Cleveland Browns History

by Frank M. Henkel

Overview

There was little fanfare when Art Mickey McBride flew into Chicago in 1945 to purchase a professional football team for Cleveland. But that act set in motion a tradition that has brought the city of Cleveland together on Sunday afternoons for (most of) the sixty years to follow. Cleveland Browns History is the story of championship seasons, legendary coaches, and Hall of Fame players. Coach Paul Brown led his teams to seven league title games in their first 17 seasons. Running backs Marion Motley, Jim Brown, and Leroy Kelley each rushed over opposing defenses and straight into Canton, Ohio, along with fellow Browns like Otto Graham, Ozzie Newsome, and Len Ford. The Kardiac Kids in 1980 had too many nail-biters for some fans, but won the AFC Central in typical fashion—by three points in the final game of the season. All these stories, plus those of the many unsung heroes to don the NFL's only logo-less helmet, fill the pages of this book, sure to delight any Cleveland Browns fan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738534282
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/06/2005
Series:	Images of Sports
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Frank M. Henkel is the creator of the online NFL History Network, which includes his own brownshistory.com, and is now one of the largest pro football history sites on the internet. He is also a member of the Professional Football Research Association. A lifelong Browns fan, Henkel's dogs—Bernie and Hanford—are named for his childhood football heroes.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	6
	Introduction	7
1	Creating and Destroying the AAFC: 1946-1949	9
2	New League, Old Result: 1950-1955	23
3	Brown In, Brown Out: 1956-1962	35
4	A Franchise Reborn: 1963-1970	47
5	Peaks and Valleys: 1971-1978	61
6	The Kardiac Kids: 1979-1984	73
7	Marty Ball and the Hometown Hero: 1985-1988	87
8	Diminishing Skills: 1989-1996	99
9	Starting Over: 1997-2004	111
	Bibliography	128