He played college football at the University of Toledo, and still held the school record for rushing yards in a single season, with 1,162, as of 2013.
Cole ran for more than 100 yards in 1950, when the Browns won the NFL championship, and saw his playing time increase the following year after Motely was injured.
[4] The Browns had four other black players on their roster, including fullback Marion Motley, linebacker Bill Willis and punter Horace Gillom, but they had all joined the team during its years in the defunct All-America Football Conference.
[7] Cleveland head coach Paul Brown groomed Cole to replace Motley, who was nearing the end of his career in 1950.
[8] The Browns finished the regular season with a 10–2 win–loss record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship.
[10] While Cole appeared to be Motley's chosen successor at fullback in an offense that featured quarterback Otto Graham and ends Mac Speedie and Dante Lavelli, his relationship with Brown was strained.
[9][12] Brown cut Cole during the following season, and he spent the remainder of the year with the Chicago Bears before leaving football.
[13] Cleveland halfback Dub Jones later criticized Brown's handling of Cole, calling it the biggest waste of talent he had ever seen.
[18] He later got a job in Toledo as the regional director of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, a body that oversees enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.