Damon "Buzz" Wetzel (November 7, 1910 – October 15, 1985) was a fullback for

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was also the first head coach of the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...

when they played in the American Football League, then general manager of the Rams (1937–38) after they entered the National Football League. He was instrumental in the founding of the still-existing franchise, ninth oldest in the NFL, after leaving his post-college job as a newspaper illustrator. He also was responsible for naming it "Rams", in honor of Fordham, his favorite college team, and because the name was short enough to fit easily into a newspaper headline. In 1938, after the Rams opened with three straight losses following a 1-10 inaugural season in the NFL, both Wetzel and

Hugo Bezdek Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913– ...

, whom he had hired to succeed him as head coach, were fired by Rams management. In 1939 Wetzel became general manager of the Mansfield Braves, class D minor league team to the baseball Cleveland Indians."Wetzel Gets New Job", ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', February 23, 1939. In the early 1940s he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Head coaching record

References

1910 births 1985 deaths Chicago Bears players Cleveland Rams coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football players People from Roseville, Ohio Cleveland Rams head coaches {{Amfoot-coach-stub