Graham, Otto

Otto Graham, in full Otto Everett Graham, Jr., byname Automatic Otto, (born December 6, 1921, Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.—died December 17, 2003, Sarasota, Florida), American collegiate and professional gridiron football player and coach best remembered as the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns during a 10-year period in which they won 105 games, lost 17, and tied 5 in regular-season play and won 7 of 10 championship games.

Graham was an all-around athlete in high school. At Northwestern University (1941–43) he was named All-American in football (1943), and in 1944 he joined the U.S. Navy and trained as an aircraft pilot. The navy sent him to Colgate University, where he played basketball and was named an All-American.

Graham began his professional career in sports playing for the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League. He then switched to football, playing for the Cleveland Browns (All-America Football Conference, 1946–49; National Football League [NFL], 1950–55). In college Graham had played tailback, which was the passing position in the single-wing formation used by Northwestern, but in Cleveland, where the T formation was favoured, he played quarterback. He led his league as a passer in six seasons; in the 1950 NFL championship game, he passed for four touchdowns; in the 1954 championship game, he passed for three and ran for three more. His career average yardage per pass of 8.63 yards was still an NFL record at the turn of the century, and his 10.55 yards per pass in 1955 was the third best single-season average in history. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

After retiring as a player, he was head coach and athletic director of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (1959–66). He then served as general manager and coach of the NFL Washington Redskins (1966–68).