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Biography of Otto GrahamName: Otto GrahamBirth Date: December 6, 1921 Death Date: N/A Place of Birth: Evanston, Illinois, United States Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: football player, football coach Otto Graham Otto Graham (born 1921) was one of professional football's greatest quarterbacks and most accurate passers. In every one of his ten seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he led his team to the league championship game."Otto was my greatest player," said legendary Cleveland coach Paul Brown. "He had the finest peripheral vision I had ever seen, and that is a big factor in a quarterback. He was a tremendous playmaker. He had unusual eye-and-hand coordination, and he was bigger and faster than you thought."All-around TalentOtto Graham was a huge baby, weighing 14 pounds and 12 ounces when he was born on December 6, 1921 in Evanston, Illinois. He was one of four sons of two schoolteachers who both loved music and encouraged their children to play instruments. Young Otto became proficient in violin, cornet, piano, and French horn. At Waukegan High School, he became Illinois French horn state champion and played in a brass …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…for 16 more seasons as athletic director before his retirement in 1985. In 1994 he was named to the NFL's 75th anniversary team. In 1996 Graham received Northwestern University's Lifetime Achievement Award.In an interview with NFL.com in 2000, Graham expressed one regret, that he had given up music for football: "I would trade every trophy, every honor I've ever had, to have just continued playing the piano." Further Reading Herskowitz, Mickey, The Quarterbacks, William Morrow, 1990.Korch, Rick, The Truly Great: The 200 Best Pro Football Players of All Time, Taylor Publishing, 1993.Rosenthal, Harold, Fifty Faces of Football, Atheneum, 1981.Sports Illustrated, August 17, 1998. "Graham was the ultimate winner," NFL.Com, http://www.nfl.com/news/Wherenow/graham.html. "Graham: the Browns' first star,NFL.Com, http://www.nfl.com/news/hof/40s/graham.html "Otto Graham," www.ottograham.net "Otto Graham," Notable Northwestern Alumni, University Archives, http://www.library.nwu.edu/archives/exhibits/alumni/graham.html. |