On November 15, 1953, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, an opponent’s elbow struck Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham in the face. Graham was a veteran player who knew through years in the league that this hit would take him out of the game. Graham was not wearing a protective mask and the blow resulted in a deep gash running down his cheek bone. It was not the first hit that took Graham out of a game, but he decided that it would be the last. Graham went to the locker room where a trainer stitched the cut, and he later returned to the game wearing a protective mask.
