A pro football star with the Cleveland Browns for three years after a notable career at the University of Pittsburgh, he became a prominent high school football and basketball official, officiating state final contests in both sports during a career spanning over 20 years. As president of the Cleveland Touchdown Club he revived a failing organization and made it an important part of the Cleveland sports scene once again. Has also been active in the promotion of the Cleveland Browns Muny Football, Pee Wee and Bantamweight Leagues.
Head football and baseball coach at Cleveland Benedictine High School for over a quarter century, he is considered among the most successful coaches in Greater Cleveland scholastic sports annals. His first Bengal football team in 1955 enjoyed a 9-0 season, including a 47-6 victory in the City Championship game. He captured eight more city crowns and the 1957 Ohio high school championship before Benedictine left the East Senate in 1971. In 1973 and 1980 the Bengals won the Ohio Class AA state championship playoffs and Bossu was named Ohio Coach of the Year for a second time in 1973. His baseball teams have won nearly 75 percent of their contests and eight city titles. He is a member of the Ohio High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
The most successful football coach in the history of the Ohio Athletic Conference, he built a 154-53-6 record during 23 years as head coach at Baldwin-Wallace College. He reached the zenith of his career in 1978 when he directed the Yellow Jackets to the NCAA Division III National Championship and was named Division III Coach-of-the-Year. He also guided B-W to the national playoffs in 1979 and 1980 before retiring because of illness to which he succumbed in April, 1981. Also served as Director of Athletics at B-W and is a member of the Baldwin-Wallace College Letterman’s Hall of Fame. (He was the nation’s leading scorer as a running back for the Yellow Jackets in 1943.) As a high school coach at Mentor High, he ran of 34 consecutive victories from 1952 to 1956 and extended the streak to 39 at Massillon High where he coached two seasons before coming to Berea. That record earned him a niche in the Ohio High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
All all-scholastic football start at Shaw High School, he went on to play his college football at Purdue University where he became an All-American tackle. His feats on the gridiron earned him a niche in the National Football Hall of fame in New York. Later became a prominent high school and college referee in both football and basketball, officiating for over 30 years.
A product of Notre Dame University where he earned All-American honors as a pass receiver in 1943, he joined the Cleveland Browns in 1946 after a three-year stint with the U.S. Marines and was a star defensive end for four seasons. The Browns won the All-American Conference title in each of his four years with them and went undefeated in 1949. Went to the New York Yanks of the NFL in 1950, played the 1951 season with Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, then returned to the NFL to play with the Washington Redskins in 1952.
An all-city high school football star and state champion in the shotput and discus at Cleveland John Adams High School, and an All-American collegiate football star at Kent State he joined the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League in 1957 and enjoyed an outstanding career during which he was named an all-pro defensive tackle on several occasions. He retired in 1967.
An outstanding football player at West tech from 1921-23 and later an amateur basketball league star in Muny competition, he later became a highly successful coach of girls’ amateur basketball teams, winning 18 championships between 1927 and 1938.
Winner of the famed Heisman Trophy in 1944 when he led Ohio State University to an unbeaten, untied season, was a unanimous All-American selection at halfback and was voted the most valuable player in the Big Ten. Starred at Cleveland Rhodes High before enrolling at OSU where he was a starter for three seasons.
Among the finest players in Western Reserve University’s football history. Named as an end on the 1937 Little All-American Team. Also named to the All-American Team. Also named to the All-Ohio and All Big Four teams during his brilliant Career. Played in 53 consecutive games without experiencing defeat: 28 at Dover (Ohio) High School and 25 at Western Reserve. Picked to be on Sports Illustrated’s 1962’s Silver Anniversary All-American Football Team.
Named to the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1968. In an eight-year career with Cleveland Browns, beginning in 1946, he established himself as one of the great runners in pro history. Led Browns in rushing in six of his eight seasons, led team in scoring in 1949 and tied for leas in 1947. Averaged 5.7 yards per carry for his career, gaining a total of 4,712 yards. Was also an excellent defensive player. Named to the All-American Conference All-Pro teams from 1946-49 and to the National Football League All-Star Team in 1950.