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The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2023

Otto Graham

  • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2023
  • Embed from Getty Images
  • Sport(s): Football
  • Statistics: 3 NFL Championships (1950, 1953 & 1954)

    4 AAFC Championships (1946, 1947, 1948 & 1949)

    3 MVPs (1951, 1953 & 1955)

    3 AAFC MVPs (1947, 1948 & 1949)

    7 First Team All-Pro Selections (1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954 & 1955)

    5 Pro Bowls (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 & 1954)

    2-Time Pass Completions Leader (1949 & 1952)

    4-Time Pass Completion Percentage Leader (1947, 1953, 1954 & 1955)

    5-Time Passing Yards Leader (1947, 1948, 1949, 1942 & 1953)

    3-Time Passing Touchdowns Leader (1946, 1947 & 1952)

    5-Time Passer Rating Leader (1946, 1947, 1949, 1953 & 1955)

    1-Time All-American (1943)

    1 Big Ten Player of the Year Award (1943)

    13,499 NFL Passing Yards

    174 NFL Passing Touchdowns

    Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

    Member of the College Football Hall of Fame

    Number retired by the Cleveland Browns

    Named to the 1950s All-Decade Team

    Named to the NFL 75th Anniversary Team

    Named to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team
  • The game of football was evolving, and the forward pass was not yet an integral part of most offenses. The Cleveland Browns of the upstart AAFC looked to integrate more passes in their offense, and they had the quarterback to that in Otto Graham, an All-American from Northwestern. The AAFC lasted for four years, with Cleveland winning all of them with two league MVPs earned by Graham.



    The NFL absorbed the AAFC, and Graham and the Browns proved they were elite all along, as they won the 1950 NFL Championship. Graham went on to lead the Browns to two more titles and win three NFL Championships.



    Graham played an even ten years in professional football, winning seven titles, and in the three years he didn’t, he took his team to the championship game.



    With all due respect to any up-and-coming quarterbacks, achieving that level of success will prove to be impossible to match.



    We are proud to nominate Otto Graham for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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