Tony Adamle

Who was Tony Adamle?

Anthony "Tony" Adamle was a professional American football linebacker and fullback in the All-America Football Conference and the National Football League. He played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns before retiring to pursue a medical degree.

Adamle grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and was a star fullback on his Collinwood High School football team. He attended Ohio State University in 1942, but his college career was cut short by World War II. After a stint in the U.S. Air Force, Adamle returned to finish his education at Ohio State in 1946. He soon dropped out of school, however, and joined the Browns. Cleveland won AAFC championships in each of Adamle's first three years, after which the league folded and the Browns were absorbed by the more established NFL. Cleveland continued to succeed in the NFL, winning the 1950 championship and advancing to the 1951 championship but losing to the Los Angeles Rams. Adamle left the Browns after the 1951 season to pursue a medical degree, but he came out of retirement briefly in 1954 as the Browns won another NFL championship.