Lin Houston Lindell Lee Houston ( January 11 , 1921September 9 , 1995 ) was an American football guard who played eight seasons in the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) and in the National Football League ( NFL ) with the Cleveland Browns . He was the older brother of Jim Houston . Houston played with the Browns from their inception in 1946 through the 1953 season . Cleveland reached the league championship game in each of Houston eight seasons with the club , winning four times between 1946 to 1949 in the AAFC and once in the NFL in 1950 . Houston played for coach Paul Brown during every phase of his football career : at Massillon ( Ohio ) High School , Ohio State and the Browns . He retired from football after the 1953 season and worked as an executive in the steel industry . He died in 1995 . High school and college career . Houston was born in Illinois , but his family moved to Ohio after a relative got a job at a steel mill in Massillon and convinced his father to move there . Houston had been a standout basketball player in Illinois , but Paul Brown , the head football coach at Massillon Washington High School , thought his combination of quickness and size would make him a good football player . He started as a middle guard on defense but was soon switched to an offensive guard , where he excelled . The Associated Press named him a first - team All - Ohio guard in 1938 . After graduating from high school , Houston attended Ohio State University . He played as a guard on the school ' s varsity football team starting as a sophomore in 1941 under Paul Brown , who had by then been hired as the school ' s head football coach . Houston sat out for two weeks with a knee injury but returned to finish the season , and in 1942 became a regular starter at right guard . Collier ' s named him an All - America n that season , when the Ohio State Buckeyes football team won the school ' s first national championship . Houston joined the U . S . Army in 1943 . He stayed at Ohio State but was not allowed by the Army to play on the football team . In 1944 , he played in the College All - Star Game against the Chicago Bears . Professional career . Houston signed in 1946 with the Cleveland Browns , a professional team under formation in the new All - America Football Conference and coached by Paul Brown . Houston became a starter when Bill Willis was ill in 1946 . The Browns won the AAFC championship that year . In later seasons , Houston rotated with Bob Gaudio as part of a system where Brown used guard substitutions to relay plays to his quarterback . The Browns won three more AAFC championships in 1947 , 1948 and 1949 before the league dissolved and the Browns were absorbed by the more established National Football League . The Browns won the NFL championship in 1950 , their first season in the league . Houston ' s job was to protect quarterback Otto Graham and open up running room for fullback Marion Motley . He was known for his toughness and durability . In a 1950 game against the Washington Redskins in which the Browns were ahead 24 points , he rushed through five Redskins players to make a tackle on a kickoff , risking injury . He played through a bad cold and injuries to his shoulder and face . Brown used him as a model to demonstrate blocking technique in training camp . The Browns reached the championship game in 1951 and 1952 but lost both times . Despite his reputation for durability , Houston suffered from numerous injuries during his career and announced he would retire after the 1952 season . He changed his mind , however , and returned in 1953 , when the Browns again reached the championship game but lost to the Detroit Lions . He retired for good in 1954 , after 12 years playing for Paul Brown ' s teams . He left the game to concentrate on his job at the Sharon Steel Products Company . Later life and death . Houston spent much of his life after football as a steel executive . He died of cancer in 1995 and was inducted into the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame in 2008 .