"Automatic Otto" Graham Turns 100
A 1943 Look magazine headline summed up Otto Graham with five words that said it all: “excels at everything he tries.” He came to Northwestern on a basketball scholarship, but it is football, both collegiate and professional, for which Graham is still being honored today. He racked up accolades and records at Northwestern, lettered in three sports, then graduated early with honors —after which he just kept making history in his sport.
Recruited by Paul Brown to anchor his new professional football franchise, Graham became a quarterback legend for the Cleveland Browns. His career winning percentage of .814 — .861 when you include the fours years the Browns were in in the AAFC —is an NFL record that remains untouched. (Tom Brady? He’s currently around .770.) Graham is the only athlete to win world championships in two different sports: in basketball with the Rochester Royals (the precursor to the Sacramento Kings) in 1946, and in football with the Cleveland Browns — also in 1946, as well as other seasons.
Happy Birthday, Otto
Otto, who died in 2003, would have been 100 years old on Dec. 6, 2021. This site celebrates his legacy by recounting his holdings at Northwestern, including a comprehensive scrapbook collection in University Archives and other memorabilia of his sports dominance. This work is also dedicated to his wife Beverly, who passed away on Nov. 26, 2021 at 97.
