.8	118	4.9	19	1	1	57.3	1	0	0.0	0	0	0
1949	CLE	2	2	2–0	29	60	48.3	454	7.6	37	2	2	71.1	10	65	6.5	3	0	0
1950	CLE	2	2	2–0	25	41	61.0	341	8.3	39	4	2	99.7	20	169	8.5	21	0	1
1951	CLE	1	1	0–1	19	40	47.5	280	7.0	26	1	3	47.9	5	43	8.6	34	0	1
1952	CLE	1	1	0–1	20	35	57.1	191	5.5	32	0	1	60.5	7	23	3.3	12	0	0
1953	CLE	1	1	0–1	2	15	13.3	20	1.3	13	0	2	0.0	5	9	1.8	5	0	1
1954	CLE	1	1	1–0	9	12	75.0	163	13.6	45	3	2	116.7	9	27	3.0	8	3	0
1955	CLE	1	1	1–0	14	25	56.0	209	8.4	50	2	3	70.7	9	21	2.3	15	2	0
Career<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref> !! 12 !! 12 !! 9–3 !! 159 !! 300 !! 53.0 !! 2,101 !! 7.0 !! 50 !! 14 !! 17 !! 67.4 !! 73 !! 359 !! 4.9 !! 34 !! 6 !! 3

Head coaching recordEdit

CollegeEdit

NFLEdit

Team	Year	Regular season					Postseason
Team	Year	Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
WAS	1966	7	7	0	50.0	5th in NFL Eastern Conference	—	—	—
WAS	1967	5	6	3	45.5	3rd in NFL Capitol Conference	—	—	—
WAS	1968	5	9	0	35.7	3rd in NFL Capitol Conference	—	—	—
Total<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref>\|\| 17 \|\| 22 \|\| 3 \|\| 43.6 \|\|\|\| — \|\| — \|\| — \|\|