Bill Boedeker William Henry Boedeker , Jr . ( born March 7 , 1924 ) is a former halfback in the All - America Football Conference and National Football League who played for the Chicago Rockets , the Cleveland Browns , the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers . A graduate of North Side High School in Fort Wayne , Indiana , Boedeker entered the U . S . Army after high school but was sent to train at DePaul University in Chicago . At DePaul , he played basketball on successful teams with George Mikan before serving in World War II . When Boedeker returned from the service , he signed in 1946 to play football for the Rockets . He was traded to Cleveland in 1947 and spent three seasons there . The Browns won the AAFC championship each of those years . Boedeker was then sent to the Packers and the Eagles in 1950 . He retired after the season . Early life and college . Born in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , Boedeker grew up in Fort Wayne , Indiana and attended the city ' s North Side High School . He enlisted in the United States Army immediately after graduating from high school in 1942 and was sent to a military program at DePaul University in Chicago . At DePaul he played on several successful basketball teams alongside George Mikan , including a freshman team that won 17 of 18 games in the 1942 – 1943 season . Boedeker was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart during World War II . Professional football career . Returning after three years of service , Boedeker planned to return to DePaul to play basketball , but was first given a tryout to play for the Chicago Rockets in the All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) in 1946 . He had not played football in college and had a piece of shrapnel in his leg from the war , but a DePaul coach recommended him to the Rockets nevertheless . Boedeker made the team , making him the first person from Fort Wayne to play professional football . He stayed in Chicago for one year before being traded to the AAFC ' s Cleveland Browns for end John Harrington and tackle Jim Daniell . Boedeker played as a halfback in Cleveland as part of a rushing attack that featured Marion Motley and Edgar Jones . He was also a kick returner . Paul Brown , the head coach of the Browns , called him " one of the most reckless runners who ever played for us and a terror when he ran back kicks " . Cleveland finished the 1947 season with a 12 – 1 – 1 record with Boedeker in the backfield and beat the New York Yankees in the AAFC championship game . The team finished the 1948 season with a perfect record , winning all of its games and another championship . A third championship followed in 1949 , but the AAFC dissolved after the season and the Browns were absorbed into the more established National Football League ( NFL ) . Boedeker continued his college studies at Kalamazoo College between seasons with the Browns . Boedeker ' s reckless running style earned him praise but also caused frequent injury . Brown said in 1949 that it was not carelessness but a " special kind of talent " . Boedeker moved in 1950 to the NFL ' s Green Bay Packers and later in the season was sent to the Philadelphia Eagles . He left football after the season . Later life . Boedeker earned a bachelor ' s of science degree from Wayne State University in Detroit , Michigan and a degree in engineering from DePaul and settled in Fort Wayne after his football career . He worked in the 1950s as a sales director at Capehart - Farnsworth Corporation . In the 1960s , he was an executive at a television distribution firm in Fort Wayne .