49 Fun Facts About Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are named after whom?

Paul Brown, their first coach and co-founder, lent the team his name after a fan contest; he had already won a 1942 national title at Ohio State.

In which league did the Browns begin play in 1946?

The All-America Football Conference was the Browns' first league; they went 47-4-3 there and won every championship the league ever staged before it folded after 1949.

Which two teams joined the NFL alongside the Browns when the AAFC folded after 1949?

The Browns then won the NFL title in their very first season in the league.

The Browns played in their league championship game in each of their first how many seasons?

The Browns reached a championship game in each of their first 10 seasons, 1946 through 1955, and won seven of them.

The Browns' last NFL championship before the Super Bowl era came in which year?

In 1964 the Browns won their last NFL championship, a 27-0 home shutout of Johnny Unitas's favored visitors; they lost the 1965 title game to Green Bay.

Which Browns quarterback reached a championship game in every season of his pro career?

Otto Graham quarterbacked every Browns title game of his career; he had gone to Northwestern on a basketball scholarship and won an NBL title with the Rochester Royals.

Jim Brown led the NFL in rushing in how many of his nine seasons?

Jim Brown was the NFL rushing leader in eight seasons, every year except 1962, and retired after 1965 with 12,312 yards and 106 rushing touchdowns.

Besides football, Jim Brown is considered one of the greatest ever players of which sport?

The Premier Lacrosse League's MVP award is named after him.

Which Browns receiver caught three touchdowns in the shutout that won Cleveland's final pre-Super Bowl title?

Gary Collins caught all three of Frank Ryan's touchdown passes in the second half of the 27-0 shutout of Johnny Unitas's favored team.

Which two Browns broke pro football's modern color barrier together in September 1946?

Marion Motley and Bill Willis signed with the Browns in August 1946 and debuted that September; both later entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Which Browns tackle and kicker, nicknamed 'The Toe', has college football's kicker award named after him?

Lou Groza kicked field goals from beyond 50 yards when such attempts were rare; the street outside Browns headquarters is named Lou Groza Boulevard.

What are the Browns unique for among the NFL's 32 helmets?

The plain orange helmet is itself the team's official logo.

Which early Browns mascot did Art Modell drop in the 1960s as too childish?

Brownie the Elf dates from the team's 1940s beginnings; Modell phased it out after buying the club in 1961, and a 2022 fan vote put the elf at midfield.

What is the famous bleacher section behind the east end zone called?

The Dawg Pound got its name in 1985 when cornerback Hanford Dixon dubbed the defense 'the Dawgs' and barked at the east end-zone bleachers.

The late-1970s Browns of quarterback Brian Sipe earned what nickname for their last-minute wins?

The Kardiac Kids was the nickname for Brian Sipe's 1979 and 1980 Browns, whose games were repeatedly decided in the final minutes; Sipe was the 1980 NFL MVP.

'Red Right 88' was a Browns pass intercepted in a January 1981 playoff loss to which team?

The Oakland Raiders won 14-12 on January 4, 1981, after safety Mike Davis, known for poor hands, intercepted Brian Sipe's end-zone pass in freezing wind.

Bernie Kosar's Browns lost three late-1980s AFC Championship Games, each time to which team?

The Denver Broncos beat Cleveland in the AFC title games of the 1986, 1987 and 1989 seasons, the first two remembered for The Drive and The Fumble.

How many yards did John Elway cover on "The Drive" to tie the 1986 AFC Championship Game in Cleveland?

Elway's 98-yard drive took 15 plays and just over five minutes; his team then won 23-20 in overtime on a 33-yard field goal.

Which Browns running back committed "The Fumble" in the 1987 AFC Championship Game?

Earnest Byner was stripped by safety Jeremiah Castille just short of the goal line with 1:12 left and the Browns trailing 38-31.

The Browns acquired Bernie Kosar in 1985 through what unusual route?

Kosar came through the 1985 supplemental draft after Cleveland traded picks to Buffalo for the Bills' supplemental choice, letting the Youngstown native come home.

Who was the Browns' head coach from 1991 to 1995?

Bill Belichick went 36-44 in Cleveland, won a playoff game over New England after the 1994 season and was fired after going 5-11 in 1995.

In 1995, owner Art Modell announced he was moving the Browns to which city?

Modell's November 1995 announcement moved the team to Baltimore; a 1996 compromise let him take the players as a new franchise while the Browns' name, colors and history stayed in Cleveland.

In what year did the reactivated Browns return to the field?

The Browns resumed play in 1999 after three dormant seasons; their first regular-season game in the new stadium was a 43-0 home loss on September 12.

What name did the Browns' stadium adopt in 2024?

Huntington Bank Field became the name in August 2024; the stadium stands on the site of old Municipal Stadium and was FirstEnergy Stadium from 2013 until 2023.

In which Ohio suburb are the Browns' headquarters and training facility located?

Berea, a suburb southwest of Cleveland, is home to the Browns' headquarters and training complex; the Baldwin Wallace University campus is nearby.

Entering 2025, the Browns were one of how many NFL teams never to reach a Super Bowl?

Four teams had never reached a Super Bowl entering 2025; the Browns were among them, having last won a league title in the pre-Super Bowl era.

The Browns' 2017 season ended with what record?

The 2017 Browns went 0-16, only the second winless 16-game season in NFL history, and their 1-31 mark over 2016-17 was the worst two-year run the league had seen.

Which two players did the Browns take with the No. 1 overall picks earned by their 2016 and 2017 seasons?

Myles Garrett went first overall in 2017 and Baker Mayfield first in 2018; Mayfield's debut ended a 19-game winless streak and he set a rookie record with 27 touchdown passes.

Baker Mayfield was the first player to win the Heisman Trophy after starting his college career how?

Mayfield walked on at Texas Tech in 2013, started as a freshman, then transferred to Oklahoma and won the 2017 Heisman as the first walk-on recipient.

Myles Garrett played his college football at which school?

Garrett starred at Texas A&M from 2014 to 2016 and was the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Browns.

What does the 10,363 on Joe Thomas's Browns Ring of Honor entry represent?

The streak of consecutive snaps played ran from his 2007 debut until a torn triceps in October 2017; Thomas made the Pro Bowl every season from 2007 through 2016.

The Browns picked Joe Thomas at what spot in the 2007 NFL draft?

Thomas went third overall in 2007, behind JaMarcus Russell and Calvin Johnson, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Which team did the Browns beat 48-37 in January 2021 for their first playoff win since 1994?

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost 48-37 in the wild-card round; Kevin Stefanski's first team had gone 11-5 to end a 17-season playoff drought.

The Browns' rivalry with the Cincinnati Bengals is often called what?

The Battle of Ohio pits the state's two NFL teams; Paul Brown, fired by Modell in 1963, started the Bengals in 1968 and gave them the same orange.

Which nickname is often applied to the Browns-Steelers series?

The Turnpike Rivalry takes its name from the Ohio and Pennsylvania turnpikes linking the cities; the teams have met twice a season since 1950, except during the Browns' dormant years.

Which running back, the Browns' 2018 second-round pick from Georgia, made four Pro Bowls in Cleveland?

Nick Chubb, taken 35th overall in 2018, ran for 1,000 yards in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 and made the Pro Bowl in each of those seasons.

Which undrafted Kent State quarterback became a Browns Pro Bowl return specialist?

Josh Cribbs made three Pro Bowls as a Brown and scored on two kickoff returns of more than 100 yards in one 2009 game at Kansas City.

Which businessman bought the Browns from the Lerner family in 2012?

Jimmy Haslam, the Pilot Flying J truck-stop magnate, bought the team from Randy Lerner in 2012 for about $1 billion.

Which former Browns tight end built the 2000 Super Bowl champion roster of Modell's new team?

Ozzie Newsome, a Browns tight end from 1978 to 1990, ran the new franchise's personnel from 1996 and drafted Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden, pillars of its 2000 champions.

Which 2014 film starred Kevin Costner as a fictional Browns general manager chasing the No. 1 pick?

Draft Day, directed by Ivan Reitman, cast Kevin Costner as Browns general manager Sonny Weaver Jr. trading up for the first overall pick.

Who coached the Browns to their 2002 playoff berth, their first after returning to the NFL?

Butch Davis, hired from the University of Miami in 2001, went 9-7 in 2002; the Browns led 33-21 in the fourth quarter before losing 36-33 in the wild-card round.

Which team knocked the Browns out of the playoffs after the 2023 season with a 45-14 wild-card win?

The Houston Texans, led by rookie C.J. Stroud, routed Cleveland 45-14 at NRG Stadium in January 2024, returning two Joe Flacco interceptions for touchdowns.

Which taxicab magnate founded the Browns as an AAFC charter member in 1944?

Mickey McBride, owner of Cleveland's Yellow Cab company, paid for the franchise in 1944 and sold the team to a Cleveland syndicate in 1953.

The Browns and which team met in four 1950s NFL Championship Games, with Cleveland winning just one?

The Detroit Lions beat Cleveland for the title in 1952, 1953 and 1957; the Browns' lone win over them came in the 1954 game, a rout.

What breed of dog features on the secondary 'dawg' logo the Browns adopted in 2023?

A bull mastiff drawn by a fan won a 2023 vote to become the Browns' secondary 'Dawg' logo, the team's nod to its dog-loving fan base.

Which AAFC rival finished second to the Browns in all four seasons of that league?

The San Francisco 49ers finished runner-up to Cleveland in every AAFC season and handed the Browns two of their rare league losses, including a 56-28 win in 1949 that ended a 29-game unbeaten streak.

The Browns' only playoff meeting with the Houston Oilers came in which season's Wild Card Round?

The Oilers won that 1988 wild-card game 24-23 on Christmas Eve at Cleveland Stadium, amid the feud between Jerry Glanville and Marty Schottenheimer.

Which English football club began selling Browns merchandise after Randy Lerner bought it?

Aston Villa's club shop stocked Browns gear after Randy Lerner bought the Birmingham club in 2006; he sold Villa to Tony Xia in 2016.

Which Cleveland-born TV host had his studio audience bark 'Woof, woof, woof!' like Browns fans?

Arsenio Hall, born in Cleveland in 1956, had his late-night studio audience bark and pump their fists, a chant borrowed from Browns fans.