When two was better than one

Travis Hunter of Colorado is a great cornerback.

He is also a great wide receiver.

And he would like to do both for the team that picks him in the NFL Draft later this month.

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Whether Huntet actually gets to do it or not remains to be seen, for the NFL, like everything and everyone else in this world, football and sports in general, and otherwise, are quite resistant to change and there hadn’t been a true two-way player in the league in 65 years.

But when the Browns were launched 79 years ago, in 1946, as charter members of the All-America Football Conferrnce, most pro football players were on both offense and defense.

With the Browns, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham was also a defensive back.

Hall of Fame fallback Marion Motley was also a linebacker.

Hall of Fame middle guard Bill Willis was also an offensive guard.

And so on and so forth. Except in rare circumstances, that pretty much ended in the early 1950s. That was due to the efforts of Browns head coach Paul Brown, who introduced the two-platoon system.

Even if it wasn’t on both offense and defense, players still handled two different positions during those early years.

Hall of Famer Lou Groza was the best of these players, for he could have made it to Canton on his performance at left tackle or with his kicking. He would tell people that he was “a left tackle who also kicked.” But he is known as “The Father of Modern Kicking.” The top kicker in college football every year gets the Lou Groza Award.

Horace Gillom, who is a Cleveland Browns Legend based on what he did as a punter, also played a spot on offense that was the forerunner of today’s tight end.

In the 1960s, Gary Collins was a tremendous wide receiver who should be in the Hall of Fame. He also punted for about half of his career and led the league in punting one season.

When Groza retired after the 1967 season, Don Cockroft took over both the kicking and punting chores through 1980.

Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell was a running back and a returner for the Browns, as was Greg Pruitt.

All this is why the Travis Hunter story is so interesting and potentially so historic.

Steve King

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