Ernest E. Green (born October 15, 1938) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a halfback and fullback for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

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 (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, 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 one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

. 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 university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

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

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

drafted Green in the 14th round of the 1962 NFL draft, 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, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

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

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...

. 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 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

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 ...

. 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 an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1973. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1 ...

, 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 (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

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 t ...

. 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 university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

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: Science, technology, and mathematics *IMG (file format), file that stores a complete and uncompressed copy of the contents of a storage device * IMG, a prefix for camera ima ...

'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, selling, Maintenance, repairing, and Custom car, modification of motor ve ...

in suburban

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

.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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, 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-domiciled multinational power management company, with a primary administrative center in Beachwood, Ohio. Eaton has more than 85,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countr ...

Dayton Power & Light DPL Inc. (aka DP&L Inc.) is a subsidiary of AES Corporation. Through its subsidiary AES Ohio (formerly 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 pe ...

and the Duriron Company. Green was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Breast cancer

Green was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

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 choose to have ...

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

University Hospitals of Cleveland University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH Cleveland Medical Center), formerly known as ''University Hospitals Case Medical Center'' (''UH Case Medical Center''), is a large not-for-profit academic medical complex in Cleveland, Ohio, Un ...

's Case Medical Center. This was followed by eight

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

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

{{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