Mel Maceau

Mel Maceau

Maceau in 1946
No. 24
Position:	Center
Personal information
Born:	(1921-12-25)December 25, 1921 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died:	February 16, 1981(1981-02-16) (aged 59) Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:	Milwaukee (WI) Rufus King
College:	Marquette
NFL draft:	1944 / Round: 14 / Pick: 141 (by the Cleveland Rams)
Career history
Cleveland Browns (1946–1948)
Career highlights and awards
3× AAFC champion (1946, 1947, 1948)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 37
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Maceau grew up in Wisconsin and played football at the collegiate level at Marquette University. He served for two years in World War II between 1943 and 1944 before returning to Marquette at the end of the 1945 season. Maceau then signed with the Browns, where he played as a backup center for three years. Paul Brown, Cleveland's head coach, waived him before the 1949 season, and he retired from professional football. The Browns won the AAFC championship in each of the years Maceau played for the team.

Maceau grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended Rufus King High School.

After high school, Maceau went to Marquette University in Milwaukee and played on the school's football team in 1941 and 1942 as a center. The following year, he joined the Army Air Corps during World War II and trained as a cryptographer. He served for two years in the China Burma India Theater, returning to Maruqette in 1945 to complete his studies. Maceau also played on Marquette's football team for part of the 1945 season. He was selected by the Cleveland Rams in the 1944 NFL Draft, but did not sign with the team because of his military service.

In early 1946, Maceau played for the Omar Bakers in the Classic Basketball League. Later that year, he joined the Cleveland Browns, a team under formation in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC), along with three former Marquette teammates, John Harrington, George Groves and Wilfred Kramer. Maceau and Harrington made the team.

Maceau played with the Browns for three seasons between 1946 and 1948; the team won the league championship in each of those years. Maceau was a third-stringer behind Mike Scarry and Frank Gatski at center, but he got playing time in late 1947 when Scarry was injured, substituting as a defensive lineman. Before the beginning of the 1949 season, Cleveland coach Paul Brown released Maceau on waivers, allowing other teams to pick him up. Maceau then retired from professional football.

• Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference