Browns History

Cleveland Browns 1988 Season (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   The mid-to-late 1980s was an exciting time for Cleveland Browns fans. Unfortunately, it was also a time of immense heartache. After both the 1986 and 1987 seasons, the Browns faced the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Denver quarterback John Elway manufactured “The Drive” in the f...

The Life And Career Of Carl "Big Daddy" Hairston (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   In the NFL Draft, middle to late-round draft picks are mostly afterthoughts. Players selected in those rounds aren’t actually expected to make the team. Franchises typically use those picks for depth, special teams, or selections to be traded for veteran players. Therefore, the late-round ath...

The Life And Career Of Mike Baab (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   While centers are often overlooked, every play from scrimmage in the NFL begins with the center. Centers play a key role on the offensive line, helping with run blocking and pass protection. One of the top centers in Cleveland Browns history was Mike Baab. Over a 10-year NFL career, Baab play...

The Life And Career Of Ernie Kellerman (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   To have a successful career in the NFL, sometimes you need to be adaptable. If one path to playing is unavailable, a player needs to find an alternative route to the playing field. Ernie Kellerman had a successful college career at quarterback and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. However, w...

The Life And Career Of Jim Copeland (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   There may be no more obscure position on an NFL team than backup offensive lineman. The average NFL fan may be hard-pressed to name the backup offensive linemen on his favorite team. Despite this lack of recognition, backup offensive linemen also can contribute to team success. Such was the c...

The Life And Career Of Don Gault (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   If you assume that most NFL teams today have three quarterbacks on their active roster or “practice squad”, there are approximately 96 quarterbacks in the NFL at any time. Quarterback is both the most important position, and one of the most exclusive positions, on an NFL team. It is a tremend...

The Life And Career Of Mike Pruitt (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   The Cleveland Browns experienced some lean years in the mid-to-late 1970s. In 1974, Cleveland only won four games, which was the lowest win total in team history. ‘74 would also mean the end of head coach Nick Skorich’s time with the Browns. In 1975, the franchise named offensive line coach F...

What Happened To Former Browns HC Forrest Gregg? (Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   Forrest Gregg is a name synonymous with winning football. He was a 15-year vet with the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys who helped lead the Packers to five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls. https://twitter.com/DanKramerPhotos/status/1482014794244886529 Gregg also helped th...

The Life And Career Of Boyce Green (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   The Cleveland Browns have had many outstanding running backs who have led the team in rushing yards in a season. From Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Marion Motley to such other excellent players as Kevin Mack, Earnest Byner, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, and Nick Chubb, C...

The Life And Career Of Mike Howell (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   A defensive back can help his team win games in many ways. He can intercept passes, recover fumbles, have sacks, and limit passing and rushing yards by the offense. Over an eight-year career with the Cleveland Browns from 1965 to 1972, defensive back Mike Howell helped Cleveland win games in...

The Life And Career Of Calvin Hill (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   The stereotype is that Ivy League football players will not be successful in the NFL. One player who proved this stereotype wrong was Calvin Hill. After starring at Yale University, Hill had an excellent professional football career, including 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Re...

The Life And Career Of Rex Bumgardner (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   In the long history of the Cleveland Browns, one of the most important seasons was 1950. In 1950, the Browns had their first season in the NFL and won their first NFL championship. An important contributor to Cleveland’s success in 1950 was Rex Bumgardner. Rushing the ball and catching passes...

The Life And Career Of Walt Sumner (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   Interceptions can play a key role in a football game. Not only do interceptions stop the drive of the opposing offense, but they also can give an offense excellent field position and momentum and even result in points when returned for a touchdown. Over a six-year career with the Cleveland Br...

The Life And Career Of Rich Jackson (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   Among the best nicknames of defensive professional football players are Jack “The Assassin” Tatum, Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds, Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik, and Fred “The Hammer” Williamson. Each of these nicknames suggests a tough and physical playing style that we associate with outstandi...

The Life And Career Of Mike Scarry (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   When a new sports franchise is formed, you never know how long it will take until the franchise is successful. For the new Cleveland Browns franchise in 1946, success was immediate, as the team won a professional football championship in its first year of existence - the first of five consecu...

The Life And Career Of Rich Kreitling (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   The Cleveland Browns have won four NFL championships in their history – in 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964. With so much focus on these championship seasons, there is a tendency to forget Browns players who joined the team after 1955 and left the team before 1964. One such player is end Rich Kreit...

The Life And Career Of Tommy Colella (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   In addition to such characteristics as speed, agility, strength, and durability, one trait associated with successful football players is versatility. A versatile football player who can perform multiple roles can be very valuable to his team. One such versatile player for the Cleveland Brown...

The Life And Career Of Milt Plum (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   The ultimate measure of success for any NFL quarterback is his ability to win games. Only four starting quarterbacks in Cleveland Browns history can claim to have both won at least 15 games and won at least twice as many games as they lost. Three of these quarterbacks would not be surprising...

The Life And Career Of Curtis Weathers (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   The Cleveland Browns teams of the late 1980’s properly deserve significant recognition for their success – four playoff and three AFC championship game appearances from 1986 to 1989. While not quite as victorious, the Cleveland teams of the early 1980’s also achieved certain NFL success. One...

The Life And Career Of Nick Skorich (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   In sports, it is difficult to replace a legendary coach. He or she has delivered championships (or multiple championships) and has basically set the standard for success. That being said, how difficult is it to follow not just one, but two successful coaches? This question faced Nick Skorich...

The Life And Career Of Blanton Collier (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   One of the most difficult transitions in sports is a new coach taking over a program after the departure of a legend. In these situations, the bar has been set incredibly high and the next coach is expected to maintain the bar or exceed it. This can prove to be difficult, if not impossible. M...

The Life And Career Of Cliff Lewis (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   The long history of the Cleveland Browns can produce many trivia questions. One of the best is who started at quarterback for Cleveland in the first regular season game of the Browns franchise. If your answer is Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham, your answer would be wrong. Instead, the...

The Life And Career Of Ed Bettridge (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   Frank Ryan, Jim Brown, Gary Collins, Bill Glass, Jim Houston, Galen Fiss, and Lou Groza are among the players that Cleveland Browns fans typically associate with the team’s last NFL championship in 1964. However, the 1964 Browns team consisted of 42 individual players, and they each contribut...

The Life And Career Of John Brown (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   Running backs need talented offensive linemen to achieve success in the form of rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. As great as future Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly were as running backs for the Cleveland Browns, their play was definitely helped by the performance of...

The Life And Career Of Dan Fike (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 4 years ago   Successful NFL teams consist of both star players and other players who build the foundation of the team. These “foundation” players are often offensive linemen who do not have the name recognition of other offensive players, but they are critical to team success. One such “foundation” player...

What Happened To "Touchdown" Tommy Vardell? (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   In 1991, the Browns hired Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick as their new head coach. That season, Belichick’s crew went 6-10. This was an improvement over the previous year’s 3-13 record. However, Belichick and his staff wanted to get better and push for a playoff spot in 1992. Hopi...

What Happened To Andre Rison? (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   In 1994, the Cleveland Browns returned to the postseason for the first time in five years. This was the fourth year of head coach Bill Belichick’s tenure. His squad rode the backs of a defensive unit ranked first in the league in points given up per game. The 11-5 Browns defeated Belichick’s...