Browns History

What Happened To Brandon Weeden? (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 4 years ago   Without a doubt, quarterback is one of the most difficult positions in sports. NFL history is filled with “can’t miss” prospects that missed completely. The skill set of a pro quarterback has to be ingrained with equal parts of talent, ability and coachability. The Browns have seen this first...

The Life And Career Of Sam Rutigliano (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   The Cleveland Browns have a storied coaching history. The franchise began with Paul Brown and included the likes of Blanton Collier, Marty Schottenheimer and even Bill Belichick. Just before Schottenheimer was promoted to head coach, Sam Rutigliano was at the helm for six and a half seasons....

The Life And Career Of Brian Brennan (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   One of the common themes that occurs nearly every year in the NFL centers on doubt. Inevitably, this season we will hear from a player or team who declares that they were doubted or that they have proved the doubters wrong. It makes for good theatre and most fans love an underdog story. Howev...

"The Drive": Browns Vs. Broncos 1986 (Complete History)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   When the Cleveland Browns advanced to the AFC Championship game after the 1986 season, it was a welcome change. After dominating the NFL for decades, the Browns had fallen on hard times. The franchise regularly appeared in title games from their founding through the 1960s. However, the 1970s...

The Life And Career Of Leroy Hoard (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   In the first five decades of their existence, the Cleveland Browns were a good football team. Except for two losing stretches in the early 60s and mid-to-late 70s, the Browns were consistently in the playoffs. Any player drafted or signed by the organization knew they were joining one of the...

The Life And Career Of Ken Brown (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   It is appropriate that the name, “Brown”, is associated with the Cleveland Browns NFL team. The first and most successful head coach for Cleveland was Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown. The greatest player for Cleveland was Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown. While not as su...

The Life And Career Of Frank Pitts (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   There are two types of receivers on an NFL team. There are “possession” receivers who catch short passes for first downs. There are “big play” receivers who catch long passes for significant yards and touchdowns. Over a 10-year professional football career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Clevela...

The Life And Career Of Ron Johnson (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   One position at which the Cleveland Browns have had many excellent players is running back. In particular, Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Marion Motley are Cleveland running backs who are inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ron Johnson, for one season in 1969, was another outstanding runn...

The Life And Career Of Billy Lefear (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   A long kickoff return can be a key play in an NFL game. It can establish field position for an offensive drive and reverse momentum after an opposing score. One of the top kickoff returners in Cleveland Browns history was Billy Lefear. Over his four years with Cleveland from 1972 to 1975, Lef...

The Life And Career Of Tony Jones (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   When people think of NFL free agency, they may just consider the signing of veteran free agents, generally before the NFL draft. However, there is another type of free agency in the NFL that occurs after the NFL draft – the signing of undrafted, rookie free agents. One of the best undrafted,...

The Life And Career Of Homer Jones (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   Touchdown celebrations have become part of the fabric of NFL games. “The Ickey Shuffle”, “The Lambeau Leap”, and “The Gronk Spike” are just a few of the many celebrations in the NFL after specific touchdowns have been scored. With his “spike” of the football after a touchdown in 1965, wide re...

The Life And Career Of Marty Schottenheimer (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   It is an understatement to say that, for any team to truly succeed, it needs a good head coach. It’s not so much the personality, the coach must know the game and command respect. The Browns recognize this, having spent two decades with subpar coaching since returning to the league in 1999. T...

The Life And Career Of Chip Banks (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   In the early 1980s, the NFL witnessed a new breed of linebacker. These ‘backers had receiver speed, the agility of a running back, and could hit like a truck. It started with the University of North Carolina’s Lawrence Taylor, who immediately turned the New York Giants into contenders. By the...

The Life And Career Of Michael Dean Perry (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   Defensive linemen in the NFL generally earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in one of two ways. Some rush the passer and are credited with sacks. Others stuff the run and are credited with tackles. When a player has both significant sacks and significant tackles, he is a special defensive lineman...

The Life And Career Of Dino Hall (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   There are three parts to a winning football team – offense, defense, and special teams. Teams may have excellent offensive and defensive units, but to win games, they also need excellent special teams. Over a five-year career from 1979 to 1983, Dino Hall was one of the top players on special...

The Life And Career Of Anthony Pleasant (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   After interceptions and fumble recoveries, sacks probably are the most impactful plays made by a defensive player. Sacks can result in lost yardage, punts, and forced fumbles, and generate more momentum for a team than an ordinary tackle. Anthony Pleasant was skilled at sacking the quarterbac...

The Life And Career Of Andra Davis (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   While interceptions, fumble recoveries, and sacks are the “sexy” statistics on defense, there is no more basic aspect to playing defense in the NFL than tackling. To be an effective defensive player, you must make tackles to cause losses, stop drives, and prevent points. One of the best tackl...

The Life And Career Of Mike Johnson (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   To be an outstanding linebacker in the NFL, you need to be successful in several different areas, including tackling, sacking, intercepting passes, forcing fumbles, and recovering fumbles. Mike Johnson displayed such versatile success during his eight seasons at linebacker for the Cleveland B...

The Life And Career Of WR Michael Jackson (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   Pro Football Hall of Fame Cleveland Browns tight end Ozzie Newsome continued to contribute to the Browns as a scout and as an executive after his retirement as a player. As a scout, one of Newsome’s achievements was helping Cleveland decide to draft Michael Jackson in 1991. Over his five seas...

The Life And Career Of Matt Stover (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   The life of a kicker in the NFL is filled with “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” moments. If the kick is made, the kicker is hailed as a hero; if the kick is missed, the kicker is scorned as a loser. For 19 NFL playing seasons, kicker Matt Stover regularly delivered “the thrill...

The Life And Career Of Reece Morrison (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   Since the Cleveland Browns won their last NFL championship in 1964, the Browns have twice advanced to consecutive league or conference championship games – the teams in 1986 and 1987, and the teams in 1968 and 1969. One player who contributed to Cleveland advancing to the 1968 and 1969 league...

The Life And Career Of Bo Scott (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   The Pro Football Hall of Fame careers of Marion Motley, Jim Brown, and Leroy Kelly established a tradition of excellence for Cleveland Browns running backs. There are other Browns running backs who, while not enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, also had outstanding careers. One such r...

The Life And Career Of Chip Glass (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   Successful teams in the NFL have depth by having solid back-up players on the roster. Back-ups contribute on the field when they do play and off the field in practice. Tight end Chip Glass only started six regular season games over his five seasons with the Cleveland Browns from 1969 to 1973....

The Life And Career Of Fair Hooker (Complete Story)

Jimmy Swartz • 5 years ago   When we think of what parents provide an NFL player, we typically focus on genetic athletic ability and a productive home environment that nurtured and developed the player’s football talent. We usually do not focus on the name that the player was given. Such was not the case with Cleveland B...

What Happened To Mike Junkin? (Complete Story)

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   In the mid-late 1980s, the Cleveland Browns were a perennial Super Bowl contender. Three times between 1986-1989, the team played in the AFC Championship game. Of course, every Browns fan knows that the hated Denver Broncos defeated Cleveland in each of those contests. However, during those h...

When Otto Graham Was A Suspect In The Sam Sheppard Murder Case

Ben Donahue • 5 years ago   1954 was shaping up to be just like any other year for the Cleveland Browns. Fresh off the heels of losing to the Detroit Lions in the 1953 NFL Championship game, the Browns were looking to get back on top in 1954. The loss to the Lions marked the third such defeat in as many years for the Br...