Otto Graham

Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who played quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He grew up in Waukegan, Illinois, the son of music teachers, and entered Northwestern University in 1940 on a basketball scholarship, though 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, winning the 1945–46 championship.

With Graham at quarterback, the Browns reached the league championship game every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten consecutive championship appearances and winning seven of them. Over those ten seasons the team posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties, including a 9–3 mark in AAFC and NFL playoff games. He was regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era.

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."