Ernie Kellermann obituary

R.I.P. Miami Football great and Alum.
[https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/ernest-kellermann-obituary?id=57501048]

Ernie was known by fans in the Cleveland area for his years with the Browns. A gifted athlete from early on, he excelled in most sports he played. Kellermann, who grew up in Maple Heights, overcame modest size and means to orchestrate a remarkable sports career at every level. He played at Chanel High School, Miami (OH) University, and finally in the NFL (Browns, Bengals, Bills). He was a master technician with great fundamentals in all sports, but his passion for the game and fierce competitive nature were his trademarks. ā€œA lot of my success was sheer determination to overachieve,ā€ Ernie would say later on in life.

A three-year starter at quarterback for Miami (OH), he earned all MAC honors and was team MVP his junior and senior seasons. He orchestrated two of the biggest upsets in Miami football history, over nationally ranked Purdue and Northwestern. His college coach, Bo Schembechler said, ā€œErnie Kellermann is the best little quarterback in the country. I would not trade him for any other quarterback.ā€ Bo went on to say, ā€œErnie was the one player who did the most to enhance my coaching career.ā€

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RIP.

QB for one of Miamiā€™s greatest victories (vs. Purdue).

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Not only a great QB at Miami; he had an excellent NFL career and was selected for the Pro Bowl one year.

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Sad. I just looked up information on him when we were discussing Miami QBs a few weeks ago. He was Miamiā€™s QB when I attended my very first Miami game with the Centerville band.

About 30 years ago I lived in the same neighborhood in the Seattle area as former Browns and Redskins Running Back Charley Harraway. I bought a hotel voucher from Charley that I could use that was about to expire. His wife told me they used to call Ernie ā€œThe Professorā€ when Ernie and Charley were teammates in Cleveland because of his studious look and nature.

RIP Ernie!

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Miami played the Centerville band?

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I donā€™t see it mentioned here, but Ernie was a db in the NFL. I also saw him play our school faculty in a Browns vs faculty basketball charity game.

ā€”and we destroyed them. It was a buy game for them and we had to give them two clarinets and a tuba.

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Yes Ernie had 19 interceptions in his NFL career, including 6 the year he made the Pro Bowl. He was a starter in 6 of his 8 NFL seasons.

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One of my greatest memories at Miami. My buddies and I made a trip to Purdue to see this history making game when he and Bob Jenks were part of one of the most exciting games in Miami History.

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There used to be a thing called Band Day. Maybe up to 20-25 high school bands were invited to Oxford for the game. The bands practiced with the Miami Band on Cook Firld in the morning, ate box lunches and then paraded down High Street from Ox College to Miami Field. The high school bands performed with the Miami Band at halftime.

I lost track of when but I donā€™t think theyā€™ve done a Band Day at Miami in years. Maybe someone else knows.

I was at that game too! Grew up in Lafayette & went to all Purdue football & basketball games. 15 yrs old at the time of the game. Never interested in staying home & going to Purdue

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What years was Ernie at Miami?

I believe 1962-65 football teams.

62-63-64

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Yep. You couldnā€™t play varsity your Freshman year back then. Bruce Matte took over as QB in 65 and 66.

https://x.com/miamiohfootball/status/1889749238558441780?s=46&t=ZH1fFGwu8Q0191V3SgsUtQ

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I was a huge fan of his growing up in Cleveland.

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RIP!

One of the few lefties at the time.

Same here. I was 9 years old when my dad took me to see the Browns basketball team play our local HS. Got to see Jim Brown and Ernie Kellerman after that ā€˜65 loss to the Packers in NFL title game. Funny that the last game Jim Brown played for the Browns was basketball!

Met Ernie later at a Miami Alumni affair in Cleveland. Great player and person for both Miami and the Browns when they were great.

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