Milan Lazetich Milan " Sheriff " Lazetich ( August 27 , 1921 – July 9 , 1969 ) was an American football player in the 1940s . He played college football for the University of Montana and University of Michigan . He was a first - team All - Big Ten tackle and second - team All - American in 1944 for the Michigan Wolverines . He later played professional football for the Cleveland Rams and Los Angeles Rams . He played on the 1945 NFL Championship team as a rookie and was an All - Pro guard / linebacker for the Rams in 1948 and 1949 . Early years . Lazetich was born in 1921 in Anaconda , Montana . He was the son of Peter Lazetich , a pioneer Serbia n rancher . He grew up on his father ' s cattle ranch a few miles from Anaconda . Lazetich attended Anaconda High School where he played football and was selected as an all - state tackle three straight years in 1938 , 1939 and 1940 . He also played basketball and was a member of the track team . Two of his brothers were also all - state football players at Anaconda High School . Lazetich played one year of college football at the University of Montana . In a spring game in April 1942 , Lazetich returned a kickoff 90 yards . He joined the U . S . Navy during World War II but received a medical discharge . After being discharged from the Navy , Lazetich served as a deputy sheriff in Deer Lodge County , Montana . He also worked as a cowpuncher and rodeo rider . University of Michigan . He enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played for Fritz Crisler ' s Wolverines football team in 1944 . Because of his prior work in law enforcement , Lazetich was given the nickname the " Sheriff " by his Michigan teammates , a nickname that stuck throughout his football career . Lazetich was the star of the 1944 Wolverines team that went 8 – 2 and finished the season ranked # 8 in the AP Poll . After being introduced to Big Ten football in 1944 , Lazetich told reporters that " no end or back ever threw a block like a pony that has been running wild for a couple of years , especially when he feels the first touch of a saddle . " An NEA wire service story reported : " To him the Big Nine schedule can ' t be as tough as the battering bucking broncs handed out . " In a pre - game story about the 1944 Michigan – Ohio State game , the Associated Press focused on Lazetich : " The Michigan line is built around Milan Lazetich , a big tackle from Anaconda , Mont . , who once was sheriff in his home community . He ' s the No . 1 All - America candidate from the Wolverine camp , so the reports say , but he ' s only one of a stalwart line which held Illinois speedsters without a score . " At the end of the 1944 season , Lazetich , in his sophomore season , was selected for the Associated Press All Big Ten Team as a first - team tackle . He was also picked as a second - team All - American by the Associated Press , Football Writers Association of America , International News Service , and Central Press Association . Cleveland and Los Angeles Rams . In August 1945 , the 23 - year - old Michigan sophomore signed to play professional football for the Cleveland Rams . With the Rams , Lazetich was converted from a tackle to a guard on offense and linebacker on defense . Lazetich played in ten games at right guard for the Rams in 1945 , and he helped the Rams to win the NFL championship in his first year as a professional player . In 1946 , the Rams moved to Los Angeles , giving California and the Pacific Coast its first major league sports team . Lazetich played for the Rams in their first five seasons in Los Angeles . When the Rams moved west , the " Los Angeles Times " ran an article introducing the city to the team ' s top players . In its feature on Lazetich , the " Times " noted that , in " Sheriff " Lazetich , the Rams had one of the country ' s greatest law enforcement officers in its line . " Lazetich is a copper from Anaconda . . . Lazetich was a deputy sheriff of Deer Lodge County but he has made most of his arrests on the football field . . . Lazetich played freshman football at the University of Montana after which he moved up to Big Ten football . . . While Lazetich was an All - Big Ten tackle for the Wolverines , he is the regular right guard of the Rams . " In the late 1940s , he was regarded as " one of the finest defensive right guards in pro football , " and " 50 % of one of the best guard combinations in the National Football League . " The " Los Angeles Times " gave Lazetich substantial credit for the success of the 1949 Rams . He was selected as a first - team NFL All - Pro by the " Chicago - Herald American " in 1948 and as a second - team NFL All - Pro by " Pro Football Illustrated " . In 1949 , he was selected as a first - team All - NFL / AAFC player by the International News Service , the Hearst newspapers wire service . Lazetich made a key play in the 1950 NFL Championship Game . With the Rams ahead , 28 – 27 , and only five minutes left to play in the game , the Cleveland Browns were driving toward a score . After Browns quarterback Otto Graham carried the ball on a quarterback draw , " linebacker Milan Lazetich hit him from behind , forcing a fumble recovered by the Rams at their own 22 - yard line with just 3 : 16 to play . " Lazeitch also recovered the fumble and appeared to have sealed a victory for the Rams . However , the Rams were unable to run out the clock , and the Browns kicked a field goal in the game ' s last minute to win , 30 – 28 . In addition to his ability as a player , Lazetich developed a reputation as " a wild character if there ever was one . " Decades later , " Los Angeles Times " columnist Frank Finch wrote that , although modern players were bigger and faster , he preferred the characters of the early NFL over the " faceless robots " of the modern game . He focused in particular on Lazetich : " A character ' s character was Ram middle guard Milan ( Sheriff ) Lazetich . He was a blithe spirit from Montana who ' d played college football at Michigan before joining the Rams in ' 46 for a five - year stint . That he lasted that long with the club is remarkable in light of what he pulled at Dan Reeves ' Christmas party for the team at the end of the ' 46 season . " Reeves , the Rams ' owner , invited the team to a party at his home ; the centerpiece was a large cake in the design of a football field topped with a full - size football covered in chocolate . Teammate and Pro Football Hall of Fame r Tom Fears later recalled the incident this way : " During the course of predinner libations , someone asked Lazetich to demonstrate his punting prowess . I don ' t think he ' d ever kicked a football before in his life . They dared him to boot the chocolate football , which was a big mistake because Laz wasn ' t the kind of guy to take a dare lightly . He ambled out to the kitchen , plucked the football off the top of the fancy cake , brought it out in the front room and drove his toe into it with beautiful form and a perfect follow through . Cake , frosting and everything else that was loose was well distributed over the ceiling , walls , windows and drapes . . . . It also was the last party Reeves ever held in his house for the Rams . " By 1948 , health problems began to affect Lazetich . Prior to the 1948 season , the " Los Angeles Times " reported on an unspecified medical condition that may prevent him from playing for the team . In November 1949 , Lazetich was hospitalized in Pennsylvania during the football season for treatment of a stomach ulcer . He was given several blood transfusion s , his condition was reported to be serious , and he was unable to play for the rest of the month . In July 1951 , Lazetich announced his retirement from football . At the time , the " Los Angeles Times " wrote : " Sorry to see the gruff rough Sheriff on the shelf . His departure leaves the Rams with only two members of the original cast of the 1945 world ' s championship team . " Later years . After retiring from football , Lazetich returned to Montana , where he worked for the Deer Lodge County , Montana road department , as a court bailiff and as a surveyor with the Montana Highway Department . He was a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Butte , Montana , the Bokelian Brotherhood Lodge in Butte , and the Serbian Fraternity of Anaconda . Lazetich died in a hospital in Butte , Montana at age 47 in July 1969 . He was buried with military honors at the Mount Olivet Cemetery after a funeral in Butte ' s Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church . Lazetich was survived by his wife , the former Mary Laughlin , and his daughter Milana . Lazetich ' s nephew , Pete Lazetich , helped the Stanford football team to a victory over his uncle ' s alma mater , Michigan , in the 1972 Rose Bowl . Pete Lazetich was part of the Stanford ' s front four known as the " Thunder Chickens . " The younger Lazetich made 11 tackles in the 1972 Rose Bowl .