Ohio’s Autumn Legends: Vol. 1

Autumn offers a kaleidoscope of color setting the stage for a season of pads thumping, footballs spiraling and crowds roaring. There’s a scent of football in the air.

Amid that canvas some of the game’s greatest talents emerged, from high school heroes to professional legends. Paul Brown, the Godfather of Ohio football, grew up in this culture, helped create it and indeed enhanced it.

His is just one of the sport’s most famous names who evolved from childhood games in Ohio to Super Bowl triumphs in front of the entire planet, and everything in between.

The individual stories rank from the obscure Pete Henry to the worldwide brand of Roger Staubach. They reveal how a shy boy named Paul Warfield became a receiver who prompted a play-call from a U.S. president. How diminutive Archie Griffin grew into a collegiate giant, all within his hometown of Columbus.

The tale of Elyria’s Vic Janowicz reveals an American dream realized as the son of an immigrant became the forerunner of Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders.

Discover Marion Motley’s journey from a Canton Steel Mill to a racial pioneer and back down the street to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.