Mel Long is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive tackle. He played college football at Toledo

Toledo Rockets football

The Toledo Rockets football team is a college football program in Division I FBS, representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo began playing football in 1917, although it did not field teams in 1931, and 1943-1945. Since the inception of the AP...

 and high school football for Macomber

Macomber High School (Toledo, Ohio)

Irving E. Macomber Vocational Technical High School was a vocational public high school in Toledo, Ohio, USA, from 1938 to June 1991. It served the entire city and was part of the Toledo Public School District...

. In 1998 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

. The 6-1, 230-pound Long played defensive tackle and was a two-time All-America, a First-team in 1970

1970 College Football All-America Team

The 1970 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Central Press Association, Football Writers...

 and a consensus selection in 1971

1971 College Football All-America Team

The 1971 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...

. Long was selected in the 11th round (278th selection) of the 1972 NFL Draft

1972 NFL Draft

The 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

 by the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and played for them three seasons.

Long enrolled at the University of Toledo as a Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 veteran, a Marine with combat decorations. Toledo led the nation in defensive statistics all three years. Toledo won the conference all three years and won the Tangerine Bowl all three seasons as well. The 1969 team went 11-0 and beat Davidson 56-35 in the Tangerine Bowl. The following season, their record was 12-0 with a 40-12 victory over William & Mary

William & Mary Tribe football

The William & Mary Tribe are a college football team representing the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. William & Mary currently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2010, Jimmye Laycock is in his 31st...

 in the 1970 Tangerine Bowl

1970 Tangerine Bowl

The 1970 Tangerine Bowl pitched the Toledo Rockets to the William & Mary Indians on 28 December 1970, and ended with a 40-12 victory of the Rockets.  -References:...

. And in 1971, it was 12-0 (giving Toledo a 35-0 record for 3 years) and victory over Richmond (28-3) in the Tangerine Bowl.