(cid:48)(cid:72)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:37)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:81)(cid:86) B eing the new kid on the block is never easy The Cleveland Browns have been the new kids three times They were one of the first members of a new league in the 1940s and then the newest member of an old league in the 1950s Finally they were a brand-new team in 1999 Through it all the Browns have been one of the most beloved teams in sports The Browns come from the part of America where professional football got its start They still win games the old-fashioned way Cleveland players tackle and block with all their might and they never give up Cleveland fans expect nothing less This book tells the story of the Browns It is a tale of two teams both old and new Throughout their history the Browns have shown what great coaches and players can accomplish when they work together They have also proved that the success of one team can change the game Here come the Browns The Cleveland defense prides itself on making game-changing plays (cid:24)
(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86) F ootball has a long and glorious history in Ohio Years before the National Football League NFL began the top pro teams in the country played there The best football was not played in the big cities but in the small towns In fact the city of Cleveland did not have its first champion until 1945 That year in their eighth and final season there the Rams won the NFL title However Cleveland fans did not have much time to celebrate In 1946 the Rams moved to Los Angeles California That same year a new football league started The All America Football Conference AAFC placed teams in cities where the NFL did not play Cleveland was an easy choice Picking a coach was easy too Paul Brown understood how football was changing He knew that the game (cid:25)
would get faster and more complicated There would be more passing and many different types of defenses Brown was so well respected that the team was actually named after him Brown went out and found a group of players whose skills would be perfect for his new brand of football Several of these players were African Americans including Marion Motley They had been barred from the NFL since the 1930s Motley helped the Browns become the best team in the AAFC Other Cleveland stars included quarterback Otto Graham and kicker Lou Groza The team won the championship each year from 1946 to 1949 and lost a total of four games during those seasons After the 1949 season the Browns San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts were invited to join the NFL Cleveland won its conference each year from 1950 through 1955 and again in 1957 The Browns took the NFL championship three times during this period The Browns had great talent during the 1950s Graham Motley and Groza were still team leaders The roster featured LEFT Paul Brown talks with some of his players during the 1950s ABOVE Otto Graham prepares to fire a pass (cid:26)
