Ernest "Ernie" Green (born October 15, 1938) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

halfback and

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Early years

Born and raised in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, Green is a 1958 graduate of Spencer High School. He was a star running back on the school's football team,

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

class president and a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

. He was honored as the first Greenwave football player to have his jersey number retired on January 20, 2018.

College

Green attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

from 1958 to 1961, rushing for more than 1,500 yards in his

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

career with the Cardinals and twice leading the team in that department, Earning him all American honors. He also excelled in baseball, spurning contract offers in order to remain on the gridiron.

Green Bay Packers

In 1962 the reigning world champion

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

drafted Green in the 14th round of the

1962 NFL Draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

, but during training camp they traded him to the

where he would make a name for himself as one of the league's top running backs.

Cleveland Browns

After seeing only limited action as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

in 1962, Green was installed in the Cleveland backfield the following year alongside legendary

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

. He finished his first full season of action with 526 rushing yards, and also caught 28 passes out of the backfield. Even more importantly, he also helped open holes for Brown to gain a then-NFL record 1,863 yards. In 1964, the two helped the Browns capture their fourth NFL championship, capping the year with a stunning 27-0 shutout of the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

at the

1964 NFL Championship Game The 1964 NFL Championship Game was the 32nd annual championship game, held on December 27 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. With an attendance of 79,544, it was the first NFL title game to be televised by CBS. The game marked the last c ...

. Following Brown's retirement in July 1966, Green was switched from halfback to fullback and teamed with another future Hall of Famer,

Leroy Kelly Leroy Kelly (born May 20, 1942) is a former American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1973. Career Kelly had attended Simon Gratz H ...

, to continue to give Cleveland one of the most dangerous backfield combinations in the NFL. He was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in each of the next two seasons, and was twice named an NFL

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

. In August 1968, Green injured his knee during a preseason contest in Los Angeles and missed the next two months. On his return, he saw only limited action due to lingering problems with the knee. Just after the end of the season, he underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in the troublesome knee but was then advised to retire. He followed that advice and accepted the Browns' offer to coach their running backs. In his seven-year NFL career, he gained 3,204 yards and caught 179 passes out of the backfield.

Retirement and business interests

Green was Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

from 1970 to 1974. He was Executive Director and Vice-President of

IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Gro ...

's Team Sports Division from 1974 to 1981. He left IMG to establish EG Industries (EGI) which originally manufactured components for the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

in suburban

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

.Press release issued by Eaton Corporation announcing Green's election to its Board of Directors.
Retrieved December 21, 2018 Currently based in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, EGI branched out into parts for medical, consumer, energy and industrial devices. He has served on the board of directors of various enterprises including

Eaton Corporation Eaton Corporation plc is an American-Irish multinational power management company with 2021 sales of $19.63 billion, founded in the United States with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and a secondary administrative center in Beachwood, ...

Dayton Power & Light DP&L Inc. is a subsidiary of AES Corporation. Through its subsidiaries The Dayton Power and Light Company and DPL Energy Resources, DP&L sells to, and generates electricity for, a customer base of over 500,000 people within a area of West Central ...

and the

Duriron Company The Duriron Company is an industrial component manufacturer of such products as automatic control valves, valves and actuators, pumps, seal (mechanical), sealing systems, filtration equipment, pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes and Piping and plumbing f ...

Breast cancer

Green was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in July 2005 after a small malignant lump was found in his chest. After obtaining a second opinion, he was treated with

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

in September 2005 by Dr. Robert Schenk, breast surgeon at

University Hospitals of Cleveland University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH Cleveland Medical Center) is a large not-for-profit academic medical complex in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is the main affiliate hospital of Cas ...

Case Medical Center University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH Cleveland Medical Center) is a large not-for-profit academic medical complex in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is the main affiliat ...

. This was followed by eight

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

sessions ending in March 2006. He then became a breast cancer activist, educating other men about the disease and how it can affect not only women but men as well. His two older sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer, and one of them succumbed to the disease.Battle with breast cancer

References

External links

NFL.com profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Ernie 1938 births Living people Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia American football fullbacks Louisville Cardinals football players Cleveland Browns players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players