Cleveland Browns
Franchise History
The Beginning: AAFC
Arthur McBride founded the Browns in 1946 as a chartered member of the All-American Football Conference. With the hiring of Paul Brown as head coach, the Cleveland Browns went into the most extensive recruitment network the NFL has seen at that time. It resulted in the Browns winning all four of it’s Championship games and dominating the AAFC.
Moving to the NFL (1950-1956)
Largely due to the Browns domination, the AAFC dissolved in 1949. In 1950, the NFL agreed that they would take three AAFC teams; Cleveland was included as one of those teams. The first NFL game the Browns played was against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Brown shocked the country by defeating the two-time returning champion in a game where the Eagles were heavily favored. The Browns would go on that season 10-2 beating the New York Giants in the playoff games and defeating the St. Lois Rams 30-28 in the NFL Championship game.
The next season the Browns went 11-1 and faced the Rams again in the Championship game. However, the Browns ended up losing 24-17, their first loss in a Championship game. In 1952, the reached the Championship game again finishing the season 8-4 to face the Detroit Lions. They lost a devastating loss to the Lion 17-7, their second consecutive Championship game loss. In 1953, the Browns started the season winning their first 11 straight games. Their efforts brought them to the Championship game again. A rematch against the Detroit Lions, where for a second time defeated the Browns in a close 17-16 scoring game. In 1954, the Browns found themselves at the Championship game playing the Lions for a third year. The Browns were relentless this time, and pummeled the Lions 56-10 in the Browns second NFL Championship. The Browns entered and won the Championship game again in 1955, but this time against the Rams.
1957-1970
In 1957, the Browns once again made it back to the Championship game against Detroit finishing the season 9-2-1 after they picked up Jim Brown. Brown became NFL’s leading rusher with 942 yards that season, but they were stopped by Detroit in the Championship game 59-14. Even with Jim Brown playing with in the years following, the Browns were unable to make it to a title game. Art Modell would purchase the Browns in 1961 and in 1962, after a 7-6-1 season, Modell went on to fire head coach Paul Brown. In 1964, under new coach Blanton Collier, the Browns would finish the season 10-3-1 and would go to their first title game in 7 years. The Browns beat the Balitmore Colts 27-0. The Browns would go on to three more NFL title games while Collier was head coach until he retired after the 1970 season.
1970 - 1985
From 1971- 1985, the Browns played well under new head coach Nick Skorich. They made it to the playoffs the first two years, but never made it to the Championship game. They barely missed the playoffs in 1973. From 1974-1975, the teams record plummeted and didn’t make it to the playoffs. There started to show signs of improvement in the next couple years when the Browns put in Brian Sipes as quarterback. The team became known as the Kardiac Kids in 1979, after 4 consecutive come from behind wins and in 1980, Sipes would take the Browns to their first playoff game in 8 years against the Oakland Raiders, but lost due to a devastating interception. From 1981-1985, the Browns finished the season with a pretty bleak year. Sipe threw only 17 touchdowns with 25 interceptions and finished the season 5-11.
1985-1995
With Marty Schottenheimer as head coach and Kosar as the new quarterback for the Browns, they would reach the playoffs each of the next five seasons and advancing to the AFC Championship game in three of those years. In 1989, after some disagreements with Modell, Schottenheimer left the Browns and was replaced by Carson Bud. As the team continued to show little sign of improvement, Bill Belichick was hired as coach in 1990. Things didn’t improve much under Belichick finishing the year 6-10. In 1995, Modell announced that he would be moving the team to Baltimore causing a lot of angered fans . The Browns played their last home game in 1995 against the Cincinnati Bengals where they won.
Starting from Scratch (1996-1999)
On 1996, the NFL announced that although the city could keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland, the Browns would be deactivated for 3 years. During this time a new stadium would be built for the new Browns team as either an expansion team or a team moved from another city.
1999 – 2004
The Cleveland Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 with high expectations, but the years that would to follow proved otherwise. That year the Browns struggled big and finishing the season 2-12. They showed slight improvement finishing with a record of 3-13. There was a glimmer of light in 2001, when they finished 9-7, but was short lived finishing off the 2003 and 2004 season 3-8.
Hopeful Changes (2005-Present)
Romeo Crennel was hired as new head coach for the 2005 season but despite the change they continued with losing seasons in 2005-2006. In 2007, however, the Browns traded their starting quarterback Charlie Frye and put in their backup quarterback Derek Anderson. He lead the team to a surprising victory over the Bengals, finishing what a positive record of 10-6 and just missing the playoffs. High hopes of a strong Browns team were crushed due to a number of key injuries in 2008. In 2009, former New York Jets coach Eric Mangini has taken over as new head coach.
Cleveland Browns Stadium
Logos
The Browns is the only NFL team that does not have a logo on their helmets. It’s simply orange. The team did, however, have different promotional logos in the past. Brownie Elf was one such promotional logo and was removed by Art Modell in the 1960s, but has been revived under current management. In 1965 Modell attempted to put a “CB” logo on the helmet, but the players removed them before the first preseason game. The orange logo-less helmet still is Cleveland Brown’s primary trademark.
Adrian Peterson #29 of the Chicago Bears is hit by the defense of the Cleveland Browns during a preseason NFL game at Cleveland Browns Stadium on August 28, 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio
Fans
A 2006 study done by Bizjournal reported that Browns fans were the most loyal fans in the NFL. The most loyal are most likely to be found in the east end of Cleveland Brown Stadium where fans call the “Dawg Pound.” The name was derived from the retired cornerback, Hanford Dixon, who played for the Browns from 1981-1989. Dixon is accredited for giving the Cleveland Brown defense the nickname “The Dawgs” in the mid-1980s. He and players would bark at each other and at fans in the bleachers to hype them up. The fans adopted the name years later.
The Brown Backers Worldwide is considered the largest sports-fan organization in the United States. It has approximately 93,100 members and can be found in every major city in the United States. Plus the organization has a recognizable presence internationally in countries like Egypt, Australia, Japan, and Sri Lanka.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Otto Graham (1965)
Paul Brown (1967)
Marion Motley (1968)
Jim Brown (1971)
Lou Groza (1974)
Dante Lavelli (1975)
Len Ford (1976)
Bill Willis (1977)
Willie Davis (1981)
Doug Atkins (1982)
Bobby Mitchell (1983)
Paul Warfield (1983)
Mike McCormack (1984)
Frank Gatski (1985)
Len Dawson (1987)
Leroy Kelly (1994)
Henry Jordan (1995)
Tommy McDonald (1998)
Ozzie Newsome (1999)
Joe DeLamielleure (2003)
Gene Hickerson (2007)
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