George Ratterman, 80; quarterback became color commentator

George Ratterman, 80, a former quarterback for Notre Dame and the Cleveland Browns who later became a color commentator on pro football broadcasts in the 1960s and ‘70s, died Saturday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Centennial, Colo. He was 80.

A native of Cincinnati, Ratterman lettered in football, basketball, baseball and tennis at Notre Dame, one of only a handful of people to letter in four sports at the school, said John Heisler, Notre Dame’s senior associate athletic director.

At Notre Dame, he was the backup quarterback to Frank Dancewicz in 1945 and to Johnny Lujack when the Irish won the national championship in 1946. During the 1946 season, Lujack usually played the first and third quarters and Ratterman played the second and fourth quarters.

With the Buffalo Bills of the All-America Football Conference, Ratterman led the league with 22 touchdown passes as a rookie in 1947. When the league folded, he continued his career with the New York Yanks of the NFL in 1950 and ‘51, the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1951 and played with the Cleveland Browns from 1952 through ’56. In 1956, he succeeded Otto Graham as the Browns’ starting quarterback. A knee injury after four games as the starter ended his football career.

He worked as a color commentator on TV and radio broadcasts of the American Football League and NFL games for ABC and NBC.