Mel Maceau
American football player (1921–1981)
title: "Mel Maceau" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1921-births", "1981-deaths", "players-of-american-football-from-milwaukee", "american-football-centers", "marquette-golden-avalanche-football-players", "cleveland-browns-(aafc)-players", "united-states-army-air-forces-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "rufus-king-international-high-school-alumni"] description: "American football player (1921–1981)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Maceau" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American football player (1921–1981) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox NFL biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Mel Maceau |
| image | Mel Maceau, American football center, in 1946.png |
| alt | A headshot of Mel Maceau from a 1946 Cleveland Browns game program |
| caption | Maceau in 1946 |
| number | 24 |
| position | Center |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S. |
| height_ft | 6 |
| height_in | 0 |
| weight_lb | 203 |
| high_school | Milwaukee (WI) Rufus King |
| college | Marquette |
| draftyear | 1944 |
| draftround | 14 |
| draftpick | 141 |
| (by the Cleveland Rams) | |
| statleague | AAFC |
| statlabel1 | Games played |
| statvalue1 | 37 |
| pfr | MaceMe20 |
| :: |
| name = Mel Maceau | image = Mel Maceau, American football center, in 1946.png | alt = A headshot of Mel Maceau from a 1946 Cleveland Browns game program | caption = Maceau in 1946 | number = 24 | position = Center | birth_date = | birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S. | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 0 | weight_lb = 203 | high_school = Milwaukee (WI) Rufus King | college = Marquette | draftyear = 1944 | draftround = 14 | draftpick = 141 (by the Cleveland Rams) | pastteams =
- Cleveland Browns (1946–1948) | highlights =
- 3× AAFC champion (1946, 1947, 1948) | statleague = AAFC | statlabel1 = Games played | statvalue1 = 37 | pfr = MaceMe20
Melvin Anthony Maceau (December 25, 1921February 16, 1981) was an American football center in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1948.
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.
Early life
Maceau grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended Rufus King High School.
College and professional career
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.
References
Bibliography
References
- "1944 Cleveland Rams".
- (November 6, 1945). "Mel Maceau Rejoins Hilltop Grid Squad". The Milwaukee Sentinel.
- Fullerton, Jr., Hugh. (May 31, 1943). "Fullerton on Sports". The Telegraph-Herald.
- "Mel Maceau NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- (February 6, 1946). "Bradleys Can Gain Tie for Classic Cage Title". The Milwaukee Journal.
- (August 3, 1946). "Harrington Is Arrival in Brown Camp". Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Sauerbrei, Harold. (November 6, 1947). "Browns Unveil Two Able Subs for Scarry". Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- (July 25, 1949). "Browns To Begin Drills Wednesday". Toledo Blade.
- (July 24, 1949). "Browns' Grid Vets Fight For '49 Jobs". Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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