He attended the University of Utah, where he continued to excel at track and football before entering the military in 1942 during World War II.
He spent four years in the service before joining the Browns in 1946, where he played as an end opposite quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and fellow receiver Dante Lavelli.
The Browns merged into the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC disbanded, and Speedie continued to succeed as the team won another league championship.
The Oilers won the AFL championship that year, but Speedie left in 1961 after the head coach, former teammate Lou Rymkus, was fired.
[1][2] As a child he had Perthes Disease, a condition where growth or loss of bone mass in the hip joint affects blood supply to the area.
[2] Despite his struggle with the disease, Speedie became a star athlete at South High School in Salt Lake City, playing football, basketball and track.
"[3] After graduating from high school, Speedie attended the University of Utah, where he majored in geology and continued to excel as an athlete.
In track, he finished second in a high hurdles event where the winner, Rice University's Fred Wolcott, set an NCAA record.
[2][3] Like many college athletes, Speedie joined the military as America's involvement in World War II intensified following the attack on Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941.
[4] By the time the war drew to a close in 1945, however, Speedie was considering signing with the Chicago Rockets, a team in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC).
[3][4] Speedie was also spotted by Paul Brown, who had been the head coach of a military team at Great Lakes Naval Station that played against the Broncos.
[4][6] With the Browns, Speedie quickly became an important part of an offensive attack that featured quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and fellow receiver Dante Lavelli.
[7] He had an unusual running style because of his bout with Perthes Disease, which Lavelli said "gave him an odd gait in which he could fake plays without even trying".
[3][8] The Browns ended the regular season with a 12–2 record, winning the AAFC West division and earning a spot in the league championship.
[9] During the week before the championship game against the New York Yankees, Speedie and two teammates, Lou Rymkus and team captain Jim Daniell were arrested after an argument with Cleveland police.
In a game against the Buffalo Bills, he tied a professional football record by catching a throw from Graham and running 99 yards for a touchdown.
[19] Speedie's success in 1947 came as he, Graham and Lavelli gelled as a passing and receiving unit, having studied hours of tape and worked on their technique and coordination.
[24] Tom Landry, a Yankees cornerback who went on to coach the Dallas Cowboys, was assigned to cover Speedie and called it "the most embarrassing athletic performance of my entire life".
[26][27] Cleveland's success continued in the NFL in 1950, silencing skeptics who thought the team stood out only because of the poor quality of competition in the AAFC.
[1] After that season, however, he left the Browns to join the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union under acrimonious circumstances.
[6] The Roughriders offered Speedie double his Browns salary as the Canadian leagues tried to make names for themselves by signing top-level NFL players.
[41] He was named to the National Football League 1940s All-Decade Team and was selected by news outlets as a first-team All-Pro six times.
[46] In Speedie's first game leading the team, the Broncos ended the losing streak with a 33–27 upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
[47] Two weeks later, Speedie suspended placekicker Gene Mingo and defensive back Willie West for "conduct detrimental to the club", reportedly as a result of a late-night party at a hotel.