Rev. Samuel Tidmore, IV, was an aide to Louis Stokes during his early years in Congress. Rev. Tidmore was born in Decatur, Illinois, in 1938, but moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as a child. He graduated from John Adams High School and attended the Ohio State University. He is a former NFL linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns in 1962 and 1963. He later became a business consultant and an owner of fast food franchises. During the late 1970s, he served as chapter vice president of the Cleveland chapter of Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), a project begun by Rev. Jesse Jackson.