OL/DL Lin Houston (official thread)

[Buckskin86]

Lin Houston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Date of birth: January 11, 1921 (1921-01-11) (age 87)
Place of birth: Carbondale, Illinois
Date of death: 9/08/1995
Career information
Position(s): Guard
College: Ohio State
NFL Draft: 1944 / Round: No Draft, Signed by Paul Brown WWII
Organizations
As player:
1946-1953 Cleveland Browns
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Lindell Lee Houston (born November 1, 1921 in Carbondale, Illinois) is a former American football guard who played eight seasons in the AAFC and in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns. He is the older brother of Jim Houston.

Nicknamed "Mr. Perfection" as a master of technician on the offensive line, Lin Houston was an "original Brown", who played with the Browns from their inception in 1946 through the 1953 season. Houston helped Cleveland to the championship game in each of his eight seasons with the club as the Browns claimed championships in 1946-49 in the All-America Football Conference and in 1950 in the NFL. Houston played for legendary coach Paul Brown during every phase of his football career: Massillon (Ohio) High School, Ohio State and the Browns.

Lin Houston - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stark County HS Football HOF Enshrinees

Lin Houston: Chance meeting starts it all
July 17, 2008
By TODD PORTER
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Lin Houston

MASSILLON Happenstance and chance led the Houston family to Massillon ? and the NFL. In 1936, during the Great Depression, William Lee Houston was traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania in search of work at a steel mill. Houston stopped in Massillon for a break.

And a beer.

The man who sat next to Houston was the foreman at Union Drawn Metal. He introduced himself to Houston, and it wasn't long before he offered him a job.

None of the Houston boys had played football before. William Lee knew little of the sport or of Massillon's love affair with the game.

"We were fortunate when the foreman asked dad to have that beer," said Jim Houston, the youngest of four brothers.

The oldest of the boys was Lin. He spent his early school years in Illinois at Wolf Lake. During his sophomore year at Massillon, Paul Brown approached Lin about playing football for the Tigers. At the time, Lin Houston weighed about 175 pounds. Brown extended an invitation to spring practice, and thus began an unprecedented 15-year player-coach relationship that followed Houston and Brown from Massillon to Ohio State and ultimately to the Cleveland Browns.

Lin Houston, after an All-Ohio career in Massillon, initially went to Michigan but quickly transferred to Ohio State. At the time, Francis Schmidt was OSU's head coach.

In 1941, Brown took over the Buckeyes, and Houston was a starter as a sophomore. He was a consensus All-American at guard but never got to play his senior season.

"Brown could have put together the greatest team ever in 1943 if the war hadn't taken all his players," Lin Houston said in a 1957 Repository story.

Born Nov. 1, 1921, in Carbondale, Ill. Died Sept. 8, 1995.

-- Named All-Ohio his senior season on an undefeated team that gave McKinley its only loss.

-- Opened holes on an offensive line that outscored opponents, 302-60 in 1938 ... played defensive line as well.

-- Hit Marion Motley in the 1938 game and knocked McKinley's running back out of the game. The Tigers won that game.

-- One of two to play for Paul Brown in high school, college and the NFL.

-- One of four brothers who played football at Massillon. Youngest brother Jim Houston went on to play for Ohio State and the Browns. Brothers Jack and Walter played for Purdue.

-- Charter member of Cleveland Browns and was one of the first players signed along with Otto Graham.

-- Served in the military and missed his senior season at Ohio State in 1943, one year after Brown led the Buckeyes to a national title.

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[Buckskin86]

Lin Houston

As a Buckeye

Two-year letter winner (1941 and 1942) who earned All-America honors in OSU's national championship season of 1942.

As a pro

After returning from a stint in the Army during World War II, Houston had an eight-year career with the Cleveland Browns in which he played in 98 games and won five championships.

The skinny

Houston played his entire career -- high school, college and pro -- for coach Paul Brown. Houston's brother, Jim, followed him to OSU and the Browns.

The Columbus Dispatch : OSU ON SUNDAY