Lou Groza

Louis Roy “Lou” Groza (January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) (K/OT/DT/C) was the last member from the original Cleveland Browns team of the All-America Football Conference when he retired in 1967. After playing one season for Ohio State University, Groza was drafted into the United States Army. Upon his discharge from the service, Lou joined the Cleveland Browns of the AAFC playing both sides of the ball as offensive tackle and placekicker. Groza played offensive tackle and placekicker for 14 seasons (1946-1959) with the Browns and briefly retired for a season before returning to Cleveland as strictly a places kicker for the remainder of his career (1961-1967. Lou Groza led the NFL in field goals made six times, field goal attempts six times, extra point attempts twice and extra points made three times. Dubbed “The Toe” for his unique kicking style, Groza frequently led his team in scoring. In the 1950 NFL League Championship game, Lou kicked a field goal with 30 seconds remaining to beat the Los Angeles Rams. Lou Groza played in 13 championship games in his career, capturing the league titles in THE four consecutive AAFC League title games (1946-1949) and four NFL League Championships (1950, 1954, 1955, 1964). Lou was named to nine NFL Pro Bowl appearances and was selected to four NFL All-Pro First Teams. Groza finished his career with 1,608 total points on 810 extra points, 264 field goals, and one touchdown in 268 games. Lou Groza was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.