| Ollie Cline | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | December 31, 1925 |
| Place of birth: | Mount Vernon, Ohio |
| Date of death: | May 12 2001 (aged 75) |
| Position(s): | Fullback |
| Jersey #: | N/A |
| College: | Ohio State |
| NFL Draft: | 1948 / Round: 14 / Pick 122 |
| Team(s) as player | |
| 1948 1949 1950-1953 |
Cleveland Browns Buffalo Bills Detroit Lions |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Oliver M. "Ollie" Cline (December 31, 1925 - May 12, 2001) was a college and professional American football player in the 1940s and '50s. He was nicknamed the Blond Bomber.
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College career
Cline was a fullback and linebacker for the Ohio State University Buckeyes, lettering in 1944, 1945 and 1947. In 1944, his blocking helped Les Horvath become the school's first Heisman Trophy winner and the Buckeyes won the 1944 Big Ten Championship with an undefeated, 9-0 record. The following year he became the Buckeyes primary runningback, setting school records in rushing. His collegiate career was interrupted by military service in 1946, but he returned to lead the Buckeyes in rushing again in 1947.
MVP season
In 1945, Cline rushed for 936 yards, which was at the time a school record, surpassing Horvath's total from the previous year by a dozen yards. He was named the Big Ten Conference's Most Valuable Player and was a FWAA All-America selection. Cline rushed for 229 yards on November 10, 1945 against the University of Pittsburgh. This performance set n Ohio State single-game rushing record that stood for 27 years before being broken by Archie Griffin in 1972. Cline was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 2000 and was named to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team as a fullback that same year.
Professional career
Ollie was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1948, but chose to play instead for the Cleveland Browns. Browns head coach Paul Brown had originally recruited Cline to Ohio State. The Browns finished undefeated that year. Cline then spent a year with the Buffalo Bills, but spent the majority of his professional career with the Detroit Lions. In 1953, he helped the Lions win the NFL championship over the Browns.
Retirement
After his playing career ended, Cline received a masters degree in education from Wittenberg University. He had a long career as an educator at various positions throughout the state, and was named Dean of Men at Urbana University. He was active in every community in which he lived. Fredericktown, Ohio recognized Cline with "Ollie Cline Day" on January 20, 2001.
External links
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| Byron Bailey | Vince Banonis | Les Bingaman | Cloyce Box | Stan Campbell | Jack Christiansen | Gus Cifelli | Ollie Cline | Lou Creekmur | Pete D'Alonzo | Jim David | Don Doll | Jim Doran | Tom Dublinski | Blaine Earon | Dick Flanagan | Keith Flowers | Sonny Gandee | Jug Girard | Pat Harder | Jim Hardy | Leon Hart | Jim Hill | Robert Hoernschemeyer | Yale Lary | Bobby Layne | Jim Martin | Thurman McGraw | Bob Miller | Lindy Pearson | John Prchlik | Clyde Scott | Bob Smith | Dick Stanfel | Pat Summerall | Bill Swiacki | Lavern Torgeson | Doak Walker Head Coach Buddy Parker |
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| Charlie Ane | Vince Banonis | Les Bingaman | Cloyce Box | Jim Cain | Lew Carpenter | Jack Christiansen | Ollie Cline | Lou Creekmur | Jim David | Dorne Dibble | Jim Doran | Bob Dove | Tom Dublinski | Blaine Earon | Sonny Gandee | Gene Gedman | Jug Girard | Pat Harder | Leon Hart | Robert Hoernschemeyer | Carl Karilivacz | Yale Lary | Bobby Layne | Gil Mains | Jim Martin | Thurman McGraw | Bob Miller | John Prchlik | Joe Schmidt | Harley Sewell | Bob Smith | Bob Smith | Ollie Spencer | Dick Stanfel | Lavern Torgeson | Doak Walker Head Coach Buddy Parker |
