| No. 70 | |||||||
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| Positions | Fullback,linebacker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1922-01-07)January 7, 1922 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | January 18, 1967(1967-01-18) (aged 45) Brecksville, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | John Marshall (Cleveland, Ohio) | ||||||
| College | Findlay | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||
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Edward J. "Foozy"Sustersic (January 7, 1922 – January 18, 1967) was an Americanfootballfullback andlinebacker who played one season in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) for theCleveland Browns.
A native ofCleveland, Sustersic was a star football player and wrestler at his local high school. He attendedFindlay College, where he continued his athletic career and won a state amateur wrestling championship. His college career was interrupted by service in theUnited States Army Air Corps during World War II, but he returned to Findlay and was named an All-Ohio fullback in 1947. He then played one season for the Browns in 1949. The team won the AAFC championship that year.
Sustersic held a number of coaching jobs in Ohio after leaving the Browns. He became a coach atBrecksville-Broadview Heights High School in 1958, and was named its athletic director in 1961. He died in 1967 of a heart attack. Four years later, he was inducted into Findlay's athletics hall of fame.
Sustersic grew up inCleveland and attendedJohn Marshall High School, where he played football and won a city championship in wrestling before graduating in 1941.[1][2] He continued to wrestle and play football at theFindlay College inFindlay, Ohio, and won the OhioAmateur Athletic Union heavyweight wrestling championship.[1][3] He left Findlay early in his college career, however, to serve in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II.[1] He rose to the rank ofsergeant and won a heavyweight boxing championship while stationed atKeesler Air Force Base inMississippi.[1] Sustersic returned to Findlay after the war, and resumed his football career there, playing as afullback.[4] He was named a first-team All-Ohio fullback by theAssociated Press after the 1947 season.[4] He graduated in 1948.[1]
Sustersic signed to play for theCleveland Browns of theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1949.[3] He was the team's third-string fullback, playing behindMarion Motley andTony Adamle, as well as a linebacker on defense.[5] Sustersic scored two touchdowns in a pre-season game against theChicago Hornets, but saw little action during the season.[3][5] He substituted for Motley after the starter was injured in a September game against theBaltimore Colts.[6] Led by an offense that featured Motley,quarterbackOtto Graham andendsDante Lavelli andMac Speedie, team won the AAFC championship that year.[7] Sustersic finished the season with 114rushing yards on 23 carries and atouchdown.[3]
Sustersic retired from football after the 1949 season. After stints as an assistant coach at Findlay,Sidney High School andElyria Catholic High School, he was named the head football coach atSt. Mary's School inSandusky, Ohio in 1954, and stayed in that position for four years.[1][2] He then took a job as the head baseball coach and assistant football coach atBrecksville-Broadview Heights High School nearBrecksville, Ohio.[2] In 1960, he and head football coach Joe Vadini launched the Brecksville Holiday Invitational, a wrestling tournament that quickly became an important scholastic wrestling event.[1] Sustersic was named the athletic director at Brecksville in 1961 and stepped down as an assistant for the football team.[8] He returned to football in 1965, however, as Brecksville's line coach.[1]
Sustersic died suddenly in 1967 of aheart attack while he was running in the Brecksville gym during school.[1] He and his wife, Jean, had four sons.[1] He was inducted into Findlay's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971.[9]