 | For current information on this topic, see 2008 Cleveland Browns season |
| Cleveland Browns | |||
| Established 1946 Play in Cleveland, Ohio | |||
| |||
| League/Conference affiliations | |||
All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)
National Football League (1950–present)
| |||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Team colors | Seal Brown, Burnt Orange, White | ||
| Personnel | |||
| Owner | Randy Lerner | ||
| General Manager | Phil Savage | ||
| Head Coach | Romeo Crennel | ||
| Team history | |||
| |||
| Championships | |||
League Championships (8)
| |||
Conference Championships (11)
| |||
Division Championships (13)
| |||
| Home fields | |||
| |||
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2008 Cleveland Browns season is the team's 62nd season as a franchise and will also be the team's 58th season as a member of the National Football League Athletics Marathon August 22 &mdash European Championships Marathon, Oslo Norway Men's Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football, the modern hard plastic version of which was created by The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The American Football Conference ( AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL The AFC Central was a division of the National Football League 's American Football Conference from 1970 to 2001 The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League 's American Football Conference. Randolph D Lerner 'Legend' (born February 21, 1962, in Brooklyn New York) is an American Entrepreneur and sports team owner Phil Savage (born Phillip Savage Jr April 7 1965 in Mobile Alabama) was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cleveland Browns Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947 in Lynchburg Virginia) has been the Head coach of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football Throughout its history the National Football League and other leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champion including a period of interleague The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 Wikipedia talkFeatured lists#Proposed change to all featured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football Stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland Ohio ( American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads They play in the AFC North division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League 's American Football Conference. The American Football Conference ( AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The Cleveland Browns began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC folded. The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 The team won all four AAFC titles and had one undefeated season (1948 - 15–0), as well as four NFL Championships.
Contents |
History
- For more details on this topic, see History of the Cleveland Browns. This article details the history of the Cleveland Browns American Football Club.
1946–1949: The AAFC years
The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference, under businessman Arthur B "Mickey" McBride. The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 Arthur B "Mickey" McBride ( 20 March 1888 - 10 November 1972) was the founder of the Cleveland Browns professional football [1] Not long after gaining the franchise, McBride named Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as vice president, general manager and head coach. The Ohio State University 's intercollegiate sports teams and players are called the "Buckeyes" (after the state tree the Buckeye) and participate in the NCAA Paul Eugene Brown ( September 7, 1908 - August 5, 1991) was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development
A fan contest was conducted to determine the name of the team, with the most popular choice being "Panthers. " However, Brown objected to the name after finding out it had been used by a semipro team in the city—one that had a reputation as a chronic loser. This prompted a second contest to choose a name befitting a champion. [2] This contest yielded the nickname "Brown Bombers"—after reigning heavyweight champion Joe Louis—and was shortened to "Browns" for the convenience of headline writers. Joseph Louis Barrow ( May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) better known as Joe Louis, was a heavyweight boxing champion. However, to this day, the myth that the team was named after Paul Brown persists. [3]
Brown parlayed his ties to the Buckeyes and the Navy (where he'd coached a base football team during World War II) into the most extensive recruitment network that had ever been seen at the time in pro football. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He used it to assemble a team that, in terms of talent, would have been more than a match for any NFL team—including quarterback Otto Graham, kicker/offensive tackle Lou Groza, wide receiver Mac Speedie, fullback Marion Motley and nose guard Bill Willis. Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. Otto Everett Graham Jr ( December 6, 1921 - December 17, 2003) was an American professional football and Basketball player Placekicker, or simply kicker ( PK or K) is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the In American and Canadian football, offensive tackles ( OT, T) are a part of the Offensive line. Louis Roy Groza ( January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football Placekicker who played his entire A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football Mac Speedie ( January 12, 1920 – March 12, 1993) was a football player who starred as a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns In American football, a fullback ( FB) is a position in the offensive backfield Marion Motley ( June 5, 1920 - June 27, 1999) was a former American Football fullback who played for the Cleveland Nose guard is a defensive position in American football. In five-lineman situations such as a goal-line formation the nose guard is the innermost lineman flanked on either Motley and Willis were the first African-Americans to play in a pro football game in 13 years.
The Browns dominated the AAFC, winning all four of its championships including the 1948 season in which they became the first unbeaten and untied team in professional football history—24 years before the NFL's perfect team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami Florida Metropolitan Area. Cleveland's undefeated streak (including 2 ties) reached 29 games, and included 18 straight wins and the 1947 and 1948 AAFC championship games. During the AAFC's four-year run, the Browns lost only four games. The Browns issued occasional challenges to NFL teams, only to be turned down almost out of hand each time.
Thanks in large part to McBride's promotional efforts, the Cleveland area showed terrific support for the Browns from the moment they were created. The team saw a record setting average attendance of 57,000 a game in its first season. [4] The Browns unexpectedly had Cleveland to themselves; the NFL's Cleveland Rams, who had continually lost money while in Cleveland despite winning the 1945 NFL championship, moved to the booming area of Los Angeles after the 1945 season (the team is now located in St. Louis). The St Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The 1945 NFL season was the 26th Regular season of the National Football League.
1950–56: NFL
The AAFC dissolved after the 1949 season, due largely to the Browns' near absolute domination of the league. Jim Crowley, the AAFC's first commissioner, later said that if the AAFC had held a draft rather than simply encourage its teams to sign as many top players as possible, the league may well have survived. James H "Jim" Crowley ( September 10 1902 – January 15 1986) American Football player and coach born in Chicago When the NFL agreed to take in three of the AAFC's teams for the 1950 season, it was a foregone conclusion that the Browns would be included. The 1950 NFL season was the 31st Regular season of the National Football League.
The Browns' first NFL game was against the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The overwhelming consensus at the time was that the Eagles would blow the Browns off the field; there were still many who thought the Browns were merely the dominant team in a minor league. However, the Browns were determined to prove they belonged. They shredded the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 yards of total offense en route to a 35–10 blowout.
Behind a potent offense that included future Hall of Famers Graham, Motley and Dante Lavelli, the Browns picked up right where they left off in the AAFC. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the Hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (born February 23, 1923) is a Pro Football Hall of Fame end ( Wide receiver) who played for the Cleveland Browns After going 10–2 in the regular season, the Browns defeated the New York Giants 8–3 in a playoff game and then beat Cleveland's previous NFL tenants, the Rams (who were now in Los Angeles), 30–28, in the NFL Championship game. The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. Since the NFL does not recognize the AAFC's records, this technically makes the Browns the most successful expansion team in league history. However, the 1950 Browns were not an expansion team in any sense of the term.
During the next season, the Browns went 11–1, facing the Rams in a rematch of the previous year's title game. A 73-yard touchdown pass by Norm van Brocklin to Tom Fears in the fourth quarter put Los Angeles in the lead for good. Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin ( March 15, 1926 &ndash May 2, 1983) Thomas Jesse Fears ( December 3, 1923 - January 4, 2000) was an American football Wide receiver for the Los Angeles The 24–17 loss was the Browns' first in a championship game.
Cleveland also advanced to the 1952 NFL championship game, finishing 8–4 to face the Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. A muffed punt, several defensive stands, and a 67-yard touchdown run by Doak Walker combined to help the Lions win 17–7, frustrating the Browns for the second consecutive year. Ewell Doak Walker Jr ( January 1 1927 &ndash September 27 1998) was an American football player who is a member of the On the upside, Ray Renfro became a star with 722 yards receiving and 322 yards rushing. Raymond Renfro ( November 7, 1930 - August 4, 1997) was an American professional football player
The Browns then started the 1953 season winning 11 straight games, but finished with a loss to the Eagles in the final week, and then lost the 1953 Championship game in a rematch with the Lions. The game was, however, closer than the year before. With the score tied at 10 going into the final quarter, Lou Groza kicked two field goals to put Cleveland up 16–10. Louis Roy Groza ( January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football Placekicker who played his entire But Detroit's Bobby Layne threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jim Doran with under two minutes left and the Lions won 17–16. Robert Lawrence Layne ( December 19 1926 &ndash December 1 1986) was born in Santa Anna Texas, USA James Robert Doran (born August 11, 1927 in Beaver Iowa) is a former American football Wide receiver in the NFL for
In 1954, the Browns finished 9–3 and met up with Detroit in the championship for a third consecutive year. This time, however, the Browns were relentless on both sides of the ball, intercepting Bobby Layne six times and forcing three fumbles. Otto Graham threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, en route to a 56–10 thrashing and the Browns' second NFL crown.
The Browns kept rolling along in 1955. Chuck Noll had a productive season at linebacker with five interceptions, Graham passed for 15 touchdowns and ran for six more, and the team, who finished 9–2–1, won their third NFL Championship game in six seasons 38–14, against the Los Angeles Rams. Charles Henry Noll (born January 5 1932) is a former professional American football player and coach most notably the head coach of the Pittsburgh In 10 years of existence, the Browns reached the title game every year (four in the AAFC, six in the NFL) and won seven of them.
Graham retired before the 1956 season due to injuries, and the Browns floundered without him behind center. Three quarterbacks (George Ratterman, Babe Parilli, and Tommy O'Connell) were used, none of them throwing more touchdowns than interceptions. George William Ratterman ( November 12, 1926 &ndash November 3, 2007) was an American Football player in the All-America Football Vito "Babe" Parilli (born May 7, 1929) is a former American football player Tommy O'Connell (born September 26, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois) was a professional American football Quarterback who played The team's 5–7 record was the team's first losing season ever.
1957–70: The Jim Brown Era
The Browns responded in 1957 when they drafted fullback Jim Brown out of Syracuse University, who easily became the NFL's leading rusher (and NFL Rookie of the Year) with 942 yards in a 12-game regular season. James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown (born February 17, 1936) is an American former professional football player who has also made Syracuse University (SU is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York. Since 1967 The Associated Press has given two annual Rookie of the Year Awards to NFL American football players one for an offensive Once again at the top of the division at 9–2–1, they advanced back to the championship game against Detroit. But the Lions dominated from start to finish, causing six turnovers and allowing the Browns' two quarterbacks (Tommy O'Connell and Milt Plum) only 95 yards passing in a 59–14 rout. Milton Ross Plum (born January 20, 1935 in Westville New Jersey) was an American football Quarterback who played for the
In 1958 Jim Brown ran for 1,527 yards, almost twice as much as any other running back. In his nine seasons in the league, he crossed the 1,000-yard barrier seven times. The only snag in their getting back to another championship was the New York Giants. They lost to New York on the last week of the season after a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, then, due to their equal 9–3 records, faced the Giants again in a tiebreaker game with the winner going to the finals. However, the Giants limited Jim Brown to eight yards and the team committed four turnovers as they were shut out 10–0.
In 1959 the Browns started 6–2 but finished 7–5, out of championship contention, despite Brown once again leading the league in rushing with 1,329 yards. In 1960, Plum threw for 21 touchdowns and Brown's 1,257 yards was still best in the NFL, but the team still finished second at 8–3–1.
Art Modell purchased the team from David Jones (who had bought the team from McBride in 1953) in 1961. Arthur B Modell (born June 23, 1925, Brooklyn, New York) is a former National Football League team owner The beginnings of a power struggle between Paul Brown and Art Modell took its toll. Journalist D. L. Stewart recounted in Jeff Miller's book on the AFL, Going Long, "As you well can imagine, Jimmy Brown and Paul were not thick. The buzz was that Jimmy had Modell working for him, and Paul took exception to that. "[5] The season otherwise was typical: a fifth consecutive league-leading season from Jim Brown and a half-decent performance in the standings, but again, at 8–5–1, they were two games out of a berth in the championship.
After a 7–6–1 record in 1962, Modell fired Brown and replaced him with longtime assistant Blanton Collier. Blanton Long Collier ( July 2, 1906, Millersburg Kentucky &ndash March 22, 1983, Houston Texas) was an American football Many of the Browns' younger players—such as Jim Brown and Frank Ryan had chafed under Brown's autocratic coaching style. Frank Beall Ryan (born July 12, 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a retired American football Quarterback in the National Collier rode his team with a considerably looser rein. He also installed a much more open offense and allowed Ryan to call his own plays. In Collier's first season, the Browns went 10–4 and finished a game out of the conference title, led by Jim Brown's record 1,863 yards rushing.
In 1964, the Browns went 10–3–1 and reached their first title game in 7 years. The Browns throttled the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 27–0, with receiver Gary Collins catching 3 TD passes to earn the MVP award. The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. This article is about the former American-football player For the film and TV actor of the same name see Gary Collins (actor. [6] The Browns would go to three more NFL title games in Collier's eight-year tenure—including 1968 and 1969, after Jim Brown retired. The 1968 NFL season was the 49th Regular season of the National Football League. The 1969 NFL season was the 50th Regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. After the 1970 season, Collier retired due to increasing deafness; that same year the Browns finished 7–7 and was replaced by offensive coordinator Nick Skorich. The 1970 NFL season was the 51st Regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger. An offensive coordinator typically refers to the coach on a American football team who is in charge of the offense. Nicholas Leonard Skorich ( June 26, 1921 in Bellaire Ohio - October 2, 2004) was an American football player and coach
1971–84: The Kardiac Kids
Skorich led the Browns to a division title in 1971 and a wild-card berth in 1972. The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd Regular season of the National Football League. The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd Regular season of the National Football League. In the latter year, the Browns nearly defeated the Dolphins in the second round—the closest the Dolphins would come to losing a game that season. They barely missed the playoffs in 1973. The 1973 NFL season was the 54th Regular season of the National Football League.
However, the Browns' era of success came to a crashing halt as the team dropped to 4–10 in 1974. Neither Mike Phipps nor rookie QB Brian Sipe was effective; they threw 24 combined interceptions to only 10 touchdowns. Michael Elston Phipps (born January 19, 1947 in Shelbyville Indiana) is a former professional American football Quarterback who played Brian Winfield Sipe (born August 8, 1949, in San Diego California) is a former professional American Football quarterback who played in the The Browns allowed 344 points, most in the league. It was only the second losing season in franchise history, and it cost Skorich his job.
Assistant coach Forrest Gregg took over in 1975, but the Browns stumbled out of the gate with an 0–9 start that finally came to an end on November 23 in a 35–23 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Alvis Forrest Gregg (born October 18, 1933 in Birthright Texas) is a former American football player and coach in the NFL. The 1975 NFL season was the 56th Regular season of the National Football League. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Three weeks later, third-year running back Greg Pruitt paced the team with 214 yards rushing in a rout over the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the team finish the season 3–11. Gregory Donald Pruitt (born August 18, 1951 in Houston Texas) is a former American football Running back in the NFL The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City Missouri.
Cleveland showed marked improvement with a 9–5 mark in 1976 as Brian Sipe firmly took control at quarterback. The 1976 NFL season was the 57th Regular season of the National Football League. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Phipps injury in the season-opening win against the New York Jets on September 12. The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated Third-string quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones's pile-driving sack of quarterback Terry Bradshaw fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. David Mays is a pioneer in the field of Hip Hop journalism Dave Mays has created numerous hip hop magazines throughout his career Joseph Willie "Turkey" Jones (born January 7, 1948 in Dallas, Texas) is a former American football Defensive end Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2 1948 is a former American football Quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League As with all sports leagues there are a number of significant rivalries in the National Football League (NFL That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Greg Pruitt continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1,000 yards, his second-straight four-digit season.
The Browns continued to roll in the first half of the 1977 NFL season, but an injury to Brian Sipe by Pittsburgh's Jack Lambert on November 13 proved to be disastrous. The 1977 NFL season was the 58th Regular season of the National Football League. John Harold "Jack" Lambert ( July 8, 1952, Mantua Ohio, United States) is a former NFL Linebacker in American Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Cleveland won only one of their last five games to finish at 6–8, a collapse that led to Forrest Gregg's dismissal before the final game of the season. Dick Modzelewski served as interim coach in the team's 20–19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Richard Blair Modzelewski (born February 16, 1931 in West Natrona, Pennsylvania) is a former American football Defensive The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle Washington, USA
On December 27, 1977, Sam Rutigliano was named head coach, and he aided a healthy Sipe in throwing 21 touchdowns and garnering 2,900 yards during the 1978 NFL season. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Sam Rutigliano (b July 1, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former National Football League head coach The 1978 NFL season was the 59th Regular season of the National Football League. Greg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt led a rushing attack that gained almost 2,500 yards, but problems with the team's dismal pass defense resulted in the Browns finishing 8–8 on the year. Michael Pruitt (born April 3, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football Running back who played eleven seasons
The 1979 campaign started with four consecutive wins, three of which were in the final minute or overtime. The 1979 NFL season was the 60th Regular season of the National Football League. Four more games were won by less than a touchdown. This penchant for playing close games would later earn them the nickname "Kardiac Kids". The Kardiac Kids is a reference to the 1980 Cleveland Browns, who had a penchant for having games decided in the final moments Sipe threw 28 touchdown passes, tying him with Steve Grogan of New England for most in the league, but his 26 interceptions were the worst in the league. Steve James Grogan ( July 24, 1953 in San Antonio Texas) was an American football Quarterback for the New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the " Pats " by sports writers and fans are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston Mike Pruitt had a Pro Bowl season with his 1,294 rushing yards, while the defense was still shaky, ranking near the bottom in rushing defense. The team finished 9–7, behind division rivals Houston and Pittsburgh in a tough AFC Central. The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville Tennessee.
The 1980 season is still fondly remembered by Browns fans. After going 3–3 in the first six games, the Browns won three straight games with fourth-quarter comebacks, and stopped a late comeback by the Baltimore Colts to win a fourth. The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. The Browns won two more games in that fashion by the end of the season, and even lost a game to the Minnesota Vikings on the last play when a Hail Mary pass was tipped into the waiting hands of Ahmad Rashad. The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based out of Minneapolis Minnesota. A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play in American football is a Forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success Ahmad Rashād (born Robert Earl Moore November 19, 1949 in Portland, Oregon) is an Emmy award-winning sportscaster (mostly Sipe passed for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions(enough for him to be named the NFL MVP), behind an offensive line that sent three members to the Pro Bowl: Doug Dieken, Tom DeLeone and Joe DeLamielleure. The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities most notably the Associated Press, to the player who is considered most valuable In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL Douglas Dieken (born February 12, 1949 in Streator Illinois) is a former American football tackle who played fourteen seasons in the Thomas Denning DeLeone (born August 13, 1950 in Ravenna Ohio) is a former American football center who played thirteen seasons in the Joseph Michael DeLamielleure (born March 16, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former American football Offensive lineman The "Kardiac Kids" name stuck. A fourth-quarter field goal by Don Cockroft in the final game against the Cincinnati Bengals helped the Browns capture the division with an 11–5 mark, with the Oakland Raiders their opponent in the team's first playoff game in eight years. Donald Lee Cockroft (born February 6, 1945, in Cheyenne Wyoming) is a former American football punter and Placekicker The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland California. However, a heartbreaking end of this dramatic season came in the closing seconds when Sipe called what became known as "Red Right 88" and passed toward the end zone, only to watch Oakland's Mike Davis intercept the ball. Red Right 88 was the designation of a Cleveland Browns passing play that was most famously called during the January 4, 1981 American Football Conference Michael Davis is a retired American football safety. College career Davis played College football at the University of Colorado The Raiders went on to win the Super Bowl, and "Red Right 88" has numbered among the list of Cleveland sports curses ever since. professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL A sports-related curse is the effective action of some power or evil that is used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams players or even cities
If 1980 was a dream season, then 1981 was a nightmare. The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd Regular season of the National Football League. Sipe threw only 17 touchdowns while being picked off 25 times. The Browns went 5–11, and few of their games were particularly close. Tight end Ozzie Newsome, their only Pro Bowler, had 1,004 yards receiving for six touchdowns. Ozzie Newsome Jr (born March 16, 1956 in Muscle Shoals Alabama) is a former American football Tight end for the Cleveland Browns In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL
In 1982 Sipe split quarterbacking duties with Paul McDonald, and both put up similar numbers. The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd Regular season of the National Football League. Paul Brian McDonald (born February 23, 1958 in Montebello California) is a retired American football Quarterback in the National The Browns had little success rushing or defending against it, finishing in the bottom five teams in both yardage categories. Despite going 4–5, Cleveland was able to make the playoffs due to an expanded playoff system in the strike-shortened year. They were matched up with the Raiders in the playoffs, but were easily defeated 27–10.
Sipe and the Browns got some of their spark back in 1983. The 1983 NFL season was the 64th Regular season of the National Football League. Sipe had 26 touchdown passes and 3,566 yards, while Mike Pruitt ran for 10 scores on 1,184 yards. Cleveland even won two games in overtime and another in the fourth quarter. A fourth-quarter loss to the Houston Oilers in their second-to-last game dashed their playoff hopes. At 9–7 the Browns finished one game behind the Steelers, and lost out on a wild-card spot due to a tiebreaker.
1984 was a rebuilding year. Brian Sipe defected to the upstart USFL after the 1983 season, and Paul McDonald was named the starting quarterback. For the proposed "New USFL" see United States Football League (2010. Mike Pruitt missed much of the season and later ended up with the Buffalo Bills. The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo New York Metropolitan area, playing seven of their home games in the suburb Coach Sam Rutigliano lost his job after a 1–7 start as Marty Schottenheimer took over. Martin Edward Schottenheimer (born September 23, 1943 in Canonsburg Pennsylvania) is a former American football coach The Browns coasted to a 5–11 record.
1985–90 Kosar and the Broncos Rivalry
In 1985, the Browns selected University of Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar in the Supplemental Draft. The 1985 NFL season was the 66th Regular season of the National Football League. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida, UM, or just The U) is a private non-sectarian University founded in 1925 Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr (born November 25, 1963 in Youngstown Ohio) is a former American football Quarterback in the As a rookie, Kosar learned through trial by fire as he took over for Gary Danielson midway through the 1985 season. Gary Dennis Danielson (born September 10, 1951 in Detroit Michigan) is a former professional American football Quarterback. Progressing a bit more each Sunday, the young quarterback helped turn the struggling season around, as the Browns won four of the six games Kosar started. Two young rushers, Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, played a large part in the team's success as well; each ran for 1,000+ yards, a feat that has not been repeated since. Earnest Alexander Byner (born September 15, 1962 in Milledgeville Georgia) is a former American football Running back. James Kevin Mack (born August 9, 1962 in Kings Mountain North Carolina) is a former professional American football player who played Running The Browns' 8–8 record gave the team the top spot in a weak AFC Central, and they looked poised to shock the heavily favored Miami Dolphins in the 1986 Divisional Playoff game with a 21–3 lead at halftime. It took Dan Marino's spirited second-half comeback to win the game for Miami 24–21. Daniel Constantine Marino Jr (born September 15, 1961 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania) is a Polish - Italian American Hall of While the Browns faithful may have felt the initial sting of disappointment, there was tremendous upside in the loss: Schottenheimer's team, with Kosar at quarterback, reached the playoffs each of the next five seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship game in three of those years.
The Browns broke into the ranks of the NFL's elite—particularly on defense—with a 12–4 showing in 1986. The 1986 NFL season was the 67th Regular season of the National Football League. Behind Kosar's 3,854 yards passing and a defense with five Pro Bowlers (Chip Banks, Hanford Dixon, Bob Golic, Clay Matthews and Frank Minnifield), the Browns dominated the AFC Central with the best record in the AFC, and one of the NFL's stingiest defenses. William Chip Banks (born September 18, 1959 in Lawton Oklahoma) is a former professional American football Linebacker. Hanford Dixon (born December 25, 1958 in Mobile Alabama) is a former professional American football Cornerback who played his Robert Perry "Bob" Golic (born October 26, 1957 in Cleveland Ohio) is a former NFL Defensive tackle who played for the William Clay Matthews Jr (born March 15, 1956 in Palo Alto California) is a former American football Linebacker who played for Frank Minnifield (born January 1, 1960, Lexington Kentucky) is a former American football player who played Defensive back for the With these on their side, the Browns clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the 1987 Divisional Playoff game, the Browns needed some serious heroics (and a bit of luck) to overcome the New York Jets. The Jets were leading 20–10 with less than four minutes to play, with the Browns in a dire 3rd and 24 situation. As fate would have it, Mark Gastineau was called for roughing the passer, which gave Cleveland a first down. Marcus Dell Gastineau (born November 20, 1956) is a former American football player who was a leading defensive end for the New York Jets The drive ended with Kevin Mack running into the end zone for a touchdown. After going three-and-out the Jets went back on defense, but allowed the rejuvenated Browns to again drive the ball deep into their end of the field. Three and out is an American Football term used to describe a game situation where the team on their first drive of the series with the ball is unable to get a first down on With 11 seconds remaining in regulation, Mark Moseley kicked a field goal to tie the game. Mark DeWayne Moseley (born March 12, 1948 in Laneville, Texas) is a former professional American football Placekicker in In the first of two ensuing overtime periods, Moseley missed his next attempt, but later redeemed himself by ending what had become the second longest game in NFL history. Final score Browns 23, Jets 20.
The 1986 AFC Championship game saw the Denver Broncos arrive in the windswept, hostile confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. No one knew at the time, but the Broncos would become Cleveland's arch-nemesis of the Kosar era. As it had been the previous week, the showdown proved again to be it was an overtime heart-stopper. But this time, it was John Elway and the Broncos who came away the victors. John Albert Elway Jr (born June 28, 1960) is a retired Hall of Fame American football Quarterback. Pinned in on their own two yard line with 5:11 left to play and the wind in his face, Elway led his now infamous (or, for the Broncos fans, 'legendary') 98-yard drive, which is now known by NFL historians as simply "The Drive"). The Drive refers to an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game played on January 11 With 37 seconds on the clock, Elway's 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson tied the game at 20 apiece. Mark Anthony Jackson (born July 23, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former professional American football player who was selected The 79,973 Browns fans in attendance were silenced when Rich Karlis' field goal attempt just made it inside the right-side upright to win the game for Denver early into overtime. Richard John Karlis (born May 23, 1959, in Salem Ohio. Karlis is best known for kicking the game winning field goal in overtime for the Broncos against
The Browns success was replicated in 1987, with 22 touchdown passes and 3,000 yards for Kosar, and eight Pro Bowlers: Kosar, Mack, Dixon, Golic, Minnifield, linebacker Clay Matthews, wide receiver Gerald McNeil and offensive lineman Cody Risien. The 1987 NFL season was the 68th Regular season of the National Football League. This article relates to Sports. For the Vietnam War bombing raids see Operation Linebacker and Operation Linebacker II. A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football Gerald McNeil (born March 27, 1962 in Frankfurt, Germany) is a former professional American football player In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time Cody Lewis Risien (born March 22, 1957 in Bryan Texas) is a former American football Offensive tackle who played eleven seasons At 10–5, the Browns won the AFC Central again. Cleveland easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts 38–21 in the divisional playoff and traveled to Denver for a rematch with the Broncos in the AFC Championship. The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. With the score 21–3 in favor of the Broncos at halftime, Kosar led a third-quarter comeback with two touchdowns by Earnest Byner and another by Reggie Langhorne. Reginald "Reggie" Devan Langhorne (born April 7, 1963 in Suffolk Virginia) is a former professional American football player Early in the fourth quarter, Webster Slaughter's 4-yard touchdown catch tied it at 31–31. Webster M Slaughter (born October 19 1964 is a former American football Wide receiver who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1998 The Broncos regained the lead with a 20-yard Sammy Winder touchdown with under five minutes to go, setting the stage for another Browns comeback. Sammy Winder (born July 15, 1959 in Madison Mississippi) is a former professional American football Running back who spent his . . or so they thought. Kosar drove the Browns to the Broncos' 8 yard line with 1:12 to go, and handed off to Byner. When it looked like he had an open route to the end zone, he was stripped of the ball by Jeremiah Castille. Jeremiah Castille (born January 15, 1961 in Columbus Georgia) is an American professional football player The Broncos recovered what became known as "The Fumble". In American football, The Fumble refers to a specific incident in the AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos After taking a safety, the Broncos shocked the Browns again, 38–33.
Injuries to Kosar and two of his backups sidelined them for much of the 1988 season, but the Browns still finished 10–6. The 1988 NFL season was the 69th Regular season of the National Football League. A final-week comeback victory in a snowstorm at Cleveland Stadium over the Houston Oilers clinched them a wild-card playoff spot, and a home game rematch against the Oilers in the first round. Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in After Mike Pagel, in for Kosar, threw a touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter late in the fourth quarter to pull the Browns within a point at 24–23, the Browns had three chances to recover an onside kick (due to penalties), but the Oilers recovered and stopped the Cleveland comeback. Mike John Pagel (born September 13, 1960 in Douglas Arizona) was a former professional American football player who was selected by the Onside kick (sometimes onsides kick) is a term used in American and Canadian football for a type of kickoff, and in some circumstances and leagues
Schottenheimer left the Browns by mutual agreement with Modell shortly after the loss to the Oilers. Modell was tired of losing in the playoffs, and Schottenheimer was tired of what he perceived as Modell's interference with his coaching personnel and game strategy. Schottenheimer was quickly hired by the Kansas City Chiefs for the 1989 season. The 1989 NFL season was the 70th Regular season of the National Football League. Bud Carson was his replacement in Cleveland, but his tenure was short - only one and a half years. Leon H "Bud" Carson ( –) was an American football coach best-known for his role on the Pittsburgh Steelers ' championship teams of the 1970s The 1989 season, headlined by Slaughter's Pro Bowl-worthy 1,236 yards receiving, was a success at 7–3 until a 10–10 tie with Schottenheimer's Chiefs in November led to a 3-game losing streak. Two comeback wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Oilers in the season's final two weeks kept them in the playoff race. The tie ended up being the Browns' saving grace, with their 9–6–1 record winning them the AFC Central title and first-round bye over the Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers at 9–7. The Browns narrowly survived a scare from the Buffalo Bills in their divisional playoff game, when Scott Norwood missed an extra point that would have pulled Buffalo within 3 points and, later, when Jim Kelly's desperation pass to the end zone on the final play of the game was intercepted. Scott Allan Norwood (born July 17, 1960 in Alexandria Virginia) is a former American football Placekicker in the NFL who James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former American football Quarterback The end zone is a term used in both Canadian football and American football.
Cleveland's 34–30 win set them up for a rematch with the Broncos in Denver for the AFC Championship. While their two previous matchups went down to the wire, this one was never in doubt. The Broncos led from start to finish, and a long Elway touchdown pass to Sammy Winder put the game away in the fourth quarter. Denver easily won 37–21.
In 1990 things began to unravel. The 1990 NFL season was the 71st Regular season of the National Football League. Kosar threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (10) for the first time in his career; and the team finished last in the league in rushing offense, and near the bottom in rushing defense. Carson was fired after a 2–7 start, and the team finished 3–13, second-worst in the league. After the season Bill Belichick, defensive coordinator of the then-Super Bowl champion New York Giants, was named head coach. William Stephen Belichick (born April 16, 1952 in Nashville Tennessee) is the American football head coach for the New England Patriots
1991–95: Bill Belichick and Modell's move
The Browns saw only a slight improvement under Belichick in 1991, finishing 6–10. The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd Regular season of the National Football League. Kosar was markedly better, with a ratio of 18 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, and Leroy Hoard had a breakout season. Leroy Hoard (born May 15, 1968 in New Orleans Louisiana, US) is a retired American football Running back who played
In 1992, with Kosar sitting out much of the season and Mike Tomczak in under center, Cleveland was in the thick of the AFC Central race before dropping their final three games to finish 7–9. The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd Regular season of the National Football League. Michael John Tomczak (born October 23 1962 in Calumet City Illinois) is a former American football player
The 1993 season saw Belichick make the controversial decision of cutting Kosar while back-up Vinny Testaverde, who had been signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was injured. The 1993 NFL season was the 74th Regular season of the National Football League. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often shortened as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa Florida. The Browns were in first place at the time and the Browns faltered as Todd Philcox became the starter. Kosar was signed by the Dallas Cowboys and a few days later led the Cowboys to a win in place of an injured Troy Aikman. Kosar would win a ring that season as the Cowboys won the Super Bowl with a healthy Aikman. Cleveland won only two of its final nine games finishing 7–9 once again.
Cleveland managed to right the ship in 1994, although the quarterback situation hadn't quite improved. The 1994 NFL season was the 75th Regular season of the National Football League. A solid defense led the league for fewest yards allowed per attempt, sending four players (Rob Burnett, Pepper Johnson, Michael Dean Perry, and Eric Turner) to the Pro Bowl. Robert Barry Burnett (born August 27, 1967) is a former Defensive end who played in the NFL for 14 seasons Thomas "Pepper" Johnson (born July 29, 1964 in Detroit Michigan) is a former college and professional American football Michael Dean Perry (born August 27, 1965 in Aiken South Carolina) is a former American football Defensive lineman and the younger Eric Ray Turner ( September 20, 1968 &mdash May 28, 2000) was a Defensive back who played for the Cleveland Browns, the The Browns finished 11–5, making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In the AFC Wild Card game against the New England Patriots, the Browns' defense picked off Drew Bledsoe three times, with Testaverde completing two-thirds of his passes, to win 20–13. Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football Quarterback in the NFL, best known as the starting quarterback Arch-rival Pittsburgh ended the Browns' season the following week, however, with a 29–9 blowout in the AFC Divisional game.
Modell announced on November 6, 1995, that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore in 1996—a move which would return the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the Colts relocated to Indianapolis after the 1983 season. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with The 1996 NFL season was the 77th Regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end The very next day, on November 7, 1995, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved an issue that had been placed on the ballot at Modell's request, before he made his decision to move the franchise, which provided $175 million in tax dollars to refurbish the outmoded and declining Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Modell's plan was later scrapped and taxpayers ultimately paid close to $300 million to demolish the old stadium and construct a new stadium for the Browns on the site of Municipal Stadium.
Browns fans reacted angrily to the news. Over 100 lawsuits were filed by fans, the city of Cleveland, and a host of others. Congress held hearings on the matter. Actor/comedian Drew Carey returned to his hometown of Cleveland on November 26, 1995, to host "Fan Jam" in protest of the proposed move. Drew Allison Carey (born May 23 1958 is an American Comedian, Actor and Game show host. Events 43 BC - The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" later "Caesar Augustus" A protest was held in Pittsburgh during the Browns' game there but ABC, the network broadcasting the game, declined to cover or mention the protest. It was one of the few instances that Steelers fans and Browns fans were supporting each other, as fans in Pittsburgh felt that Modell was robbing their team of their rivalry with the Browns.
Virtually all of the team's sponsors immediately pulled their support, leaving Municipal Stadium devoid of advertising during the team's final weeks.
The 1995 season was a disaster on the field as well. The 1995 NFL season was the 76th Regular season of the National Football League. After starting 3–1, the Browns lost 3 straight before the news broke about the team's impending move cut the legs out from under the team. They finished 5–11, including a 2–7 record in the nine games after the announcement. When fans in the Dawg Pound became unruly during their final home game against the Cincinnati Bengals, action moving towards that end zone had to be moved to the opposite end of the field. The Dawg Pound is the name of the bleacher section behind the east End zone in Cleveland Browns Stadium, the home field of the Cleveland Browns. Several fans set fires in the stands, especially in the "Dawg Pound" section and assaulted security officials and police officers who tried to quell the growing fires. The Browns won, the only game the team won after the news of their move got out.
1996–1999 (Inactivity)
After extensive talks between the NFL, the Browns and officials of the two cities, Cleveland accepted a legal settlement that would keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland. In February 1996, the NFL announced that the Browns would be 'deactivated' for three years, and that a new stadium would be built for a new Browns team, as either an expansion team or a team moved from another city, that would begin play in 1999. Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football Stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland Ohio ( See also Relocation of professional sports teams An expansion team is a term used for a brand new team in a sports league Modell would in turn be granted a new franchise for Baltimore, the Baltimore Ravens, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel. The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore Maryland. There would be a new team, but the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland. Coincidentally, the only other current NFL team to suspend operations without merging with another, the St. Louis Rams, had once played in Cleveland (they suspended during the 1943 season, at the height of World War II). The St Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
During this period the threat of relocation to Cleveland was used by several teams, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos , to help convince the taxpayers in those areas to fund new stadiums. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often shortened as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa Florida. The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. [7]
Cleveland NFL Football LLC (Cleveland Browns Trust) was formed by the NFL. President of the Trust was Bill Futterer, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was the Trustee. The Trust represented the NFL in the stadium design and construction, managed the sale of suites and club seats, and sold Permanent Seat Licenses and season tickets. Additionally, the Trust reorganized the Browns Backers fan clubs across the United States, resumed coaches shows on television and radio throughout the state of Ohio, and conducted a dramatic one-year countdown celebration that incorporated the first live Internet broadcast in NFL history. The Trust operated its campaign under a Countdown to '99 theme, utilizing Hall of Famers such as Lou Groza and Jim Brown extensively, and sold nearly 53,000 season tickets—a team record in 1998. It remains the only time in professional sports history that a league operated a team "in absentia" in order to preserve the history of the franchise and to build value in that franchise for the future owner. The NFL sold the Browns as an expansion team in 1998 for a North American record $530 million for a professional franchise, more than double any previous selling price for a pro sports team. Commissioner Tagliabue announced that the Browns would be an expansion team, rather than a relocated team, at the owners meeting in March 1998.
1999–2004: Rejoining the NFL
Cleveland returned to the NFL in 1999 with high hopes and expectations, featuring deep-pocketed ownership in Al Lerner. Alfred "Al" Lerner (May 8 1933&mdashOctober 23 2002 was a United States Businessman. The team's football operations appeared to be in solid hands in the form of president and CEO Carmen Policy and general manager Dwight Clark, both of whom had come from the San Francisco 49ers. Carmen Policy (born January 26, 1943 in Youngstown Ohio) is an Attorney and American football executive who is best known Dwight Edward Clark (born January 8, 1957 in Kinston North Carolina) is a retired American athlete who was a Pro Bowl Wide receiver The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team Chris Palmer, former offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was hired as head coach. Chris Palmer (born September 23, 1949 in Brewster New York) is a former American football Head coach of the Cleveland Browns
It was to be expected that the resurrected Browns would struggle at first, as for all practical purposes they were an expansion team. However, the Browns' first two seasons were awful even by expansion standards. 1999 saw the Browns start 0–7 en route to a 2–14 finish, the worst in franchise history. 2000 was little better, with a 3–13 finish—the lone highlight being the Browns' first home win in five years, against the Steelers on September 17. The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Compounding the fans' frustration was the Baltimore Ravens' win over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV that season. The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore Maryland. The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida to decide Though the Ravens were considered a "new franchise", the team still had players such as Matt Stover and Rob Burnett who had played for the Browns before the Modell move. For the science fiction and fantasy author see Matthew Stover John Matthew Stover (born January 27, 1968 in Dallas Texas, U Robert Barry Burnett (born August 27, 1967) is a former Defensive end who played in the NFL for 14 seasons Palmer was fired after the season and replaced by University of Miami coach Butch Davis. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida, UM, or just The U) is a private non-sectarian University founded in 1925 Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr is the current head football coach at the University of North Carolina.
Under Davis the Browns became more competitive, finishing 7–9 in 2001, three games out of the playoffs. The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League. With the team apparently close to being a contender again, Clark was forced to resign after the season, and Davis was named general manager as well as coach. In 2002, the Browns finished 9–7, and thanks to multiple tiebreakers they made the playoffs for the first time since 1994. The 2002 season of the National Football League (NFL was the 83rd one played by the major professional American football league in the United Facing Pittsburgh in the first round, the Browns led 33–21 with five minutes to go, but ultimately lost 36–33.
The Browns did not sustain the momentum, finishing with double-digit losing records in 2003 and 2004. The 2003 season of the National Football League (NFL was the 84th one played by the major professional American football league in the United The 2004 season of the National Football League (NFL was the 85th season for the major professional American football league in the United States Davis resigned in December 2004 with the team shouldering a 3–8 record; Policy had resigned earlier in the year. Offensive Coordinator Terry Robiskie, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2004 season. Terry Robiskie (born November 12, 1954 in New Orleans Louisiana) is a former American football player and current Wide receivers coach for the
2005–present
Before the 2005 season began, Romeo Crennel, a one time Browns assistant coach under Chris Palmer and, at the time, defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots,was named the Browns head coach. Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947 in Lynchburg Virginia) has been the Head coach of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football Chris Palmer (born September 23, 1949 in Brewster New York) is a former American football Head coach of the Cleveland Browns The New England Patriots, commonly called the " Pats " by sports writers and fans are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston Despite the change, the 2005 and 2006 seasons saw the Browns losing trend continue.
Prior to the Browns' final game of the 2005 NFL season, ESPN reported that team president John Collins was going to fire general manager Phil Savage. The 2005 season of the National Football League (NFL was the 86th season played by the major professional American football league in the United States John Collins, (born November 27, 1961) was most recently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Browns football team until Phil Savage (born Phillip Savage Jr April 7 1965 in Mobile Alabama) was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cleveland Browns However, the resulting uproar from fans and local media was strong, and on January 3, 2006 Collins resigned instead. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The role of team "President and CEO" was vacated, with owner Randy Lerner filling in as de facto CEO for the time being.
In the 2007 season, the team saw a remarkable turnaround on the field. The 2007 Cleveland Browns season began with the Browns attempting to improve upon their 4–12 record from the 2006 season, in which the team finished in After opening the season with a 34–7 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, with backup Derek Anderson assuming the starting role. Charles Lester Frye (born August 28, 1981 in Norwalk Ohio) is an American football Quarterback who currently plays for the Seattle The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle Washington, USA Derek Matthew Anderson (born June 15, 1983 in Scappoose, Oregon) is an American football Quarterback for the Cleveland In his first start, Anderson led the Browns to a 51–45 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, throwing five touchdown passes, which tied the franchise record. The Browns finished the 2007 season 10–6, barely missing the playoffs on tie-breaker rules. Nevertheless, the 10–6 record was the team's best record since 1994. Six players earned Pro Bowl recognition[8]. Coach Crennel agreed to a two-year contract extension[9].
Season-by-season records
Logo and uniforms
 The Browns' orange "logo-less" helmet 1999–2005. The 2008 Cleveland Browns season is the team's 62nd season as a franchise and will also be the team's 58th season as a member of the National Football League The following is a list of seasons completed by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL This was the logo for the Browns during that period. |  The Browns' orange "logo-less" helmet. This is the current logo for the Cleveland Browns. They have switched from a white to a gray facemask. |  The "Brownie Elf" mascot in modernized form. |  Cleveland Browns secondary "Dawg" logo, used from 2003 to 2005. |
 Alternate Cleveland Browns "B" logo, also used from 2003 to 2005. |  The Browns' orange "logo-less" helmet 1966–1972. This was the primary logo for the Browns during that period, popular during the "Kardiac Kids" period from 1979–1983, and also used with the Kosar quarterbacked teams in 1985 and 1986. |  The Browns' orange "logo-less" helmet 1973–1986. This was really the secondary logo for the Browns during that period, the first being the logo without the script. |  The Browns' Primary Script Logo 1999–2002. This was also the Browns' script logo from 1983–1995. |
 This has the Browns primary script logo since 2003. It was also the endzone logo from 2003 to 2005. |  This has been the Browns' cap logo since 2000. |  The Browns' Primary Script Logo 1975–1995. This logo was modernized with the resumption of the franchise in 1999. |
The Browns are the only team in the NFL that do not have a logo on their helmets. Even though the team has had various logos throughout the years, such as the "Brownie Elf" mascot (a logo that Art Modell did away with in the mid-1960s, feeling it was too childish; however, its use has been revived under the current ownership. ) and the Brown "B" in a white football, the club's orange "logo-less" helmet has become its primary trademark. The only time that the Browns ever had a logo on their helmets was during one preseason game vs Green Bay in 1965; it was a brown "CB". (the "CB" Logo is what Art Modell tried to use as a replacement for the "Brownie Elf" mascot. )
Since debuting in 1946, the Browns' uniforms have essentially remained the same. However, the team originally wore white helmets before switching to orange (with a white center stripe. ) on a full-time basis in 1952. (In the 1950 & '51 seasons, the Browns wore the white helmets in day games and plain orange helmets in night games because of an NFL rule prohibiting the use of white or light-colored helmets for night games because of the lighting and the use of a white football for night games. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. Also because of night games, they experimented with silver game pants in the 1950 & '51 seasons, and a third orange jersey for night games in the 1954 season. ) From 1957 to 1960, the players' numbers were on the sides of their helmets. In 1960, the Browns went to the now familiar brown-white-brown stripe sequence on the helmets.
The original designs of the jerseys, pants and socks have remained mostly intact although the helmet has undergone significant revisions:
Jerseys: 1. Brown (officially "seal brown") with white numerals and a white-orange-white-orange-white stripe sequence on the sleeves. Seal brown is a Rich dark Brown color resembling the color of the Dyed fur from the Fur seal. 2. White with brown numerals and a brown-orange-brown-orange-brown stripe sequence on the sleeves. The three white or brown stripes are approximately twice the width of the two orange stripes. (The original 1946 jerseys featured block-shadow numerals. )
Pants: White with an orange-brown-orange stripe sequence on the sides. The stripes are of equal width.
Socks: Brown or white to match the jerseys with the identical stripe sequence as the jersey sleeves.
Helmet: Solid white (1946–1949); solid white for day games and solid orange for night games (1950–1951); orange with a single white stripe (1952–1956); orange with a single white stripe and brown numerals on the sides (1957–1959); orange with a brown-white-brown stripe sequence and brown numerals on the sides (1960); orange with a brown-white-brown stripe sequence (1961–1995 and 1999–present).
Over the years, the Browns have had on-again/off-again periods of wearing white in their home games, particularly in the 1970s and 80s, as well as in the early 2000s after the team returned to the league. Until recently, when more NFL teams started to wear white at home at least once a season, the Browns were the only non-subtropical team north of the Mason-Dixon line to wear white at home on a regular basis. The subtropics are the zones of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropic zone which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of The Mason–Dixon Line (or "Mason and Dixon's Line" is a Demarcation line between four U Since 1999, the team has worn white, brown and orange jerseys at home.
Numerals first appeared on the jersey sleeves in 1961. Over the years, there have been minor revisions to the sleeve stripes, the first occurring in 1968 (brown jerseys worn in early season) and 1969 (white and brown jerseys) when stripes began to be silk screened onto the sleeves and separated from each other to prevent color bleeding. However, the basic five-stripe sequence has remained intact (with the exception of the 1984 season). A recent revision was the addition of the initials "AL" to honor team owner Al Lerner who died in 2002. Alfred "Al" Lerner (May 8 1933&mdashOctober 23 2002 was a United States Businessman.
Orange pants with a brown-white-brown stripe sequence were worn from 1975–1983 and become symbolic of the Kardiac Kids era. The orange pants were worn again occasionally in 2003 and 2004.
Other than the helmet, the uniform was completely redesigned for the 1984 season. New striping patterns appeared on the white jerseys, brown jerseys and pants. Solid brown socks were worn with brown jerseys and solid orange socks were worn with white jerseys. Brown numerals on the white jerseys were outlined in orange. White numerals on the brown jerseys were double outlined in brown and orange. (Orange numerals double outlined in brown and white appeared briefly on the brown jerseys in the pre-season. )
In 1985, the uniform returned to a look similar to the original design and remained that way through 1995.
In 1999, the expansion Browns adopted the traditional design with two exceptions: 1. Jersey-sleeve numbers were moved to the shoulders. 2. The orange-brown-orange pants stripes were significantly widened.
Experimentation with the uniform design began in 2002. An alternate orange jersey was introduced that season as the NFL encouraged teams to adopt a third jersey. Also in 2002, a major design change was made when solid brown socks appeared for the first time since 1984 and were used with white, brown and orange jerseys. Other than 1984, striped socks (matching the jersey stripes) had been a signature design element in the team's traditional uniform. The white striped socks appeared occasionally with the white jerseys in 2003–2005 and again in 2007.
Experimentation continued in 2003 and 2004 when the traditional orange-brown-orange stripes on the white pants were replaced by two variations of a brown-orange-brown sequence, one in which the stripes were joined (worn with white jerseys) and the other in which they were separated by white (worn with brown jerseys). The joined sequence was used exclusively with both jerseys in 2005. In 2006, the traditional orange-brown-orange sequence returned.
In 2006, the team reverted to an older uniform style, featuring gray face masks; the original stripe pattern on the brown jersey sleeves (The white jersey has had that sleeve stripe pattern on a consistent basis since the 1985 season. ) and the older, darker shade of brown. The team still has the alternate orange jerseys as well as the orange pants, however they are not worn often. [10]
Fans
A 2006 study conducted by Bizjournal determined that Browns fans are the most loyal fans in the NFL. Fans in Little Italyjpg|thumb|right|Fans in Little Italy Manhattan celebrating the victory of the Italian association football team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup]][[Image Wm-oly-de-cr The study, while not scientific, was largely based on fan loyalty during winning and losing seasons (however, it does not account for the ratio of winning to losing seasons by a team), attendance at games, and challenges confronting fans (such as inclement weather or long-term poor performance of their team). Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding [11] The study noted that Browns fans filled 99. 8% of the seats at Cleveland Browns Stadium during the last seven seasons, despite a combined record of 36 wins and 76 losses over that span. [12]
The most prominent organization of Browns fans is the Browns Backers Worldwide (BBW). The organization has approximately 79,000 members[13] and is considered the largest sports-fan organization in the USA[13]. Browns Backers clubs can be found in every major city in the United States, and in a number of military bases throughout the world, with the largest club being in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix (ˈfiːˌnɪks O'odham Skikik, Yavapai Wasinka, Western Apache Fiinigis, Navajo Hoozdo, The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. In addition, the organization has a sizable foreign presence in places as far away as Egypt, Australia, Japan, and Sri Lanka. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island According to The Official Fan Club of the Cleveland Browns the two largest international fan clubs are in Alon Shvut, Israel and Niagara, Canada. Alon Shvut ( אַלּוֹן שְׁבוִת is a communal settlement and Israeli settlement in Judea For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Niagara Falls is a Canadian City of 82184 residents Geography and Climate Niagara Falls Ontario Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page With Alon Shvut having 129 members and Niagara having 310. [14].
Perhaps the most visible Browns fans are those that can be found in the Dawg Pound. The Dawg Pound is the name of the bleacher section behind the east End zone in Cleveland Browns Stadium, the home field of the Cleveland Browns. Originally the name for the bleacher section located in the open (east) end of old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the current incarnation of is likewise located in the east end of Cleveland Browns Stadium and still features hundreds of orange and brown clad fans sporting various canine-related paraphernalia. Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football Stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland Ohio ( The fans adopted that name in 1984 after members of the Browns defense used it to describe the team's defense[15].
Retired cornerback Hanford Dixon, who played his entire career for the Browns (1981–1989), is credited with naming the Cleveland Browns defense 'The Dawgs' in the mid-80's. Dixon and fellow teammates Frank Minnifield, and Eddie Johnson would bark at each other and to the fans in the bleachers at the Cleveland Stadium to fire them up. It was from Dixon's naming that the Dawg Pound subsequently took its title. [16]The fans adopted that name in the years after. [15]
Notable famous Browns fans, among others, include Condoleezza Rice,[17] Jerry "The King" Lawler, baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron, [18] and native Clevelander Drew Carey. Condoleezza Rice (born November 14 1954 is the 66th United States Jerry Lawler (born November 29 1949 is an American Musician, Film Actor, Politician, professional wrestler and wrestling Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5 1934 in Mobile Alabama) nicknamed "Hammer" "Hammerin' Hank” or "Bad Henry” is a retired Drew Allison Carey (born May 23 1958 is an American Comedian, Actor and Game show host. Condoleezza Rice was a football fan from the time she was born and by the age of 3 after following her fathers footsteps who was high school football coach at the time and athletic director in Birmingham, Alabama became a fan of the Cleveland Browns. [19]. Drew Carey is also a loyal fan of the Cleveland Browns, being from Cleveland, Ohio. He has deep Cleveland roots also supporting the Cleveland Indians. [20].
Players of note
Current roster
Cleveland Browns roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
| Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Special Teams
| Reserve Lists
| |||
Players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Cleveland Browns have the fourth largest number of players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a total of sixteen enshrined players elected based on their performance with the Browns, and five more players elected who spent at least one year with the Browns franchise. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. The following is a list of current National Football League (NFL team rosters__NOEDITSECTION__ AFC East Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the Hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL [21] No Browns players were inducted in the inaugural induction class of 1963. Otto Graham was the first Brown to be enshrined as a member of the class of 1965, and the most-recent Brown to be included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is Gene Hickerson, who was a member of the class of 2007. Otto Everett Graham Jr ( December 6, 1921 - December 17, 2003) was an American professional football and Basketball player Robert Eugene (Gene Hickerson (born February 15, 1935) is a former American Football offensive guard who played for the Cleveland Browns
| Pro Football Hall of Famers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inducted | No. | Player name | Tenure | Position(s) | |
| 1965 | 14, 60 | Otto Graham | 1946–1955 | Quarterback | |
| 1967 | — | Paul Brown | 1946–1962 | Head coach | |
| 1968 | 76 | Marion Motley | 1946–1953 | Fullback | |
| 1971 | 32 | Jim Brown | 1957–1965 | Fullback | |
| 1974 | 76 | Lou Groza | 1946–1959 1961–1967 | Offensive tackle Placekicker | |
| 1975 | 56, 86 | Dante Lavelli | 1946–1956 | Wide Receiver/Tight End | |
| 1976 | 80 | Len Ford | 1950–1957 | Defensive end | |
| 1977 | 30, 60 | Bill Willis | 1946–1953 | Defensive lineman | |
| 1981 | 87 | Willie Davis† | 1958–1959 | Defensive end | |
| 1982 | 81 | Doug Atkins† | 1953–1954 | Defensive end | |
| 1983 | 49 | Bobby Mitchell | 1958–1961 | Wide receiver Halfback | |
| 1983 | 42 | Paul Warfield | 1964–1969 1976–1977 | Wide receiver | |
| 1984 | 74 | Mike McCormack | 1954–1962 | Offensive tackle | |
| 1985 | 22, 52 | Frank Gatski | 1946–1956 | Offensive center | |
| 1987 | 16 | Len Dawson† | 1960–1961 | Quarterback | |
| 1994 | 44 | Leroy Kelly | 1964–1973 | Running back | |
| 1995 | 74 | Henry Jordan† | 1957–1958 | Defensive tackle | |
| 1998 | 25 | Tommy McDonald† | 1968 | Wide receiver | |
| 1999 | 82 | Ozzie Newsome | 1978–1990 | Tight end | |
| 2003 | 64, 68 | Joe DeLamielleure | 1980–1984 | Offensive guard | |
| 2007 | 66 | Gene Hickerson | 1958–1973 | Offensive guard | |
| † Performance with Browns incidental to induction | |||||
Cleveland Browns Legends
The Legends program honors former Browns who made noteworthy contributions to the history of the franchise. Otto Everett Graham Jr ( December 6, 1921 - December 17, 2003) was an American professional football and Basketball player Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. Paul Eugene Brown ( September 7, 1908 - August 5, 1991) was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of Marion Motley ( June 5, 1920 - June 27, 1999) was a former American Football fullback who played for the Cleveland In American football, a fullback ( FB) is a position in the offensive backfield James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown (born February 17, 1936) is an American former professional football player who has also made Louis Roy Groza ( January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football Placekicker who played his entire In American and Canadian football, offensive tackles ( OT, T) are a part of the Offensive line. Placekicker, or simply kicker ( PK or K) is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (born February 23, 1923) is a Pro Football Hall of Fame end ( Wide receiver) who played for the Cleveland Browns A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football The tight end ( TE) is a position in American football on the Offensive team. Leonard Guy Ford Jr ( February 18, 1926 - March 14, 1972) was an American football Defensive end elected to the Pro A defensive lineman is any of the down positions on the defensive side of Canadian and American football. William Delford Davis was born July 24 1934 in Lisbon Louisiana. Douglas Leon Atkins (born May 8, 1930 in Humboldt Tennessee) is a former American football Defensive end who played for the Robert Cornelius Mitchell (born June 6, 1935 in Hot Springs, Arkansas) is a former American football halfback and A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football A running back ( RB) is the position of a player on an American or Canadian football team who usually lines up in the offensive backfield. Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942 in Warren Ohio) was a professional American football Wide receiver in the 1960s and Michael Joseph McCormack (born June 21, 1930) is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League Frank Gatski ( March 13, 1919 &ndash November 22, 2005) was an American football player Center ( C) is a position in American football and Canadian football ( spelled centre in Canadian English) Leonard Ray "Len" Dawson (born June 20, 1935 in Alliance Ohio) is a former American football Quarterback from Purdue Leroy Kelly (born May 20, 1942 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) was an American football player Henry Wendell Jordan ( January 26, 1935 - February 21, 1977) was a former American football Defensive tackle who played Defensive tackle ( DT) is a position on the defensive line in American and Canadian football. Thomas Franklin McDonald (born July 26, 1934) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League. Ozzie Newsome Jr (born March 16, 1956 in Muscle Shoals Alabama) is a former American football Tight end for the Cleveland Browns The tight end ( TE) is a position in American football on the Offensive team. Joseph Michael DeLamielleure (born March 16, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former American football Offensive lineman In American and Canadian football, a guard ( G) is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line Robert Eugene (Gene Hickerson (born February 15, 1935) is a former American Football offensive guard who played for the Cleveland Browns In addition to all the Hall of Famers listed above, the Legends list includes:[22]
| Cleveland Browns Legends | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inducted | Player name | Position(s) | |||
| 2007 | Don Cockroft | Kicker | |||
| 2004 | Gary Collins | Wide Receiver | |||
| 2006 | Doug Dieken | Offensive tackle | |||
| 2003 | Hanford Dixon | Defensive back | |||
| 2003 | Bob Gain | Defensive tackle | |||
| 2007 | Horace Gillom | Punter | |||
| 2007 | Bill Glass | Defensive end | |||
| 2006 | Jim Houston | Linebacker | |||
| 2004 | Tommy James | Defensive back/Punter | |||
| 2001 | Bernie Kosar | Quarterback | |||
| 2007 | Kevin Mack | Running back | |||
| 2002 | Clay Matthews | Linebacker | |||
| 2006 | Walt Michaels | Linebacker | |||
| 2005 | Frank Minnifield | Defensive back | |||
| 2001 | Michael Dean Perry | Defensive end | |||
| 2001 | Greg Pruitt | Running back | |||
| 2004 | Mike Pruitt | Running back | |||
| 2001 | Ray Renfro | Wide receiver | |||
| 2005 | Frank Ryan | Quarterback | |||
| 2003 | Dick Schafrath | Offensive tackle | |||
| 2005 | Jerry Sherk | Defensive lineman | |||
| 2002 | Brian Sipe | Quarterback | |||
| 2005 | Jim Ray Smith | Offensive tackle | |||
| 2002 | Mac Speedie | Wide receiver | |||
Other notable alumni
Retired uniform numbers
Cleveland Browns retired numbers | ||||
 |  |  |  |  |
| Otto Graham QB, 1946-55 | Jim Brown FB, 1957-65 | Ernie Davis HB, 1962 | Don Fleming S, 1960-62 | Lou Groza OT/K, 1946-59, '61-67 |
All-time first-round draft picks
Coaches of note
Head coaches
- Paul Brown 1946–1962
- Blanton Collier 1963–1970
- Nick Skorich 1971–1974
- Forrest Gregg 1975–1977
- Dick Modzelewski 1977 (Interim)
- Sam Rutigliano 1978–1984
- Marty Schottenheimer 1984–1988
- Bud Carson 1989–1990
- Jim Shofner 1990 (Interim)
- Bill Belichick 1991–1995
- Chris Palmer 1999–2000
- Butch Davis 2001–2004
- Terry Robiskie 2004 (Interim)
- Romeo Crennel 2005–present
Current staff
Cleveland Browns staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
| Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
| |||||
Radio and television
As of 2006, the Browns' flagship radio stations are WMMS, 100. Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947 in Lynchburg Virginia) has been the Head coach of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football Rip Scherer is the Quarterback coach and recently promoted assistant Head coach for the NFL 's Cleveland Browns. Rob Chudzinski (born May 12, 1968 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American football coach Anthony Ray Lynn (born December 21, 1968 in McKinney Texas) is a former American football running back and current assistant coach for the Wesley Sandy Chandler (born August 22, 1956 in New Smyrna Beach Florida) is a former American football Wide receiver. Alfredo Roberts ( March 17, 1965 in Fort Lauderdale Florida) is an American football tight ends coach in the NFL for Steve Marshall is the current Offensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns. Dave Atkins is the senior offensive assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns. Mel Tucker (born January 4, 1972 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a coach in the National Football League, currently the defensive coordinator Randy Melvin (born April 3, 1959 in Aurora Illinois) is the current American football Defensive line coach for the Mike Haluchak (born November 28, 1949 in Concord CA) has been the Linebackers coach for the National Football League Cleveland Cory Undlin (born June 29, 1971 in St Cloud Minnesota) is the current American football Defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Ted Daisher is the current Special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Thomas Joseph Myslinski (born December 7, 1968 in Rome, New York) is a professional American football strength and conditioning Alan DeGennaro is the current assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Cleveland Browns. The following is a list of current National Football League (NFL team staffs__NOEDITSECTION__ AFC East Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins WMMS (1007 FM) is a Radio station in Cleveland Ohio, with a rich history of broadcasting both locally and nationally 7 FM, a hot talk/rock station, and news/talk station WTAM 1100 AM. Hot talk is a radio format involving a form of Talk radio geared predominantly to a male demographic between the ages of 18-49 Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Talk radio is a Radio format containing discussion about topical issues WTAM is an AM radio station in Cleveland Ohio broadcasting on 1100 kHz with 50000 watts Jim Donovan, formerly of NBC Sports and sports director of WKYC Channel 3, is the play-by-play announcer, former Browns offensive tackle Doug Dieken is the color analyst, and WTAM sports anchor/reporter Andre Knott serves as sideline reporter. Jim Donovan (born July 17, 1956, in Boston Massachusetts) is an American radio and television personality who serves as sports director for WKYC-TV NBC Sports is the brand used for sports programming on NBC, responsible for the televising of many Sports events on the network WKYC-TV, channel 3 is an NBC -affiliated television station located in Cleveland Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Douglas Dieken (born February 12, 1949 in Streator Illinois) is a former American football tackle who played fourteen seasons in the WTAM Sports Director Mike Snyder and former Browns quarterback Mike Pagel host the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. Mike John Pagel (born September 13, 1960 in Douglas Arizona) was a former professional American football player who was selected by the
In 2006, preseason telecasts moved to WKYC from WOIO after a controversy arose over the 911 calls at the drowning death of the team owner's niece (see above). Both Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio have weekly shows about the team. Fox Sports Ohio (stylized as FSOHIO) formerly FSN Ohio and SportsChannel Ohio, is a cable channel in Ohio SportsTime Ohio ( STO) is a regional sports Television network in Cleveland and northern Ohio launched in 2006
In popular culture
- In the 1966 Billy Wilder movie The Fortune Cookie, which starred Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in their first on screen pairing, Lemmon played a CBS cameraman accidentally injured by a Browns' player during a game at Cleveland Stadium and Matthau played his huckster lawyer intent on suing the Browns and CBS. Billy Wilder ( June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian born Jewish - American Journalist The Fortune Cookie (alternative UK title Meet Whiplash Willie) is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8 1925 &ndash June 27 2001 was an American Actor known principally for his comedic roles Walter John Matthau ( October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American award-winning Actor best known for his role CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Matthau won the best supporting actor Oscar for the role. Crowd shots were filmed at the Stadium during the October 31, 1965 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
- In the eleventh episode of the third season of the Simpsons, entitled “Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk”, Homer Simpson is overheard by two German businessmen, Hans and Fritz, saying that Mr Burns wouldn’t sell the power plant for less than $100 million. “ Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk ” ( German for Burns selling that power station) is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons ’ third Homer Jay Simpson is a main fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and father of the eponymous family. The two businessmen, who are looking for a business acquisition, count all the cash they have and remark that they could pay that much and still “have enough for the Cleveland Browns”.
- The Family Guy character Cleveland Brown is an obvious reference to the team. Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other Cleveland Brown Sr is a Fictional character on the animated series Family Guy, and Central character in the upcoming spin-off series
- In the movie Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector, Larry the Cable Guy makes reference to going to the bathroom as "Taking the Browns to the Super Bowl"
- Drew Carey has made jokes about the Cleveland Browns (particularly their poor performance during the time) in a couple episodes of Whose Line is it Anyway?
Notes and references
- ^ Levy, Bill (1965). Drew Allison Carey (born May 23 1958 is an American Comedian, Actor and Game show host. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (abbreviated to Whose Line? or WLIIA) was a short-form Improvisational comedy TV show Return to Glory: the Story of the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland, OH: The World Publishing Co. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state LCN 65-23356, p. 41.
- ^ Schneider, Russell (1999). The Best of the Cleveland Browns Memories. Hinckley, OH: Moonlight. Hinckley Township is one of the seventeen townships of Medina County, Ohio, United States, located in the northeast corner of the county ISBN 0-9672056-0-3.
- ^ Donovan, Michael Leo (1997). The Name Game: Football, Baseball, Hockey & Basketball How Your Favorite Sports Teams Were Named. Toronto: Warwick Publishing. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario ISBN 1895629748.
- ^ Neft, David S. , Cohen, Richard M. , and Korch, Rick. The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. 1994 pg. 194
- ^ Miller, Jeff (2003). Going Long. New York: Contemporary Books, McGraw Hill, p. 268. ISBN 0-07-141849-0.
- ^ Cleveland Browns
- ^ Katherine C. Leone, "Franchise Free Agency in the National Football League", 97 Columbia L. Rev. 473 (1997)
- ^ Browns long snapper Pontbriand named to Pro Bowl - USATODAY.com
- ^ Cleveland Browns, Derek Anderson, Joe Thomas, Shaun Smith, National Football League - CBSSports.com
- ^ Grossi, Tony. Rivals remain sold on Frye as starter, The Plain Dealer, April 2, 2006. The Plain Dealer is the major daily Newspaper of Cleveland Ohio. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Cleveland No. 1 in NFL fan loyalty - NFL - MSNBC.com
- ^ NFL Fan Support Rankings
- ^ a b Cleveland Browns
- ^ Cleveland Browns
- ^ a b USATODAY.com - Judge finds nobody beats out Cleveland for 'Dawg Pound'
- ^ Cleveland Browns | Rookies get a history lesson
- ^ Rice sees wide world of sports ESPN. com, February 27, 2007. Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Accessed September 18, 2007. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
- ^ The BioFile: Henry Aaron, accessed November 27, 2007
- ^ SportBusiness Journal
- ^ ESPN.com - Page2 - Drew Carey
- ^ Hall of Famers by Franchise. Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2007-04-02. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of
- ^ Cleveland Browns Legends, clevelandbrowns. com. Accessed September 15, 2006. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic