University of Notre Dame instead when Leahy became head football coach there in 1941. College and military career At Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Yonakor played on the football team as an end beginning in 1942, when he was a sophomore. He was a starter at right end in 1943, when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team won the national championship under Leahy. The highlight of his college career was catching two touchdown passes from quarterback Angelo Bertelli in a game against Army. Yonakor was known for his strength and large size. While watching track athletes practice at Notre Dame in 1943, he picked up a 16-pound shot putter's weight and returned it to the thrower. Impressed by the distance of the throw, the track coach got Yonakor to compete in the event, and two weeks later Yonakor won the Amateur Athletic Union indoor shot put national competition at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He was named an All-American by news outlets that year. Following the 1943 season, Yonakor spent two years in the U.S. Marines during World War II and played on military football teams. In 1944, he was selected to play in the College All-Star Game, a now-defunct matchup between the National Football League (NFL) champion and a selection of the best college players in the country. Professional career Creighton Miller, a teammate of Yonakor's at Notre Dame, took an assistant coaching position after the war with the Cleveland Browns, a team under formation in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC). While Yonakor selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 1945 NFL Draft, Miller convinced him to sign with the Browns instead. The Browns won the AAFC championship in each of the four years Yonakor played for the team between 1946 and 1949. He started out as primarily a pass-rushing defensive end in 1946, but was also used as an offensive end when receiver Dante Lavelli was injured in 1947. After watching one of the Browns' early games, Leahy said that the Browns were good, but "I don't understand why they don't throw more passes to Yonakor". He had just six receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns in 1947, however, and was shifted back to working mostly on defense in 1948. Yonakor completed coursework at Notre Dame between seasons with the Browns and got his degree in 1948. Yonakor