1. Oliver Monroe Cline was an American professional football player who was a fullback for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions in the 1940s and 1950s.
20 Facts About Ollie Cline
1. 2.
Ollie Cline became the football team's primary fullback that year as the school went unbeaten and was ranked second in the nation in the AP Poll.
3.
Ollie Cline began his professional career by signing with the Browns, a team in the All-America Football Conference coached by former Ohio State head coach Paul Brown.
4.
Cleveland won all of its games and the AAFC championship in 1948 while Ollie Cline served as a backup to fullback Marion Motley.
5.
Ollie Cline then retired from football and earned a master's degree in education.
6.
Ollie Cline later worked at a variety of school systems in Ohio and Arizona.
7.
Ollie Cline was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame and was named to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team in 2000.
8.
Ollie Cline grew up in Fredericktown, Ohio and attended the local Fredericktown High School, where he played on the football team as a back.
9.
Ollie Cline led the Big Ten in rushing with 936 yards, at the time a school record, and scored nine touchdowns.
10.
Ollie Cline rushed for 229 yards in a November game against the University of Pittsburgh, setting an Ohio State single-game record that stood for 27 years until Archie Griffin broke it in 1972.
11.
Ollie Cline was awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, given to the most valuable player in the Big Ten.
12.
Ollie Cline was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and a third-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.
13.
Ollie Cline was accepted for military service before the 1945 season, but was not called up for duty until the following February.
14.
Ollie Cline, who had been passed over by the US Army twice because of a punctured ear drum, was sent to Camp Atterbury, a training base in Indiana.
15.
Ollie Cline decided to begin his professional career in 1948 despite that he had a year of college eligibility remaining.
16.
The move upset some Ohio State supporters worried about the team's loss of talent, but Ollie Cline said he wanted to go pro because he was getting married and needed to start making money.
17.
Ollie Cline had been drafted by the National Football League's Chicago Bears, but signed instead with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference, a team coached by former Ohio State coach Paul Brown.
18.
Ollie Cline responded by turning in the best year of his professional career, running for 518 yards and three touchdowns.
19.
Ollie Cline served as the dean of men at Urbana College in Urbana, Ohio.
20.
Ollie Cline was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame and named to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team in 2000.