"I think that kid really has something"
Having made a name for himself as Waukegan High School’s first All–State basketball player, Graham caught the attention of many college recruiters. He chose to accept Northwestern’s basketball scholarship because of the school’s proximity to his hometown. Rumors of his performance on Alpha Delta Phi’s touch football team caught the ear of Northwestern’s head football coach Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf who invited Graham to try out for the varsity. In his first game on the team in October 1941, Graham caught a Kansas State punt and returned it 93 yards for a touchdown. In another game in 1943, he scored four touchdowns and three extra points against Wisconsin, creating a long-standing Northwestern record.
"Only difference is shape of ball"
Graham, the embodiment of the All–American athlete, lettered in basketball, football and baseball (a sport he never played in high school) while at Northwestern. By the end of his collegiate career, he was honored with the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award as the Big Tens’ Most Valuable Player and finished third in Heisman Award voting.
"The navy is getting a champion in every sense of the word"
In 1943, Graham anchored the Chicago Charities College All-Star Game, an annual preseason event that pitted top collegiate seniors against the defending NFL champion. Normally played at Chicago’s Soldier Field, the ’43 and ’44 games were held at Dyche Stadium, now Ryan Field, in Evanston. It was a taste of the big stages to come for Graham. (The collegians won about a quarter of their matches over the life of the series, with the last All-Star win coming in 1963 — with Otto as their coach. He beat Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, 20–17.)
After earning All-American honors in football and basketball in back-to-back seasons, Graham graduated early with a degree in education. He enrolled in Colgate University’s Naval Flight Preparatory School to join the war effort and was immediately hurried onto the school’s basketball team — having never met any of his teammates, he suited up and led the team to a 53-49 victory against New York University scoring 19 points. He was later transferred to the North Carolina Pre-Flight School — the Cloudbusters — where he crossed paths with legendary University of Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
