The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati.
Massillon is a city in western Stark County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 census. Massillon is a principal city of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area, which includes all of Stark and Carroll counties and had a population of 401,574 in 2020.
Paul Eugene Brown was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Cleveland Browns, a team named after him, and later co-founded the Cincinnati Bengals. His teams won seven league championships in a professional coaching career spanning 25 seasons.
Leslie Horvath was an American football quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy while playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 1944. Horvath was the first Ohio State player to win the Heisman, an award given to the best college football player in the United States. The school retired his jersey number 22 in October 2000.
Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli, nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1956. Starring alongside quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, kicker Lou Groza and fellow receiver Mac Speedie, Lavelli was an integral part of a Browns team that won seven championships during his 11-season career. Lavelli was known for his sure hands and improvisations on the field. He was also renowned for making catches in critical situations, earning the nickname "Mr. Clutch". Browns head coach Paul Brown once said of him: "Lavelli had one of the strongest pairs of hands I've ever seen, when he went up for a pass with a defender, you could almost always count on him coming back down with the ball."
McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus and the main campus, which is known as McKinley Senior High School. Athletic teams compete as the Canton McKinley Bulldogs in the Ohio High School Athletic Association as a member of the Federal League.
Valdosta High School is a public high school located in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. It is a part of the Valdosta City School District.
Paul Brown Tiger Stadium is a high school football stadium located in Massillon, Ohio. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Massillon Washington High School Tigers football team. The stadium has a seating capacity of 16,600 spectators, with a maximum capacity of over 19,000 when extra seating is brought in. The stadium is named after former Tiger and noted football head coach, Paul Brown.
Robert Warren Grier was an American college football player for Pitt. In 1956, he was the first African American football player to break the color barrier of the United States collegiate Sugar Bowl game, which was held in New Orleans. Particularly in the deep South, the mid-1950s was a period of strident racial segregation of sports, as well as other areas of life. At the time, Grier's participation as a fullback, linebacker and defensive back against a segregated all-white team on such a prestigious "stage" was a tremendously significant event.
The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in the sport of American football. The Cardinals compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Richard Philip Schafrath was an American offensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns, former Ohio State Senator, and author. During his tenure as an athlete, he won a national football championship with the 1957 Ohio State University Buckeyes and the 1964 NFL Championship with the Cleveland Browns. Because of his strong work ethic and occasional stubborn determination friends and teammates nicknamed him "The Mule".
Robert Louis Vogel is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1972. Vogel was a mainstay on the offensive line that protected quarterback Johnny Unitas, appearing in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V with the Colts. During his career, Vogel was selected to five Pro Bowls and earned five All-Pro selections.
Thomas Laverne James Jr. was an American football defensive back and punter who played for Ohio State University and the Cleveland Browns in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Canton, Ohio and attended Massillon Washington High School, where he played as a back on the football team under head coach Paul Brown. James was a key part of a Massillon team that went undefeated in 1940. After graduating, he followed Brown to Ohio State and played there as a halfback. Ohio State won its first national championship in 1942 when James was on the team.
Horace Albert "Big Horse" Gillom was an American professional football player who was a 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".
William Miller Edwards was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Reserve University, Vanderbilt University and Wittenberg University in a career lasting more than 30 years, compiling a win-loss-tie record of 168–45–8. Edwards also coached the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1941 to 1942, tallying a 4–9–1 record, and served as an assistant coach for the NFL's Cleveland Browns in the late 1940s.
Lindell Lee Houston was an American football guard who played eight seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Browns. He was the older brother of Jim Houston.
Dennis E. Franklin is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Lions in the 1975 NFL draft. Prior to playing in the NFL, he played college football as a quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines from 1971 to 1974. He was their starter from 1972 to 1974. He was recruited by Michigan after starring for the Massillon High School football team in Ohio. Franklin is known as Michigan's first black quarterback.
Joseph Graham Fogg was an American football player for the Wisconsin Badgers and the Akron East Ends. Born in Mount Vernon, Iowa, he was also the founder and president of the Cleveland Touchdown Club as well as prominent attorney in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1909 until his death in 1946, he was a law partner at Calfee & Fogg, today known as Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP.
Frederick K. "Fritz" Heisler was a professional American football coach who was an assistant and scout for the Cleveland Browns for 30 years between 1946 and 1976. He was a long-time associate of Paul Brown, the first coach of the team.
Leo E. Strang was an American football coach. He began his coaching career at the high school football level in the state of Ohio. He served as the head football at Massillon Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio from 1958 to 1963, leading his teams there to two national titles and three consecutive Ohio state championships. His career record as a high school coach was 109–26–1 over 14 seasons. Strang was then the head football coach at Kent State University from 1964 to 1967, compiling a record of 16–21–2 in four seasons.
