A lot of the youngsters reading the name Otto Graham so high up on the list are probably scratching their heads right now and that's ok. Otto Graham played during an era of football where proper head protection was inadequate and the shoulder pad technology wasn't the greatest. However, that didn't stop Graham from being one of the most dominant athletes in professional football throughout the 1940s and '50s. The 6'1 quarterback from Waukegan, Illinois attend Northwestern University of a basketball scholarship but also played football for the private college as well from 1941 to 1943. While in school, the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred and Graham signed up for the United States Coast Guard all the while setting a single-season Big Ten Conference record for completions with 89 in 1942. Prior to playing professional football, Graham also played pro basketball as a member of the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League (NBL).
After being discharged by the Navy in 1946, Otto Graham reported to the Cleveland Browns training camp. In his first season as a starter, Graham led the Browns to a 12-2 record and defeated the New York Yankees in the AAFC Championship. From 1946 to 1949, Graham and the Browns won four consecutive AAFC Championships and even went undefeated in the 1948 season. After the AAFC dissolved in 1949, the Cleveland Browns merged into the NFL and played their first season in the league in 1950. Instantaneously, the Browns came into the league and won their first championship against the Los Angeles Rams. Graham would lead the Browns to three more consecutive championship games but wouldn't another until 1954 and 1955. The 6x Pro Bowler and 3x NFL MVP (1951, 1953, and 1955) called it quits on the game after the 1955 season. Otto Graham passed away at the age of 82 in September 2003, he will always be remembered for dominating the game during his time as a pro football player.
Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.
Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.
Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.
Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.
Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.
Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.