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Cleveland Browns

In 1944, when Cleveland businessman Arthur B. McBride acquired a franchise in the All-America Football Conference, the Browns were born. They began play in 1946. After acquiring the team, McBride's first act was to hire Paul Brown, who had been a very successful coach in high school and college, as his coach and general manager.

The teams of the AAFC were about as good as those in the NFL. But in the 10 years after World War II, the Browns proved to be the best in either league. With players like quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and tackle/kicker Lou Groza leading the way, Cleveland won all four AAFC championships and amassed a 52-4-3 winning record. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, many people believed the Browns were to blame: Because they were so dominant, they had eliminated any viable competition.

The AAFC-NFL settlement enabled the Browns, the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Colts to join the NFL. Many NFL diehards, still not convinced the Browns were for real, expected Cleveland to fail badly when they played established NFL teams. They didn't. In fact, the Browns quickly proved their domination was no fluke: They opened the 1950 season with a stunning 35-10 victory over the defending NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles. Between 1950 and 1955, Cleveland won the NFL Eastern Conference championship six times, as well as four NFL titles.

The Browns not only added another division title in 1957, but they added Jim Brown, a running back from Syracuse University. During his nine-year career, Brown rushed for 12,312 yards, a record that stood for more than 20 years.

In their first 40 years in the NFL, the Browns reached the post-season 22 times. In addition to the four championships they won between 1950 and 1964, the Browns won 11 NFL Eastern Conference championships and six AFC Central Division championships.

In 1961, Arthur B. Modell purchased the Browns for a then-unheard-of price of $4 million. While he has always been recognized as one of the NFL's more progressive leaders, Modell stunned the pro football world in 1995 when he announced that he would transfer his franchise to Baltimore to begin play in 1996.

Determined to keep the team in Cleveland, Browns fans and Cleveland city officials orchestrated an unprecedented grass-roots campaign to block the move. The NFL quickly responded and, working with city officials, developed a unique solution that not only provided the city with a new state-of-the-art stadium, but guaranteed the return of pro football to Cleveland by no later than 1999. Additionally, Art Modell agreed to relinquish the name Browns, team colors, and team history to the new owner of the suspended franchise.

Cleveland Browns Facts

• · Franchise Granted June 4, 1944 as Charter Member of AAFC
• · First Season 1946
• · Merged into NFL 1950
• · Franchise Suspended 1996-1998
• · NFL Championships 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964
• · AAFC Championships 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
• · AAFC Western Divisional Championships 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
• · NFL Eastern Conference Championships 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969
• · NFL Century Division Championships 1967, 1968, 1969
• · AFC Central Division Championships 1971, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989
• · AAFC Record 52-4-3
• · Retired Uniform Numbers
  #14 Otto Graham, #32 Jim Brown, #45 Ernie Davis, #46 Don Fleming, #76 Lou Groza

• · First NFL Draft Choice Ken Carpenter, HB, Oregon State, 1950.
• · First Regular-Season Game in the AAFC A 44-0 victory over the Miami Seahawks, 9/6/46.
• · First Regular-Season Game in the NFL A 35-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, 9/16/50.
• · First Touchdown/AAFC A 19-yard touchdown pass from Cliff Lewis to Mac Speedie vs. the Miami Seahawks, 9/6/46.
• · First Touchdown/NFL A 59-yard touchdown pass from Otto Graham to Dub Jones vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, 9/16/50.
• · First Winning Season/AAFC 1946 (12-2).
• · First Winning Season/NFL 1950 (10-2).
• · First Playoff Appearance/AAFC A 14-9 victory over the New York Yankees in the AAFC Championship game, 12/22/46.
• · First Playoff Appearance/NFL An 8-3 victory over the New York Giants in the NFL Eastern Conference playoff game.
• · First to Rush 100 Yards in a Game Marion Motley, 143 yards vs. the Los Angeles Dons, 10/20/46.
• · First 1,000-Yard Rusher Jim Brown, 1,527 (1958).
• · First To Pass 400 Yards in a Game
  Otto Graham, 401 yards vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, 10/4/52.
• · Most Career Rushing Yards Jim Brown, 12,312 yards (1957-65).
• · Most Career Passing Yards Brian Sipe, 23,713 yards (1974-83).
• · Most Career Receptions Ozzie Newsome, 662 receptions (1978-90).
• · All-Time Leading Scorer Lou Groza, 1,608 points, (1946-49 AAFC, 1950-59, 61-67 NFL).
• · First Brown Elected to the Hall of Fame QB Otto Graham, 1965.
• · It's A Fact
  Twenty former Browns coaches or players have become NFL head coaches.

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