Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974. He was also named to the all-time All-Pro team selected in 1968 and to the National Football League (NFL) 1950s All-Decade Team.
Charles Louis Trippi was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a running back, his versatility allowed him to fill a multitude of roles over his career, including quarterback, defensive back, punter, and return specialist. A "quintuple-threat", Trippi was adept at running, catching, passing, punting, and defense.
Emlen Lewis Tunnell, sometimes known by the nickname "the Gremlin", was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first African American to play for the New York Giants and also the first to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
William Augustus "Dub" Jones is an American former professional football player who was a halfback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and the old All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily for the Cleveland Browns. He shares the NFL record for touchdowns scored in a single game, with six.
Robert James "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer was an American football player. A native of Cincinnati, he played college football as a halfback for the Indiana Hoosiers football in 1943 and 1944 and as a quarterback for the Navy Midshipmen football team in 1945. He led the NCAA in both total offense and passing yards during the 1943 season.
John Peter "Pete" Layden, Jr. was an American two-sport professional athlete who played outfielder in Major League Baseball and an assortment of positions in football. He was an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns and a quarterback, running back, cornerback, kick returner, punt returner, and punter for the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the New York Yanks of the National Football League (NFL).
The 1947 Cleveland Browns season was the team's second in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Led by head coach Paul Brown, Cleveland finished with a 12–1–1 record, winning the Western division and the AAFC championship for the second straight year. As in 1946, quarterback Otto Graham led an offensive attack that featured fullback Marion Motley, ends Dante Lavelli, and Mac Speedie.
The 1949 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth and final season in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns finished the regular season with a 9–1–2 win–loss–tie record and beat the San Francisco 49ers to win their fourth straight league championship. In the season's sixth game on October 9, the 49ers stopped the Browns' professional football record unbeaten streak at 29 games. It began two years earlier on October 19, 1947, and included two league championship games and two ties.
Horace Albert "Big Horse" Gillom was an American football punter and end in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He played ten seasons for the Cleveland Browns between 1947 and 1956. Cleveland head coach Paul Brown, who coached Gillom in high school, college and professionally, called him his best all-around high school player and once said there "has never been a better punter than Horace".
Orban Eugene "Spec" Sanders was an American football running back, quarterback, and punter in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Yanks. He was a Pro Bowler in 1950, his final season, when he led the NFL with a then-record-tying 13 interceptions.
James Robert "Bob" Smith was an American football defensive back, halfback and punter. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1949 to 1954. He played for NFL championship teams in Detroit in 1952 and 1953 and was selected as a first-team All Pro after the 1952 season. He also played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Buffalo Bills (1948), Brooklyn Dodgers (1948), and Chicago Hornets (1949). Smith played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (1944), and the Iowa Hawkeyes (1946–1947).
Robert Richard Chappuis was an American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Chappuis flew 21 missions as a radio operator and aerial gunner on B-25 bombers in the European Theater. His aircraft was shot down in February 1945 in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy. Chappuis parachuted from the plane before it crashed, and Italian partisans rescued him by hiding Chappuis and two other crew members for the final three months of the war.
The 1946 Miami Seahawks season was the inaugural one for the franchise and the first for the All-America Football Conference. Head coach Jack Meagher led the team to a 3–11 finish, fourth out of four teams in the Eastern Division.
Chester A. Mutryn was a professional American football halfback and defensive back in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 20th round of the 1943 NFL Draft.
Clyde J. LeForce, Jr. was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tulsa.
The 1946 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. In their ninth year under head coach was Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines compiled a 6–2–1 record, outscored opponents 233 to 73, and finished the season in second place in the Big Nine Conference and ranked No. 6 in the final 1946 AP poll. The team's two losses came against an undefeated Army team that was ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll and against an Illinois team that won the Big Nine championship and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll. Michigan won its last four games by a combined score of 162 to 19, starting a 25-game winning streak that continued for nearly three years until October 8, 1949. In the final game of the 1946 season, Michigan defeated Ohio State, 58–6, the Buckeyes' worst defeat since joining the conference in 1913.
The 1945 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1945 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth year under head coach was Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines compiled a 7–3 record and finished the season ranked #6 in the final Associated Press Poll. Quarterback Joe Ponsetto was the team captain, and center Harold Watts won the Most Valuable Player award and was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference player.
Charles Bernard Fenenbock was an American football player who starred in college at UCLA, and professionally in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), the National Football League (NFL), the All America Football Conference (AAFC), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Notably he was a running back for the Detroit Lions in the NFL, and for the Los Angeles Dons in the AAFC where he led the league in numerous offensive categories.
Rayford Jerald Coates was a professional American football player. He played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a halfback for the New York Giants. He attended Louisiana State University, where he played college football for the LSU Tigers football team. He was MVP of the 1947 Cotton Bowl. He was also a member of LSU’s 1946 SEC championship baseball team. For five decades he held the LSU record for longest punt, at 76-yards against Rice in 1944.
