Otto Graham

Short Biography

Otto Everett Graham, Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League. Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 114 wins, 20 losses and four ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the playoffs. While most of Graham's statistical records have been surpassed in the modern era, he still holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt, with 8.98. He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, at 0.814. 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." He is also known for being one of only two people (the other being Gene Conley—Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series and three Boston Celtics championships from 1959–61) to win championships in two of the four major American sports—1946 NBL (became NBA) and AAFC Championship, plus 3 more AAFC and 3 NFL championships.