1. Warren Emmett Lahr was an American professional football player who was a defensive back who played for the Cleveland Browns for 11 seasons, mainly in the 1950s.
39 Facts About Warren Lahr
1. 2.
Warren Lahr then served for three years in the US Navy during World War II.
3.
Warren Lahr returned to Western Reserve in 1946 and became a star for the team as a left halfback for two seasons.
4.
Warren Lahr was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League in the 1947 draft.
5.
Warren Lahr sat out the 1948 season with an injured knee, but quickly became a regular on defense the following season.
6.
Warren Lahr stayed with the Browns through 1959, a period during which the team won one AAFC championship and three NFL championships after merging into that league in 1950.
7.
Warren Lahr has the second-most career interceptions in Browns history, trailing only Thom Darden, who passed him with his 45th and final interception in 1981.
8.
Warren Lahr died of a heart attack in 1969 at the age of 45.
9.
Warren Lahr Grew up in West Wyoming, Pennsylvania, a small town in the eastern part of the state.
10.
Warren Lahr attended West Wyoming High School, where he was a standout on the football team.
11.
Warren Lahr began as a reserve player under Western Reserve head coach Tom Davies in 1942, when he was a sophomore.
12.
Warren Lahr played halfback for the Western Reserve Red Cats.
13.
Warren Lahr returned to Western Reserve in 1946 and had a successful junior season as a left halfback.
14.
The Red Cats went undefeated against the three other rival Cleveland schools of the Big Four Conference, and Warren Lahr was named to the 11-member All-Big Four city all-star team after the season.
15.
Warren Lahr won the school's Jack Dempsey Adam Hat trophy for his performance.
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Warren Lahr figured prominently in Western Reserve's offense as a senior in 1947.
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Warren Lahr was switched from halfback to quarterback midway through the season.
18.
Warren Lahr had exhausted his eligibility by playing in 1942,1946 and 1947, but was not expected to have enough course credits to graduate until 1949.
19.
However, Warren Lahr decided to forgo his extra year at Western Reserve and signed with the Cleveland Browns, a professional team in the All-America Football Conference coached by Paul Brown.
20.
Warren Lahr was selected by the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers late in the NFL draft.
21.
Warren Lahr came to the Browns in 1948 as a third-string quarterback, but had to sit out while recovering from a knee injury he suffered before the season began.
22.
Warren Lahr's first playing time with the team came in 1949, when Cleveland again won the AAFC championship.
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However, Warren Lahr made the team and started the year as a left halfback.
24.
Warren Lahr was switched to safety in the middle of the season and played primarily on defense after Browns starter Cliff Lewis was injured.
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Warren Lahr stayed with the team after the transition and was a mainstay of the defensive backfield throughout the 1950s, playing opposite Tommy James.
26.
The Browns won the NFL championship in their first year in the league, when Warren Lahr recorded eight interceptions, including two he ran back for touchdowns.
27.
Warren Lahr continued to play mainly as a defensive left halfback in the following seasons, although he spent time at safety in 1952 and his final season in 1959.
28.
Warren Lahr was named a first-team All-Pro by sportswriters in 1951, when he had five interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns.
29.
Warren Lahr's blown coverage on a late-game touchdown catch by Jim Doran of the Lions in the 1953 championship was a major factor in the Browns loss.
30.
Warren Lahr was nevertheless named to the Pro Bowl after the season, having made five interceptions and returned them for 119 yards.
31.
Warren Lahr was named a first-team All-Pro for the second time in 1956.
32.
Warren Lahr stayed with the Browns through the 1959 season, when he was switched from defensive halfback to safety.
33.
Warren Lahr had 44 interceptions in his Browns career, which stood as the record for most team interceptions by a Browns player until it was later broken by Thom Darden.
34.
Warren Lahr ran back five interceptions for touchdowns, which remains a team record.
35.
Warren Lahr was dropped when CBS made changes to its broadcasting lineup in 1968, but continued to work on preseason games.
36.
Warren Lahr worked as a sales agent for Lax Industries in Cleveland and ran a sporting goods business with his close friend Ed Lewis, the athletic director at Adelbert College, which was part of Western Reserve.
37.
Warren Lahr died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1969, when he was 45 years old.
38.
Warren Lahr had recently passed a physical examination, but had come down with the flu the previous week.
39.
In 2008, Warren Lahr was named a Browns Legend, an honor given by the franchise to a selection of the best players in its history.