Al Akins Albert George Akins ( June 13 , 1921 – August 29 , 1995 ) was a professional American football halfback and defensive back who played three seasons for the Cleveland Browns , Buffalo Bills and Brooklyn Dodgers in the All - America Football Conference . Akins was a native of Spokane , Washington and attended Washington State University and later the University of Washington , where he played football and basketball . He was a key member of a University of Washington team that lost the Rose Bowl Game in 1943 to the University of Southern California . Akins played for the Browns in 1946 , and subsequently joined Buffalo and Brooklyn . He won an AAFC championship with the Browns , although he did not play in the championship game due to an injury . After his playing career , Akins became an assistant football coach at Lewis & Clark College in Portland , Oregon . He went on to become head coach of Southern Oregon University for 15 years starting in 1955 . His coaching record at Southern Oregon was 71 – 62 – 3 . Early life and high school career . Akins grew up in Spokane , Washington and attended John R . Rogers High School , where he played on the basketball team and ran track . His brothers Frank and Hal were also standouts as athletes . College career . Akins attended Washington State University starting in 1941 and played on the Washington State Cougars men ' s basketball team as a sophomore the following year . By the end of 1943 , Akins had transferred to the University of Washington , where many Washington State players went to train in the U . S . Navy . He continued to play football there , starring as a halfback for the Washington Huskies . He was also said to be a good passer . The Huskies went undefeated in the 1943 season and were heavily favored to beat the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl on New Year ' s Day in 1944 . The USC Trojans won 29 – 0 , however . Akins fumbled the ball in the third quarter , setting up one of the Trojans ' touchdowns . Jim Hardy , the USC quarterback , said after the game that the team ' s " only real fear was that that fellow Al Akins might get loose on the runback of a punt for a touchdown . " Akins also played basketball at the University of Washington in 1944 . That year , the Huskies basketball team won 20 games in a row and finished first in their conference . Professional career . After returning from service in the Pacific in 1946 , Akins signed to play for the Cleveland Browns , a team in the new All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) . He scored his only touchdown of the season on a 50 - yard run in a game against the Buffalo Bisons . Cleveland defeated the AAFC ' s New York Yankees to win the league title that year . Akins , however , did not play in the title game because of an injury . He suffered a separated shoulder in a game against the Miami Seahawks . Akins played in 1947 for the AAFC ' s Brooklyn Dodgers . He played for the Buffalo Bills in 1948 when they faced the Browns in the AAFC championship game . Akins sat out because of an injury , and the Browns won the game . Coaching career . Akins took a job as an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark College in Portland , Oregon . He resigned in 1954 to seek a head coaching job , and got the top spot the following year at Southern Oregon University in Ashland , Oregon . He stayed in that job for 15 seasons until 1969 . His teams ' combined record was 71 – 62 – 3 during that span . He is first all - time among coaches at Southern Oregon in total wins and fifth in career winning percentage ( . 533 ) .