Older fans of the Cleveland Browns will remember August 9, 1999, as a special date in the franchise’s history.
In 1995, former Browns owner Art Modell announced that the organization would be moving to Baltimore the following season, creating one of the most unique situations in NFL history.
After multiple lawsuits, the NFL agreed to keep the Browns’ intellectual property and franchise in Cleveland, agreeing to reactive the franchise in 1999 after the city of Cleveland replaced their aging facility with a new stadium.
On this date 25 years ago, the reborn Cleveland Browns played their first preseason game that year as the team squared off against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game (via Twitter).
The Browns returned to the NFL 25 years ago today at the HOF Game in Canton vs the Cowboys. Cleveland beat Dallas 20-17. This marked the first time the Browns had taken the field since losing at Jacksonville on 12/24/95. Time to defeat the Cowboys again on 9/8/24. #Browns #NFL pic.twitter.com/B9UBgmfDhG
— Johnstone (@JStoneTrivia86) August 9, 2024
The Browns won that contest 20-17 over the Cowboys, a team Cleveland will open the 2024 regular season against on September 8, 2024.
The victory marked the first time fans had seen the Browns on the field since a Christmas Eve loss to Jacksonville at the end of the 1995 season.
Since the rebirth of the franchise, Cleveland has experienced several lows.
Cleveland has been to the playoffs only three times since 1999, advancing to the AFC Divisional round only once in the past 24 seasons.
Recently, the Browns have been much more competitive on the field and have been to the playoffs twice over the past four seasons.
This year’s squad has high expectations to make a deep playoff run and a potential Super Bowl berth for the first time in the organization’s history.
Cleveland last made the AFC Championship contest during the 1980s, making the last of their three appearances in the penultimate game following the 1989 regular season.
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