Bill Lund

William Harold Lund (October 27, 1924 – September 27, 2008) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for two seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).

Lund grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and went to the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a star on his college football, basketball and track teams. He was a triple threat man in football, playing halfback and fullback. In track, he set and still holds school records in the 100-yard dash and long jump. His 110-yard dash time of 9.7 was set in 1945, and will never be broken as 110-yard dash is no longer run. He won the U.S. amateur championship in 1944 in the long jump. After a short stint in the U.S. Navy, Lund was selected in 1945 by the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He signed instead to play for the Browns, a team under formation in the new AAFC. After two years with the Browns, in both of which the team won the AAFC championship, he was traded to the Chicago Rockets. Lund, however, elected to leave professional football to work as an engineer. He was later an assistant coach at Case, his alma mater.

Lund grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and played football briefly in high school.^[1] He graduated and attended the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio starting in 1942, playing on the school's football, basketball and track teams.^[1][2][3] As a sophomore in 1943 he became a primary halfback on Case's football team and was touted as an emerging triple threat man.^[4]

انضم لوند إلى البحرية الأمريكية خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية ، لكن سُمح له بالبقاء في جامعة كيس ودراسة الهندسة كجزء من برنامج تدريب V-12 التابع للبحرية . ^{[ 5 ] [ 6 ]} في صيف عام 1944، فاز بلقب الولايات المتحدة في الوثب الطويل في بطولة الاتحاد الرياضي للهواة لألعاب القوى في مدينة نيويورك . ^{[ 7 ]} حطم لوند الأرقام القياسية للجامعة في الوثب الطويل، بمسافة 23 قدمًا و7 بوصات، وفي سباق 100 ياردة بزمن 9.7 ثانية. ^{[ 8 ]} في موسم كرة القدم الأمريكية لعام 1944، انتقل لوند من مركز الظهير إلى مركز الظهير المهاجم . ^{[ 9 ]} وفي وقت لاحق من الموسم، أصبح الممرر الأساسي للفريق مع استمراره في الركض بالكرة وركلها. ^{[ 10 ]}

اختير لوند من قبل فريق كليفلاند رامز التابع لدوري كرة القدم الأمريكية للمحترفين (NFL ) في المركز 147 في جولة اختيار اللاعبين لعام 1945. ^{[ 11 ]} مع ذلك، كان لوند لا يزال في الخدمة العسكرية عام 1945، متمركزًا في قاعدة بمدينة سان دييغو بولاية كاليفورنيا ، ويلعب لفريق فليت سيتي بلو جاكيتس، وهو فريق عسكري في سان دييغو . ^{[ 5 ]} بعد تسريحه من الخدمة في صيف عام 1946، وقّع لوند عقدًا مع فريق كليفلاند براونز ، وهو فريق كان قيد التأسيس في مؤتمر عموم أمريكا لكرة القدم (AAFC) الجديد . ^{[ 5 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ]} بعد أن أبعدت الإصابات اثنين من لاعبي خط الوسط الأساسيين في الفريق عن الملاعب عام 1946، صرّح المدرب بول براون بأن لوند سيُستخدم بشكل أكبر. ^{[ 14 ] [ 15 ]} بدأ لوند بداية قوية باللعب إلى جانب الظهير ماريون موتلي ، الذي كان يُعدّ أبرز لاعبي الفريق في الجري. لكنه تعرض لإصابة في الكاحل في وقت لاحق من الموسم، بينما فاز فريق براونز ببطولة AAFC لعام 1946. ^{[ 16 ] [ 17 ]}

Lund got married in May 1947 to Nancy Ann Faris of Lorain, Ohio.^[18] He was introduced to his wife, a nurse, by teammate Robert Kolesar, who practiced medicine in the offseason.^[18] He also worked as an engineer in the offseason at Thompson Products, an aerospace and automotive conglomerate based in Euclid, Ohio.^[5] Near the beginning of the 1947 season, Lund broke his left thumb crashing into the stands after returning an interception for a touchdown against the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers.^[19] He missed three games and returned in October 1947.^[20] The Browns again won the AAFC championship that year.^[21]

Before the beginning of the 1948 season, the Browns traded Lund and guard Joe Signaigo to the Chicago Rockets for guard Alex Agase and tackle Chubby Grigg.^[22] Lund did not play for the Rockets, however, quitting professional football to take a job as an engineer.^[23]

Lou Saban, Lund's teammate on the Browns, became Case's head football coach in 1950 and hired Lund to coach the freshman team.^[24] Lund later worked at Howmet Corporation in New Jersey and Cleveland's Sherwood Refractory.^[5] In 1979, he co-founded Concorde Castings, an aerospace components manufacturer, and was its chief executive officer until his retirement in 1995.^[5] Lund was a cousin of Pug Lund, a star at the University of Minnesota who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^[25] He died in 2008.^[5]

• نعي في صحيفة كليفلاند بلين ديلر