Lou Groza
Groza played 21 seasons with Browns:
Lou “The Toe” Groza started playing football in high school in Martins Ferry, Ohio, and played a season at Ohio State University. Lou was drafted in the United States Army for service in World War II, where he was stationed in the Philippines and Okinawa. While he was in the Army, Groza received a letter from Paul Brown, his coach at Ohio State. Brown had just been named the head coach of the new Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference, and he wanted Groza to be a member of the first Browns’ team. Upon being discharged in early 1946, Lou went to Cleveland, a place he would never leave.
Lou Groza played 21 seasons with the Browns and was a nine-time Pro Bowler
Groza ended up playing 21 seasons for the Browns. He began his career as both an offensive tackle and a kicker. In 1954, he was named the NFL’s Player of the Year. After a back injury forced him to sit out the entire 1960 season, Groza came back solely as the kicker, a role that he maintained until he retired.
Groza’s greatest moment as a football player occurred on Christmas Eve, 1950. The Browns, in their first season in the NFL, were down 28-27 to the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950 NFL Championship Game. With 28 seconds remaining the Browns turned to Groza to kick a field goal. With the championship hanging in the balance, Groza nailed the kick and Cleveland won 30-28.
When he retired in 1967, Lou left a legacy that is still unmatched in NFL history. The 1,608 career points he scored is still a Browns’ franchise record, and he ranks third all-time in league history.
Groza was a nine-time All-Pro and won an amazing eight championships, four in the AAFC (1946-1949) and four in the NFL (1950, 1954-1955, 1964).
The Browns retired his number, 76, in 1968, and in 1974 the name of Lou Groza was etched into football immortality when he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bio Info:
No. 46, 76
Placekicker, offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: January 25, 1924
Place of birth: Martins Ferry, Ohio
Date of death: November 29, 2000 (aged 76)
Place of death: Middleburg Heights, Ohio
Height: 6 ft 3 inWeight: 250 lb)Career information
College: Ohio State
• Debuted in 1946 for the Cleveland Browns
• Last played in 1967 for the Cleveland BrownsCareer history
- • Cleveland Browns (1946-1959)
- • Cleveland Browns (1961-1967)
Career highlights and awards
- • 9× Pro Bowl selection (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959)
- • 4× First-Team All-Pro (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)
- • 5× NFL field goal leader (1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957)
- • NFL scoring leader (1957)
- • NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
- • Lou Groza Award
- • Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor
- • Cleveland Browns #76 retired
Career NFL statisticsField Goals Made264Field Goals Attempted 481Field Goal %54.9Points scored1,608• Stats at NFL.com• Stats at pro-football-reference.com• Stats at DatabaseFootball.com• Pro Football Hall of Fame—Information from Wikipedia.com—Lou Groza on Wikipedia
