Fred Evans ( running back ) Fred Owen " Dippy " Evans Jr . ( May 23 , 1921 – June 21 , 2007 ) was a professional American football halfback who played for three years in the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) and the National Football League ( NFL ) in the late 1940s . Evans grew up in South Bend , Indiana and attended James Whitcomb Riley High School . He went to the University of Notre Dame and played halfback and fullback on the school ' s football team starting in 1940 . After graduating from college , Evans joined the United States Army Air Corps during World War II , where he stayed until his discharge in 1945 . He then signed with the Browns , a team in the new AAFC , where he played for one year . He subsequently played for the Buffalo Bills , the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Rockets in 1947 and 1948 . Evans moved to Cleveland after his playing career and owned a dry cleaning business . He died in 2007 . Early life and high school . Evans was born in Grand Rapids , Michigan and moved to Detroit before his family settled in South Bend , Indiana . Evans attended James Whitcomb Riley High School in South Bend , where he played football , baseball , basketball and track . He was named an all - state halfback in his senior year . College and military career . Evans attended the University of Notre Dame , where he played at left halfback for the school ' s football team starting as a sophomore in 1940 . He moved to fullback the following year , when Notre Dame went undefeated under coach Frank Leahy . Evans led the team in rushing yards and scoring in 1941 . Evans was considered shy but tough . Before a game against the University of Southern California ( USC ) in 1941 , Bill Riordan , a teammate , poured a bucket of water over Evans ' s head . Evans tried to retaliate but crashed into a wall and split his knee open . He concealed the injury from Leahy and played in the USC game , but needed 11 stitches afterward . After graduating in 1942 , Evans was drafted by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . His professional football career , however , was delayed by service in World War II . Evans signed up for the United States Army Air Corps and flew P - 51 Mustangs with the Flying Tigers , a unit that defended China against Japan ese incursion during the war . While in the air corps , Evans played for the Randolph Field Ramblers , a military team at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio , Texas . Randolph won the national service title in 1944 , when Evans was on the team . Professional career . In 1945 , Evans became the fourth player signed by the Cleveland Browns , a team under formation in the new All - America Football Conference , which was to start play in 1946 . Evans was the first player to score points for the Browns in their inaugural exhibition game on August 30 against the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Akron Rubber Bowl . He scored a touchdown on a seven - yard pass from quarterback Cliff Lewis ; he later intercepted a pass and returned it 83 yards for another touchdown . Later in the season , Evans twisted his knee and was sidelined for more than a month . The Browns went on to win the first AAFC championship in 1946 . Before the beginning of the 1947 season , Evans and fellow halfback Ray Terrell were sent to the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Colts in a special draft designed to help the AAFC ' s weaker teams . He played for the Chicago Rockets and Chicago Bears in 1947 and 1948 . Later life and death . Evans came back to Cleveland after his football career and owned a dry cleaning business called Handee Cleaners in the city ' s West Park area . He transferred ownership of the business to his son Mark after he retired . Evans died in 2007 of bone cancer .