Emerson Cole
No. 70, 30, 31 | |||||||
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Position: | Fullback, Linebacker | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Carrier Mills, Illinois, U.S. | December 10, 1927||||||
Died: | June 4, 2019 | (aged 91)||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Swanton (OH) | ||||||
College: | University of Toledo | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1950 / Round: 12 / Pick: 156 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Emerson Elvin Cole (December 10, 1927 – June 4, 2019) was an
Cole was born in
After a short stint with the Chicago Bears, Cole retired from football and became a deputy sheriff back in Ohio. He later held jobs with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, including as the statewide compliance director. He retired in 1986. Cole was inducted into Toledo's athletics hall of fame in 1984.
Early life and college
Cole was born in
After graduating in 1946, Cole attended the University of Toledo on an athletic scholarship.[4] Playing for Toledo's football team between 1947 and 1949, he had 2,300 rushing yards as a fullback and 33 rushing touchdowns.[6] As of 2013, he holds the Toledo Rockets single-season rushing record, with 1,162 yards, and is second in career touchdowns and touchdowns in a season.[6] Cole was named a first-team All-Ohio player in his senior year and was an honorable mention All-American.[6]
Professional career
The
Cleveland head coach Paul Brown groomed Cole to replace Motley, who was nearing the end of his career in 1950.[8] Cole played in all 12 of the team's games that year, running for 105 yards on 26 carries.[9] He was also used as a linebacker on defense.[8] The Browns finished the regular season with a 10–2 win–loss record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship.[10]
While Cole appeared to be Motley's chosen successor at fullback in an offense that featured
Like other black players of his era, Cole frequently endured racist taunts on the field and racial discrimination off the field.[14] Black players typically stayed in separate hotels from the white players, and the groups did not mingle socially.[15] White players on opposing teams stepped on the black players after plays were over; they often stepped on Motley's hands and once stepped hard on Cole's face, cutting his mouth.[16] Brown did not tolerate racism within the team, but Cole later said he thought Brown considered black athletes to be physically superior but intellectually inferior to whites.[11]
Later life
Following his playing career, Cole went back to Ohio and took a $2,000-a-year job as a deputy in the Lucas County sheriff's department.[4][17] After having trouble getting promoted because of racial discrimination, he left for a job in the county welfare department and later in its anti-poverty department.[18] He later got a job in Toledo as the regional director of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, a body that oversees enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.[18] He spent nine years there before being promoted to the commission's statewide compliance director in Columbus, Ohio.[18] He retired in 1986.[18] Cole was inducted into the University of Toledo Varsity T Club Hall of Fame in 1984.[19][20] He is also a member of Swanton High School's hall of fame.[21]
He died on 4 June 2019, at the age of 91.[22]
References
- ^ a b Piascik 2009, p. 113.
- ^ Piascik 2009, pp. 113–115.
- ^ Piascik 2009, pp. 113, 115–116.
- ^ a b c d Dungjen, Taylor (October 7, 2012). "8 African-Americans recognized during group's annual luncheon". Toledo Blade. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Piascik 2009, p. 116.
- ^ a b c "Emerson Cole, Football (1947–49)". University of Toledo. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- ^ a b Piascik 2009, pp. 111–113.
- ^ a b c Piascik 2009, p. 111.
- ^ a b Piascik 2009, p. 112.
- ^ Piascik 2007, p. 181.
- ^ a b Piascik 2009, p. 120.
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 231–234.
- ^ a b Piascik 2009, pp. 122–123.
- ^ Piascik 2009, pp. 117, 119–121, 124.
- ^ Piascik 2009, pp. 123–124.
- ^ Piascik 2009, p. 124.
- ^ Piascik 2009, pp. 123, 126.
- ^ a b c d Piascik 2009, p. 127.
- ^ Piascik 2009, p. 118.
- ^ "UT Hall Of Fame Adds Five Names". Toledo Blade. October 23, 1983. p. 22. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- ^ Piascik 2009, p. 115.
- ^ Emerson E. Cole (1927-2019)
Bibliography
- Piascik, Andy (2007). The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-571-6.
- Piascik, Andy (2009). Gridiron Gauntlet: The Story of the Men Who Integrated Pro Football, In Their Own Words. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-442-9.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference