Weldon Humble Weldon Gaston " Hum " Humble ( April 24 , 1921 – April 14 , 1998 ) was an American football guard who played five seasons in the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) and National Football League ( NFL ) for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Texans in the late 1940s and early 1950s . Humble grew up in Texas and was a mult - sport athlete at his San Antonio high school . He enrolled at Rice University in Houston , Texas in 1940 and played three seasons on the school ' s football team . Humble then spent three years in the U . S . Marines during World War II , serving in the Pacific War and earning a Bronze Star Medal before returning to complete his college studies in 1946 . Sportswriters named him a first - team All - America n after the Rice Owls finished with an 8 – 2 win – loss record and beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl . The AAFC ' s Baltimore Colts signed Humble in 1947 , but the Browns acquired him in a trade before the season . Humble became an anchor on Cleveland ' s offensive line , helping the team win three straight AAFC titles in the late 1940s . When the AAFC dissolved in 1949 , Cleveland moved to the NFL and won another championship in 1950 . Humble , who remained in the Marine Reserves , was called into service in the Korean War after the season . He was expected to return to Cleveland the following year , but head coach Paul Brown traded him to the Texans before the 1952 season began . He retired after one year in Dallas . After his playing career , Humble worked as a bank executive and at an office supply company . He was also the chairman of the selection committee for the Bluebonnet Bowl . Humble was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1961 , and was named to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the South Texas Football Hall of Fame in 1969 . He is also a member of the Rice University Athletics Hall of Fame . He died in 1998 in Houston following a long illness . Early life and college career . Humble was born in Nixon , Texas , a suburb of San Antonio , in 1921 . His athletic career began at San Antonio ' s G . W . Brackenridge High School . Humble played as an end for two seasons and a fullback for a third season on the football team . He also played on the basketball , track and swimming teams before graduating and enrolling at Rice University in Houston , Texas in 1940 . Humble began play on Rice ' s freshman team as an end in 1940 . He advanced to the varsity team the next year . While he started as an end , coach Jess Neely switched him to guard before the first game of the season . He thrived in the new position , and was named a sophomore all - star by the " Associated Press " after the Rice Owls finished 1941 with a 6 – 3 – 1 win – loss – tie record . The following year , Humble earned All - Southwestern Conference honors and won the George Martin Award , given to Rice ' s most valuable player , as Rice put up a 7 – 2 – 1 record . Humble left Rice in 1943 for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette , then called Southwestern Institute , to prepare for service in World War II in a V - 12 U . S . Navy training program . As he trained , he played alongside enlistees from Tulane University , the University of Tulsa and Louisiana State University on a military team that won six straight games and was selected to play in the first Oil Bowl in Houston . Captained by Humble , Southwestern beat a service team from Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio . After the season , Humble enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sent to fight in the Pacific War . He rose to the rank of first lieutenant and won a Bronze Star Medal . Upon his discharge in 1946 , Humble returned to Rice . He lettered in football and track and field and was voted a consensus first - team All - America n guard while captain of Rice ' s Southwestern Conference co - champion team . He was also named lineman of the week by the " Associated Press " in November for his strong tackling in a game against the Texas A & M Aggies . After finishing with an 8 – 2 record , Rice beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl game in early 1947 . Rice was ranked the 10th - best college team in the nation in the AP Poll . Professional football career . Paul Brown , the coach of the Cleveland Browns in the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) , met Humble while vacationing in Florida in 1946 . Brown came to watch the Orange Bowl on New Year ' s Day , and was staying in the same hotel as the Rice team . He saw Humble and his wife Lorraine , whom Humble had met while in training at Southwestern , on a dance floor at the hotel . " He appeared to be the sort of fellow we like to have on our team , " Brown said later in 1947 . " Then I watched him in that Tennessee game and after that made up my mind he ' d be with my club if I ever had the chance to make a deal for him . " The AAFC ' s Baltimore Colts selected Humble in the league ' s draft , but Brown got his chance in August . He engineered a trade that sent four players including quarterback Steve Nemeth and guard George Cheroke to the Colts , plus two players to be named later . Before joining the Browns , Humble played in the College All - Star Game , a now - defunct annual matchup between the National Football League ( NFL ) champion and a selection of the best college players from around the country . The college all - stars won the game , defeating the Chicago Bears 16 – 0 . In Cleveland , Humble was part of an offensive line that included Lin Houston , Ed Ulinski and Bob Gaudio . Their job was to protect quarterback Otto Graham from opposing defenders and open up running room for fullback Marion Motley . They chanted " nobody touches Graham " when they broke the huddle . Helped by strong line play , Graham , Motley and Cleveland ends Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie led a potent offense that dominated the AAFC for three years . The Browns won the AAFC championship in 1947 , 1948 and 1949 before the league disbanded and Cleveland was absorbed by the more established NFL . Humble was a consensus second - team All - Pro selection in 1948 , when Cleveland won all of its games . Cleveland ' s success continued in the NFL in 1950 , when Humble was used on occasion as a linebacker on defense . The Browns finished the season with a 10 – 2 record and beat the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL championship game . Humble was selected to play in the first - ever Pro Bowl , the NFL ' s all - star game . Humble continued as a member of the Marine Reserves as his professional career continued , and in 1951 he was in danger of being called up for service in the Korean War . He re - enlisted in the summer and played for a military team at Marine Corps Base Quantico later in the year . After the season , he was named the best service player in the country by the Washington Touchdown Club . Humble was expected to return to the Browns after his discharge from the military in 1952 . In a surprise move , however , Brown traded him before the season to the Dallas Texans for fullback Sherman Howard . The trade was unexpected because Cleveland ' s other guards , including Gaudio and Alex Agase , were getting older and nearing retirement . " I ' m sure we ' ll be all right at the guard position , " Brown said at the time . " But we do have a definite fullback problem . " Humble played one season for the Texans before retiring . Dallas had a 1 – 11 record in 1952 . Later life and death . After his football career , Humble worked for 20 years at First City National Bank in Houston . He later became vice - president of an office supply firm called Stationers , Inc . He maintained an affiliation with his Texas alma mater , serving as president and later director of the R Association , an alumni group for former Rice student - athletes . In the late 1960s , he became the president of the Greater Houston Bowl Association , which organized the Bluebonnet Bowl . By the mid - 1970s , he was chairman of the Bowl ' s selection committee . Humble won numerous honors after his career . He became the first Rice player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1961 . He was included on a 50th anniversary All - Southwest Conference team in 1968 , and in 1970 was one of the first people inducted into the Rice University Athletics Hall of Fame . Humble was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the South Texas Football Hall of Fame in 1969 . Later in life , Humble worked for the Harris County Appraisal Review Board and was a salesman for an office furniture supply company . He died in 1998 in Houston after a long illness . Humble and his wife Lorraine had three children .