Bob Gaudio ( American football ) Angelo Robert " Bob " Gaudio ( July 13 , 1925 – May 10 , 2003 ) was an American football guard who played four seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) and National Football League ( NFL ) between 1947 and 1951 . Gaudio grew up in Cleveland , Ohio and attended college at Ohio State University , where he played as a guard for two seasons interrupted by service in World War II . He then joined the Browns , playing under head coach Paul Brown for three seasons before retiring . The Browns won the AAFC championship in each of Gaudio ' s years with the team . He came out of retirement to play a final season in Cleveland in 1951 . After football , Gaudio worked for his family ' s construction business in Chagrin Falls , Ohio and later moved to Miami , Florida to start a construction business . He died in Miami in 2003 . High school and college career . Gaudio attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland , Ohio and was a star guard on the school ' s football team for three seasons . He then enrolled at Ohio State University , continuing as a guard on the Ohio State Buckeyes football team beginning as a freshman in 1942 . Gaudio was set to play in 1943 under head coach Paul Brown , but instead joined the Army Air Force during World War II . Professional football career . Gaudio returned to Ohio State after the war for the 1946 season . He then worked in the construction business with his father before joining the Cleveland Browns in the All - America Football Conference in the summer of 1947 , despite having two years of college eligibility left . He barely made the team , but Brown , who had become the first coach of the Browns , called Gaudio " technically perfect " and said he had the speed and agility he wanted in a guard . As part of Cleveland ' s offensive line , Gaudio helped protect quarterback Otto Graham and open up running room for fullback Marion Motley . He was used primarily in his first season as a defensive lineman , but played increasingly on offense the following year after assistant coach Blanton Collier praised his technique in an annual review of film from the previous season . He played more snaps in 1948 than veteran guard Lin Houston . " Lin hasn ' t lost his touch , he ' s just as good as ever , " Browns guard coach Fritz Heisler said at the time . " But this fellow Gaudio has been doing a terrific job for us and we just can ' t keep him off the field . " Helped by strong line play , Cleveland finished the 1947 season with a 12 – 1 – 1 record and defeated the New York Yankees to win the AAFC championship . The team won the championship again in 1948 , winning all of its games and turning in professional football ' s first perfect season . The Browns again won the AAFC championship in 1949 , but the league dissolved after the season and the Browns were absorbed by the more established National Football League ( NFL ) . Gaudio retired after the 1949 season , when he was 24 years old . He came out of retirement to play for the Browns in 1951 . After the team lost the NFL championship game to the Los Angeles Rams , he retired for a second time to focus on his family ' s construction business . Later life and death . Gaudio settled in Chagrin Falls , Ohio and by the late 1950s was the vice president of the National Construction Company , a sewer contractor . He worked in the business with his father and two of his brothers , Anthony and Harry . He later started a construction company in Miami , Florida and owned J & B Gaudio Farms in Ocala , Florida . He helped found the Ocala Breeders ' Sales Company , a thoroughbred racehorse auction firm , contributing a $ 250 , 000 personal loan . He died in 2003 .