Tony Adamle
Fullback | |||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
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Born: | Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S. | May 15, 1924||||||||||
Died: | October 7, 2000 Kent, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 76)||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
College: | Ohio State | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1947 / Round: 12 / Pick: 105 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Anthony Adamle (May 15, 1924 – October 7, 2000) was an American professional
Adamle grew up in
Adamle left football for good after the season, earning a medical degree from Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1956. He settled with his family in Kent, Ohio, where he ran a medical practice until his death in 2000. He was a team physician for his local high school and for Kent State University for more than 35 years. Adamle's son Mike played in the NFL as a fullback in the 1970s before retiring and becoming a sports broadcaster.
Early life and high school
Adamle was born in
College and military career
Adamle attended
Professional career
Adamle was eligible to play for the Buckeyes again in 1947, but decided to leave school and join the
Adamle's decision to drop out was controversial because of rules that under normal circumstances would have barred him from playing professionally before graduating. The interruption of the war had forced the suspension of the rule to account for players' military service, however, and he was allowed to leave college.[7] The Browns denied that they encouraged Adamle to drop out.[7] Adamle may have been convinced to join the Browns by Gene Fekete, Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza and Bill Willis, four Browns players who were back at Ohio State to finish their studies after the 1946 season.[7][9]
With the Browns starting in
By the team's following season, Adamle was being used mostly on defense as a left-side linebacker, and Motley was again the primary fullback.[18] Cleveland had a perfect season in 1948, winning all of its games and beating the Buffalo Bills in the championship.[19] Adamle had 88 rushing yards and a touchdown that year.[14]
Adamle filled in for an injured Motley at fullback for several games the following year while continuing to play as a linebacker.[20] He had 64 rushing yards and made four interceptions, a career-high.[14] Cleveland again won the AAFC championship in 1949, but the league then folded and the Browns were absorbed by the more established NFL.[21]
Cleveland's success continued in the NFL in its 1950 season as Adamle was named team captain, replacing Lou Saban following his retirement.[9] The team won the 1950 NFL Championship Game, and Adamale was one of seven Browns players chosen to play in the first Pro Bowl, football's all-star game.[22] He led the NFL with five fumble recoveries that year and was also named a second-team All-Pro by the New York Daily News.[14]
Adamle was again one of eight Browns chosen for the
Upset by Brown's criticisms of the defense in the 1951 championship game, Adamle left the Browns before the next season to enter medical school.[26] Brown nevertheless traded the rights to Adamle to the Green Bay Packers as part of a deal that brought defensive back Ace Loomis to Cleveland.[27] "We know Adamle is determined to enter medical school and informed the Packers it is very unlikely he would play any more football," Brown said.[27] The Packers hoped to get him to play part-time while he was in school.[27] Adamle spent most of 1952 working as an orderly at Glenville Hospital in Cleveland, entering Western Reserve's medical school in September.[28]
Adamle came out of retirement to play for the Browns at 30 years old in October 1954.[29] He had been working as a scout for the Chicago Cardinals and was in his third year of medical school; he agreed to come back on the condition that he would only practice once a week so he could continue his studies.[29][30] The Browns had advanced to the NFL championship game in both of the seasons he did not play, but lost both times to the Detroit Lions.[31] In Cleveland's 1954 season, the team reached the championship game and beat the Lions, 56–10.[32]
Medical career
Adamle quit football for good after the season and focused on his medical career. In 1956, he received his medical degree from Western Reserve in Cleveland, now known as Case Western Reserve University.[1] He settled in Kent, Ohio, where he ran a medical practice for the rest of his life.[1] He also served as the team doctor for Theodore Roosevelt High School and Kent State University for more than 35 years.[33] Adamle specialized in knee and neck injuries, and published articles about cold therapy and the use of Vitamin C in sports medicine.[1] The Ohio High School Athletic Association named him the state's Outstanding Team Physician in 1983.[1]
Later life and death
Adamle died in 2000 after a seven-year battle with cancer.[34] His son, Mike Adamle, was a running back at Roosevelt High School and Northwestern University, and played professionally as a fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Chicago Bears in the 1970s before becoming a sports broadcaster.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Carroll, Bob. "Tony Adamle: Doctor of Defense" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ a b "Cleveland Stars Arrive Today for Kumquat Bowl Tilt With Green Devils". St. Petersburg Times. December 20, 1941. p. 13. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ "Class of 1994 bios". Kent State University Golden Flashes Club. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ^ a b Peticca, Mike (September 12, 2012). "Cleveland Browns' 100 best all-time players: No. 76 -- Tony Adamle". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ "Ohio State Topples 'Cats From Lead". The Milwaukee Journal. Evanston, Ill. Associated Press. November 3, 1946. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ "1946 Ohio State Buckeyes Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Cobbledick, Gordon (April 3, 1947). "Plain Dealing". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 18.
The management of the Cleveland Browns is emphatic in its statement that no effort was made to induce Tony Adamle, the bone buster from Collinwood, to drop out of Ohio State athletics in favor of a professional career. Nevertheless Adamle did drop out and signed a Browns contract ... Those factors, reading from left to right, were Gene Fekete, Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza and Bill Willis. Those four, members of the Browns' championship professional team last fall, are back in Ohio State, enjoying the advantages of the higher learning – and enjoying them in style.
- ^ a b Sauerbrei, Harold (August 6, 1947). "Dewar And Adamle Are Browns' Big Surprises". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 18.
- ^ a b c d Piascik 2007, p. 70.
- ^ Sauerbrei, Harold (August 8, 1947). "Groza Misses, but He Is Using Wet Football". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Bowling Green, Ohio. p. 18.
- ^ "Paul Brown Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ Sauerbrei, Harold (October 15, 1947). "Adamle Replaces Motley As Starter At Fullback". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 26.
- ^ "Marion Motley NFL Football Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tony Adamle NFL Football Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ "1947 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ Piascik 2007, p. 81.
- ^ Cobbledick, Gordon (December 23, 1947). "Plain Dealing". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 14.
Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza and Tony Adamle all are Ohio State students. They enter college in the term that begins after the Christmas holidays and stay at the books through the summer.
- ^ Sauerbrei, Harold (September 24, 1948). "Cliff Lewis Happy With Defense Duty". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 25.
Cliff is included in a second line of defense that usually has Lou Saban, Tony Adamle and Weldon Humble as linebackers ...
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 120–121.
- ^ Sauerbrei, Harold (September 15, 1949). "Edgar Jones Returns; Adamle May Replace Injured Motley at Fullback". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 24.
With Motley's condition still an uncertainty, Brown had Tony Adamle working as his first-string offensive fullback ...
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 141, 146.
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 181–182, 185.
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 233–235.
- ^ "1951 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ Piascik 2007, p. 235.
- ^ Piascik 2007, p. 309.
- ^ a b c Sauerbrei, Harold (May 22, 1952). "Browns Trade Adamle and Phelps to Green Bay Packers for Loomis". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 20.
- ^ Bergman, Rita and Oscar (September 11, 1952). "The Bystanders". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Adamle Will Rejoin Browns". Cleveland Plain Dealer. October 1, 1954. p. 29.
- ^ Piascik 2007, p. 310.
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 251–253, 280–283.
- ^ Piascik 2007, p. 324.
- ^ "Hall of Fame Archives". Kent City School District. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
- ^ "Dr. Tony Adamle". Toledo Blade. Kent, Ohio. Associated Press. October 10, 2000. p. B5. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
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.