Chet Adams Chester Frank " Chet " Adams ( October 24 , 1915 – October 27 , 1990 ) was a professional American football tackle and placekicker who played ten seasons in the National Football League ( NFL ) and All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) , mainly with the Cleveland Rams and Cleveland Browns . He was selected to the NFL ' s All - Star game twice . In 1978 , he was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame . Adams grew up in Cleveland and went to college at Ohio University . After graduating , he played four seasons for the Cleveland Rams before World War II forced the team to suspend operations in 1943 . Adams was put out on loan to the Green Bay Packers , where he played for a year before joining the U . S . Army . When Adams returned from duty , the Rams had moved to Los Angeles , and he signed up to play for the Cleveland Browns , a team under formation in the AAFC . The Rams sued to prevent him from playing for the Browns , but Adams won . He stayed with Cleveland between 1946 and 1948 , a span during which the team won three AAFC championships . He was then traded to the Buffalo Bills , where he stayed for a year . He played for the NFL ' s New York Yanks for a final year before retiring . Early life and college . Adams was born on October 24 , 1915 in Cleveland , Ohio . He went to South High School and attended Ohio University . Football career . Adams was drafted in 1939 by the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League ( NFL ) and played for the team until 1942 . He was selected to play in the NFL ' s All - Star game in 1941 and 1942 . Adams then played one season for the Green Bay Packers on loan from the Rams after the Rams suspended operations during World War II . Adams joined the U . S . Army in 1944 and served for 30 months until his discharge in the summer of 1946 . Adams , who was a placekicker as well as a guard , signed a contract to play for the Rams in 1946 , but Rams owner Dan Reeves moved the team to Los Angeles after the 1945 season . Adams refused to move to Los Angeles with the team , and the Rams sued him in federal court after he signed with the Cleveland Browns , a team under formation in the new All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) . Adams claimed that he had no obligation under his contract to play for the Rams because the team was described as the Cleveland Rams , and its name had changed to the Los Angeles Rams following the move . The Rams filed an injunction in August of 1946 to prevent him from playing for the Browns . Later that month , Adams testified before a federal court that he injured his leg in the College All - Star Game while playing for Green Bay in 1945 and was not , as the Rams claimed , a player of " unique ability " . Red Conkright , a one - time Rams assistant who moved to the Browns ' staff , testified that Adams was an " erratic " kicker and " at present a second team player " . At the end of the month , federal judge Emerich Freed denied the Rams ' injunction , allowing Adams to play for the Browns . The judge rejected the Rams ' contention that Adams had signed to play for Reeves , not a specific team . He ruled the Cleveland Rams had ceased to exist , and that Adams therefore had no obligation to fulfill a contract with the Los Angeles Rams . Four other former Rams players joined the Browns along with Adams : Tommy Colella , Don Greenwood , Mike Scarry and Gaylon Smith . In the Browns ' first season in 1946 , Adams played on the line and shared kicking duties with Lou Groza . In a 66 – 14 win that December over the AAFC ' s Brooklyn Dodgers , he scored a touchdown on a blocked punt and kicked five extra points . The Browns advanced to the AAFC championship that year , and Adams , who had played primarily at right defensive tackle , was asked to do the team ' s place - kicking after Groza suffered a sprained ankle in an earlier game . The Browns beat the Yankees 14 – 9 in the championship game . Adams continued to play as a defensive tackle and a backup to Groza in 1947 . Then 32 years old , he suffered neck and back injuries in a game against Los Angeles . He re - injured his neck in the championship game , another win over the Yankees . Adams was part of a Cleveland team that won all of its games in 1948 and ended the season by beating the Buffalo Bills for a third straight championship . The Browns traded Adams before the 1949 season to the Bills in a five - player deal . Cleveland coach Paul Brown said the team needed to stay fresh after winning three championships . Adams played a year in Buffalo , mainly as a kicker . He then played a final year for the New York Yanks of the National Football League . Later life and death . Adams was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 . He died on October 27 , 1990 .