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.
They may be beautiful, rich and famous, but celebrities are human too, and that means they're just as prone to getting sick as the rest of us. And just like us, some celebs even live with chronic conditions that can take a toll on their day-to-day lives. But eczema – also referred to as dermatitis – is a common dry skin condition. Symptoms include dry, itchy, red and scaly skin. In more extreme cases, the skin can crust and bleed. According to the National Eczema Association, 1 in 10 individuals will develop eczema in their lifetime. And given these statistics, it’s hardly a surprise there are a few celebrities out there who have eczema too.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, 37, suffered from eczema in her teens. Kate was bullied heavily whilst attending Downe House girls’ boarding school, according to the Duchess’s friend Jessica Hay. According Hay, Middleton’s bullies made fun of her eczema. ‘It didn’t help that she was so tall and self-conscious about her eczema,’ Hay told CelebNow. Studies have shown children with moderate and extreme atopic dermatitis are more likely to suffer from conditions like anxiety and low self-esteem, which has a knock-on effect on their school work and ability to make friends.
Although Brad Pitt, 55, has not spoken about the issue himself, his co-star Cate Blanchett disclosed that Pitt was suffering from eczema during filming of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In an interview with Scotland’s Daily Record, the actress said, ‘We went through three weeks of make-up tests and he was covered in eczema from it all.’ Blanchett sweetly loaned Pitt her skin cream to deal with the dermatitis, that had developed due to the use of prosthetic makeup worn during filming. Prosthetic make-up isn’t the hugest concern for us non-Hollywood folk, nevertheless, what is a concern, is how makeup can trigger eczema flair up. Unless makeup brushes are constantly washed (let’s be real, they’re not), they become a breeding ground for bacteria. This can lead to clogged pores and irritated sensitive skin.
Adele, 31, stated that her eczema flared up when she became a new mom. During a press conference in 2013 after her Golden Globe win for Best Original Song for the Bond film Sykfall, the singer said: ‘I am exhausted. That’s how [motherhood] changed me. I have eczema from boiling bottles.’ Research carried out by the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal) has revealed that contact dermatitis has the potential to have ‘detrimental’ impact and in the worst case scenarios can even threaten some sufferers ability to work.