How old is the Cleveland Browns team now?
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The history of the Cleveland Browns American football team began in 1944 when taxi-cab magnate Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride secured a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Paul Brown was the team's namesake and first coach. The Browns began play in 1946 in the AAFC. The Browns won each of the league's four championship games before the league dissolved in 1949. The team then moved to the more established National Football League (NFL), where it continued to dominate. Between 1950 and 1955, Cleveland reached the NFL championship game every year, winning three times.
Cleveland Browns
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At 14 years old, Junior is the only child of Cleveland and Loretta Brown, stepson of Donna Tubbs, and the stepbrother of Roberta and Rallo Tubbs. Junior's most prominent character traits are his laziness, obesity, and low social intelligence (although there are occasional references to him being academically bright). He has obtained poor eyesight over the years and now wears glasses. Since his parents' divorce, Loretta gave custody of Cleveland Jr. back to Cleveland and forced him to move. Thus, the pair left for California. However, en route, they decided to live in Stoolbend, Virginia instead, where Cleveland married Donna Tubbs, and Rallo and Roberta became his step-siblings.
Cleveland Brown Jr.
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The Browns' perfect season and third championship victory came during a strong year for Cleveland sports teams. That April, the Cleveland Barons, the city's American Hockey League team, won the Calder Cup championship. The Cleveland Indians, the city's Major League Baseball club, set an all-time season attendance record and won the World Series. The Browns' success was also a major draw for fans: the team led professional football in attendance in 1948 with an average of 45,517 people per game, although that was still 10,000 lower than the year before. The distribution of talent and fortune among AAFC's teams was unbalanced, however, and while the Browns, the 49ers and the Dons were successes at the gate, teams including the Rockets and Colts languished financially. The NFL was also facing major financial trouble – nine of its ten teams lost money that year – and the two leagues' competition for talent led to talks about a merger. Discussions centered around how many AAFC teams the NFL would absorb; most owners favored four teams, but the talks broke down when powerful owners George Preston Marshall of the Washington Redskins and Tim Mara of the New York Giants intervened and suggested only Cleveland and San Francisco should be absorbed. The AAFC continued play in 1949, but was disbanded after that season. The Browns, 49ers and Colts were merged into the NFL starting in 1950.
1948 Cleveland Browns season
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Further playoff defeats followed. In 1968, as a 32-year-old Ryan was benched in favor of Bill Nelsen, the Browns finished with a 10–4 record but lost to the Colts in the playoffs. Another playoff loss ended the Browns' season in 1969, this time to the Minnesota Vikings. After the American Football League's merger with the NFL was finalized in early 1970, the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts moved to the new American Football Conference along with the 10 teams of the former AFL. The Browns were slotted in the AFC Central in the 26-team league, alongside the Steelers, the Houston Oilers and the Cincinnati Bengals, a team Paul Brown founded in 1968 in the AFL. Cleveland's first big move under the new league structure was to trade star receiver Paul Warfield in January 1970 to the Miami Dolphins for the rights to draft Purdue University quarterback Mike Phipps as a replacement for Bill Nelsen, who had a pair of bad knees.
The Browns opened the 1970 season by beating Joe Namath and the New York Jets in the first-ever broadcast of Monday Night Football on September 21. The following month, Cleveland faced Paul Brown's Bengals for the first time in a regular-season game, winning 30–27. That game was a highlight in an otherwise unsuccessful season. The Browns lost their second match against the Bengals 14–10 in November, when Phipps made his first start — Brown called it "my greatest victory" — and finished 7–7.
History of the Cleveland Browns
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Plagued by hearing problems, the 64-year-old Collier announced his retirement before the end of the 1970 season. In eight years as coach, Collier led Cleveland to a championship and a 74–33–2 record. Nick Skorich was named as his replacement the following year. Skorich came to the Browns as offensive coordinator in 1964, when the team won the championship. In Cleveland's first year under Skorich, the team improved to 9–5 but lost to the Colts in a divisional playoff. Mike Phipps was promoted to starting quarterback over Nelsen before the 1972 season. After a sluggish start, the Browns went on tear and finished with a 10–4 record. That put Cleveland in a playoff against the undefeated Miami Dolphins. The Browns took a lead in the fourth quarter on a touchdown catch by wide receiver Fair Hooker, but the Dolphins responded with a long drive of their own, aided by a pair of Paul Warfield receptions. Running back Jim Kiick ran for a touchdown, sealing a 20–14 win and preserving the Dolphins' perfect season. The following year, Phipps threw 20 interceptions and completed less than half of his passes. After winning four of the first six games, the Browns slumped and placed third in the division with a 7–5–2 record.
History of the Cleveland Browns
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Kosar, who wanted to play for Cleveland because his family lived in a suburb of nearby Youngstown, Ohio, signed a five-year contract worth nearly $6 million in 1985 and was immediately embraced by the Browns organization and the team's fans. "It's not an everyday occurrence that somebody "wants" to play in Cleveland", Modell said. "This has lent such an aura to Bernie." Kosar saw his first action in the fifth week of the 1985 season against the New England Patriots, when he substituted before halftime for Gary Danielson, a 34-year-old veteran who the Browns had acquired in the offseason from the Lions. Kosar fumbled his first-ever NFL snap, but rebounded and led the team to a 24–20 win. A mix of success and failure followed, but Kosar progressed a bit more each Sunday and led the team to an 8–8 record. Two young running backs, Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, complemented Kosar's aerial attack with more than 1,000 yards rushing each.
History of the Cleveland Browns
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On September 6, Art Modell died in Baltimore at the age of 87. Although the Browns planned to have a moment of silence on their home opener for their former owner, his family asked the team not to, well aware of the less-than-friendly reaction it was likely to get. Weeden started the Browns' first game of the season. The 28-year-old rookie threw four interceptions in a 17–16 loss to Philadelphia in which the Browns' only touchdown was scored by the defense.
History of the Cleveland Browns
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Modell said he would look outside the Browns organization for a new coach, a break from past hirings that drew from the team's own ranks. Peter Hadhazy, who Modell had hired as the Browns' first general manager, recommended a 45-year-old New Orleans Saints receivers coach named Sam Rutigliano. After an interview before Christmas in which Modell and Rutigliano spent hours talking and watching game film in Modell's basement, the owner named him head coach on December 27, 1977. An affable, charismatic man with an even temper, Rutigliano was a stark contrast to Gregg. Sipe immediately flourished under Rutigliano, racking up 21 touchdowns and 2,906 passing yards during the 1978 season, when the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule. His prime targets were Reggie Rucker, a veteran receiver the Browns signed in 1975, and Ozzie Newsome, a rookie tight end out of Alabama who the Browns drafted with a pick acquired in the Phipps trade. Cleveland won its first three games, but poor defense dashed the team's playoff chances and the Browns finished with an 8–8 record.
History of the Cleveland Browns
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On January 9, 1963, Art Modell sent a statement to the newswires: "Paul E. Brown, head coach and general manager, will no longer serve the team in those capacities", it said. Immediate reaction to the decision was muted due to a newspaper strike that kept the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland Press off the newsstands until April. A printing company executive, however, got together a group of sportswriters and published a 32-page magazine fielding players' views on the firing. Opinions were mixed; Modell came in for his share of criticism, but tackle and team captain Mike McCormack said he did not think the team could win under Brown. Nonetheless, it was a shocking end to the 17-year Cleveland career of a coach who was already a seminal figure in the city's sports history. Among many innovations, Brown was the first coach to call plays for his quarterback, give players IQ and personality tests and use game film to evaluate opponents. Even Jim Brown lauded his pioneering role in integrating the game:
History of the Cleveland Browns
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The 2009 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 61st season as a professional sports franchise and its 57th season as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The team placed fourth in the AFC North with a record of 5–11, improving upon its 2008 record of 4–12. This season marked George Kokinis and Eric Mangini's first seasons as the team's general manager and head coach, respectively; however, Kokinis was fired on November 2 during the team's Week 9 bye week. The Browns played all of their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
2009 Cleveland Browns season
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The 2010 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 62nd season as a professional sports franchise and its 58th season as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to break the longest playoff appearance drought in franchise history, a current streak of eight seasons without reaching the playoffs. The team finished 5–11, matching its win total from the 2009 season and placed third in the AFC North. This season marked the first season under the leadership of team president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert. It also marked the second season under head coach Eric Mangini. The Browns played all of their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
2010 Cleveland Browns season
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The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B. McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the league's four seasons and winning its championship in each. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers and the original Baltimore Colts. The Browns won a championship in their inaugural NFL season, as well as in the 1954, 1955, and 1964 seasons, and in a feat unequaled in any of the North American major professional sports, played in their league championship game in each of the Browns' first ten years of existence. From 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl during that period.
Cleveland Browns