The
Cleveland Browns are a professional
American football team based in
Cleveland,
Ohio. They are currently members of the
North Division of the
American Football Conference (AFC) in the
National Football League (NFL). The team began play in 1946 as a charter member of the
All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1950 when the leagues merged.
The Browns were the AAFC's most successful franchise, and were one of only three teams to join the NFL following the merger.
In 1995, after nearly 50 years in Cleveland, then owner Art Modell announced his intention to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland, initiating a relocation controversy that led to legal action. The legal action resulted in a unique compromise: Modell would keep the Browns' existing player and staff contracts, but his team officially would be a new franchise; this team is now known as the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns name, history, and archives would remain in Cleveland, and a new Browns team began play in 1999 after a three-year period of "deactivation".
Cleveland has won a total of eight league championships. They won all four AAFC titles (including a 15-0 undefeated season in 1948), and after joining the NFL won four additional championships prior to the league's merger with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. Following the merger, the Browns were one of three NFL teams which joined the ten former AFL teams to form the new American Football Conference. Despite having the sixth-highest winning percentage of all NFL franchises, the Browns have not played in a league championship game since the merger; however, they have competed for the AFC Championship three times. Having lost all three games, along with two NFL Championship Games of the Super Bowl era prior to the merger (in 1968 and 1969), Cleveland is one of four NFL teams that has yet to reach the Super Bowl. Furthermore, Cleveland has never hosted a Super Bowl, making it the only NFL city to have neither hosted nor sent a team to the Super Bowl.
History
1946–1949: founding in the AAFC
The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1946 as a charter member of the
All-America Football Conference, under businessman
Arthur B "Mickey" McBride. Not long after gaining the franchise, McBride named
Ohio State Buckeyes coach
Paul Brown as vice president, general manager and head coach. The franchise conducted a team naming contest in 1945. The most popular submission was "Browns" in recognition of Paul Brown, already an established and popular figure in Ohio sports. Brown at first objected to the name and the team selected from the contest entries the name "Panthers". However, after an area businessman informed the team that he owned the rights to the name Cleveland Panthers from
an earlier failed football team, Brown rescinded his objection and agreed to the use of his name.
Brown parlayed his ties to the Buckeyes and the Navy (where he had coached a base football team during World War II) into the most extensive recruitment network that had ever been seen at the time in pro football. He used it to assemble a team that, in terms of talent, would have been more than a match for any NFL team—including quarterback Otto Graham, kicker/offensive tackle Lou Groza, wide receiversDante Lavelli and Mac Speedie, fullback Marion Motley and nose guard Bill Willis.
The Browns dominated the AAFC, winning all four of its championships. This included the 1948 season, in which they became the first unbeaten and untied team in professional football history, 24 years before the 1972 Miami Dolphins became the NFL's first and only team to date to have a perfect season. Cleveland's undefeated streak (including two ties) reached 29 games, and included 18 straight wins and the 1947 and 1948 AAFC championship games. During the AAFC's four-year run, the Browns lost only four games. They issued occasional challenges to NFL teams, only to be turned down almost out of hand each time.
Thanks in large part to McBride's promotional efforts, the Cleveland area showed terrific support for the Browns from the moment they were created. The team saw a record-setting average attendance of 57,000 per game in its first season. The Browns unexpectedly had Cleveland to themselves; the NFL's Cleveland Rams, who had continually lost money while in Cleveland despite winning the 1945 NFL championship, moved to the booming area of Los Angeles after the 1945 season (the team is now located in St. Louis).
1950–1956: joining the NFL
The AAFC dissolved after the 1949 season, and the NFL agreed to take in three of the AAFC's teams for the
1950 season: the
San Francisco 49ers, the
Baltimore Colts (an earlier incarnation, not the team which would later move to Indianapolis), and the Browns.
The Browns' first NFL game was against the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The overwhelming consensus at the time was that the Eagles would blow the Browns off the field; there were still many who thought the Browns were merely the dominant team in a minor league. However, the Browns were determined to prove they belonged. They shredded the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 yards of total offense en route to a 35–10 blowout.
Behind a potent offense that included future Hall of Famers Graham, Motley and Dante Lavelli, the Browns picked up right where they left off in the AAFC. After going 10–2 in the regular season, they defeated the New York Giants 8–3 in a playoff game and then beat Cleveland's previous NFL tenants, the Rams (who were now in Los Angeles), 30–28, in the NFL Championship Game. Since the NFL does not recognize the AAFC's records, this technically makes the Browns the most successful expansion team in league history. However, the 1950 Browns were not an expansion team in any sense of the term.
During the next season, the Browns went 11–1, facing the Rams in a rematch of the previous year's title game. A 73-yard touchdown pass by Rams quarterback Norm van Brocklin to wide receiver Tom Fears in the fourth quarter gave Los Angeles the lead for good. The 24–17 loss was the Browns' first in a championship game.
In 1952, Cleveland finished 8–4 to again advance to the NFL Championship Game, this time facing the Detroit Lions. A muffed punt, several defensive stands, and a 67-yard touchdown run by Doak Walker combined to help the Lions win 17–7, frustrating the Browns for the second consecutive year. On the upside, Ray Renfro became a star with 722 yards receiving and 322 yards rushing.
The Browns then started the 1953 season winning 11 straight games, but finished with a loss to the Eagles in the final week, and then lost the 1953 Championship Game in a rematch with the Lions. The game was, however, closer than the year before. With the score tied at 10 going into the final quarter, Lou Groza kicked two field goals to put Cleveland up 16–10. But Detroit quarterback Bobby Layne threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jim Doran with less than two minutes left and the Lions won 17–16.
In 1954, the Browns finished 9–3 and met up with Detroit in the Championship Game for a third consecutive year. This time, however, the Browns were relentless on both sides of the ball, intercepting Bobby Layne six times and forcing three fumbles. Otto Graham threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, en route to a 56–10 thrashing and the Browns' second NFL crown.
The Browns kept rolling along in 1955. Chuck Noll had a productive season at linebacker with five interceptions, Graham passed for 15 touchdowns and ran for six more, and the team, who finished 9–2–1, won their third NFL Championship Game in six seasons 38–14 over the Los Angeles Rams. In 10 years of existence, the Browns reached the title game every year (four in the AAFC, six in the NFL) and won seven of them.
Graham retired before the 1956 season because of injuries, and the Browns floundered without him behind center. Three quarterbacks (George Ratterman, Babe Parilli, and Tommy O'Connell) were used, none of them throwing more touchdowns than interceptions. The team's 5–7 record was the team's first losing season ever.
1957–1965: the Jim Brown era
The Browns responded in 1957 when they drafted fullback
Jim Brown out of
Syracuse University, who easily became the NFL's leading rusher (and
NFL Rookie of the Year) with 942 yards in a 12-game regular season. Once again at the top of the division at 9–2–1, they advanced back to the
Championship Game against Detroit. But the Lions dominated from start to finish, causing six turnovers and allowing the Browns' two quarterbacks (Tommy O'Connell and
Milt Plum) only 95 yards passing in a 59–14 rout, the Lions' last league championship to date.
In 1958 Jim Brown ran for 1,527 yards, almost twice as much as any other running back. In his nine seasons in the league, he crossed the 1,000-yard barrier seven times. The only snag in the Browns' getting back to another championship was the New York Giants. They lost to New York on the last week of the season after a spirited fourth-quarter comeback; then, due to their equal 9–3 records, faced the Giants again in a tiebreaker game with the winner going to the finals. However, the Giants limited Jim Brown to eight yards and the team committed four turnovers as they were shut out 10–0.
In 1959 the Browns started 6–2 but finished 7–5, out of championship contention, despite Brown once again leading the league in rushing with 1,329 yards. In 1960, Plum threw for 21 touchdowns and Brown's 1,257 yards was still best in the NFL, but the team still finished second at 8–3–1.
Art Modell assumes ownership (1961)
Art Modell purchased the team from David Jones (who had bought the team from McBride in 1953) in 1961. The beginnings of a power struggle between Paul Brown and Art Modell took its toll. Journalist D.L. Stewart recounted in Jeff Miller's book on the AFL,
Going Long, "As you well can imagine, Jimmy Brown and Paul were not thick. The buzz was that Jimmy had Modell working for him, and Paul took exception to that." The season otherwise was typical: a fifth consecutive league-leading season from Jim Brown and a half-decent performance in the standings, but again, at 8–5–1, they were two games out of a berth in the championship.
After a 7–6–1 record in 1962, Modell fired Paul Brown and replaced him with longtime assistant Blanton Collier. Many of the Browns' younger players, such as Jim Brown and Frank Ryan, had chafed under Brown's autocratic coaching style; in contrast, Collier ran the club with a much looser grip. He installed a much more open offense and allowed Ryan to call his own plays. In Collier's first season, the Browns went 10–4 and finished a game out of the conference title, led by Jim Brown's record 1,863 yards rushing.
Blanton Collier becomes head coach (1964-1970)
Browns win another NFL championship (1964)
In 1964, the Browns went 10–3–1 and reached their first
title game in seven years. They throttled the heavily favored
Baltimore Colts 27–0, with receiver
Gary Collins catching three touchdown passes to earn the MVP award. (As of 2010, this was the most recent sports championship for the city of
Cleveland.) The Browns would go to three more NFL title games in Collier's eight-year tenure, including and , after Jim Brown retired. After the
1970 season, Collier retired due to increasing deafness and was replaced by
offensive coordinator Nick Skorich; that same year the Browns finished 7–7.
1971–1984: the "Kardiac Kids"
Skorich led the Browns to a division title in and a wild-card berth in . In the latter year, the Browns nearly defeated the Miami Dolphins, 20-14. Miami went on to finish 17-0 that season. The Browns barely missed the playoffs in .
However, the team's era of success came to a crashing halt as it dropped to 4–10 in 1974. Neither quarterback Mike Phipps nor rookie pivot Brian Sipe was effective; they threw 24 combined interceptions to only 10 touchdowns. The Browns allowed 344 points, most in the league. It was only the second losing season in franchise history, and it cost Skorich his job.
(left) with Robert Jackson in the Browns locker room, 1979]]
Assistant coach Forrest Gregg took over in , but the Browns stumbled out of the gate with an 0–9 start that finally came to an end on November 23 in a 35–23 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Three weeks later, third-year running back Greg Pruitt paced the team with 214 yards rushing in a rout over the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the team finish the season 3–11.
Cleveland showed marked improvement with a 9–5 record in as Brian Sipe firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Phipps injury in the season-opening win against the New York Jets on September 12. After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Third-string quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones's pile-driving sack of Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Pruitt continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1,000 yards, his second-straight four-digit season.
The Browns continued to roll in the first half of the 1977 season, but an injury to Sipe by Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert on November 13 proved to be disastrous. Cleveland won only one of their last five games to finish at 6–8, a collapse that led to Forrest Gregg's dismissal before the final game of the season. Dick Modzelewski served as interim coach in the team's 20–19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
around 1979 at the Browns practice facility]]
On December 27, 1977, Sam Rutigliano was named head coach, and he aided a healthy Sipe in throwing 21 touchdowns and garnering 2,900 yards during the 1978 NFL season. Greg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt (no relation) led a rushing attack that gained almost 2,500 yards, but problems with the team's dismal pass defense resulted in the Browns finishing 8–8 on the year.
The 1979 campaign started with four consecutive wins, three of which were in the final minute or overtime. Four more games were won by less than a touchdown. This penchant for playing close games would later earn them the nickname "Kardiac Kids". Sipe threw 28 touchdown passes, tying him with Steve Grogan of New England for most in the league, but his 26 interceptions were the worst in the league. Mike Pruitt had a Pro Bowl season with his 1,294 rushing yards, while the defense was still shaky, ranking near the bottom in rushing defense. The team finished 9–7, behind division rivals Houston and Pittsburgh in a tough AFC Central.
The 1980 season is still fondly remembered by Browns fans. After going 3–3 in the first six games, the Browns won three straight games with fourth-quarter comebacks, and stopped a late comeback by the Baltimore Colts to win a fourth. The Browns won two more games in that fashion by the end of the season, and even lost a game to the Minnesota Vikings on the last play when a Hail Mary pass was tipped into the waiting hands of Ahmad Rashad. Sipe passed for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions (enough for him to be named the NFL MVP), behind an offensive line that sent three members to the Pro Bowl: Doug Dieken, Tom DeLeone and Joe DeLamielleure. The "Kardiac Kids" name stuck. A fourth-quarter field goal by Don Cockroft in the final game against the Bengals helped the Browns capture the division with an 11–5 mark, with the Oakland Raiders their opponent in the team's first playoff game in eight years. However, a heartbreaking end to this dramatic season came in the closing seconds when Rutigliano called what became known as "Red Right 88" and had Sipe pass toward the end zone, only to watch Oakland's Mike Davis intercept the ball. The Raiders went on to win the Super Bowl, and "Red Right 88" has numbered among the list of Cleveland sports curses ever since.
If 1980 was a dream season, then was a nightmare. Sipe threw only 17 touchdowns while being picked off 25 times. The Browns went 5–11, and few of their games were particularly close. Tight end Ozzie Newsome, their only Pro Bowler, had 1,004 yards receiving for six touchdowns.
In Sipe split quarterbacking duties with Paul McDonald, and both put up similar numbers. The Browns had little success rushing or defending against it, finishing in the bottom five teams in both yardage categories. Despite going 4–5, Cleveland was able to make the playoffs due to an expanded playoff system in the strike-shortened year. They were matched up again with the Raiders in the playoffs, but were easily defeated 27–10.
Sipe and the Browns got some of their spark back in . Sipe had 26 touchdown passes and 3,566 yards, while Mike Pruitt ran for 10 scores on 1,184 yards. Cleveland even won two games in overtime and another in the fourth quarter. A fourth-quarter loss to the Oilers in their second-to-last game dashed their playoff hopes. At 9–7 the Browns finished one game behind the Steelers, and lost out on a wild-card spot due to a tiebreaker.
1984 was a rebuilding year. Brian Sipe defected to the upstart United States Football League after the 1983 season, and Paul McDonald was named the starting quarterback. Mike Pruitt missed much of the season and later ended up with the Buffalo Bills. Coach Sam Rutigliano lost his job after a 1–7 start as Marty Schottenheimer took over. The Browns coasted to a 5–11 record.
1985–1990: Bernie Kosar and the Broncos rivalry
In
1985, the Browns selected
University of Miami quarterback
Bernie Kosar in the Supplemental Draft. As a rookie, Kosar learned through trial by fire as he took over for
Gary Danielson midway through the 1985 season. Progressing a bit more each Sunday, the young quarterback helped turn the struggling season around, as the Browns won four of the six games Kosar started. Two young rushers,
Earnest Byner and
Kevin Mack, played a large part in the team's success as well; each ran for 1,000+ yards, a feat that would not be repeated until the
2008 season, when
Brandon Jacobs and
Derrick Ward of the
New York Giants each broke the 1,000-yard barrier. The Browns' 8–8 record gave the team the top spot in a weak AFC Central, and they looked poised to shock the heavily favored Miami Dolphins in the 1986 Divisional Playoff game with a 21–3 lead at halftime. It took
Dan Marino's spirited second-half comeback to win the game for Miami 24–21. While the Browns faithful may have felt the initial sting of disappointment, there was tremendous upside in the loss: Schottenheimer's team, with Kosar at quarterback, reached the playoffs each of the next five seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship Game in three of those years.
during a game between the Browns and Houston Oilers, 1984]]
The Browns broke into the ranks of the NFL's elite—particularly on defense—with a 12–4 showing in . Behind Kosar's 3,854 yards passing and one of the league's stingiest defenses featuring five Pro Bowlers (Chip Banks, Hanford Dixon, Bob Golic, Clay Matthews and Frank Minnifield), the Browns dominated the AFC Central with the best record in the AFC and clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the 1986 Divisional Playoffs, the Browns needed some serious heroics (and a bit of luck) to overcome the New York Jets. The Jets were leading 20–10 with less than four minutes to play, with the Browns in a dire 3rd and 24 situation. As fate would have it, Mark Gastineau was called for roughing the passer, which gave Cleveland a first down. The drive ended with Kevin Mack running into the end zone for a touchdown. After going three-and-out the Jets went back on defense, but allowed the rejuvenated Browns to again drive the ball deep into their end of the field. With 11 seconds remaining in regulation, Mark Moseley kicked a field goal to tie the game. In the first of two ensuing overtime periods, Moseley missed his next attempt, but later redeemed himself by ending what had become the second longest game in NFL history, a 23-20 victory for the Browns.
The 1986 AFC Championship Game saw the Denver Broncos arrive in the windswept, hostile confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. No one knew at the time, but the Broncos would become Cleveland's arch-nemesis of the Kosar era, having only lost once to the Browns in a span that still continues to this day. As with the Divisional Playoffs of the previous week, the AFC title game would also prove to be an overtime heart-stopper. But this time, it was John Elway and the Broncos who came away the victors. Pinned in on the Denver two-yard line with 5:11 left to play and the wind in his face, Elway embarked on his now-famous 98-yard march downfield, which is now known by NFL historians as simply "The Drive". With 37 seconds on the clock, Elway's 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson tied the game at 20 apiece. The 79,973 Browns fans in attendance were silenced when Rich Karlis' field goal attempt just made it inside the right-side upright to win the game 23-20 for Denver early into overtime.
The Browns' success was replicated in , with 22 touchdown passes and 3,000 yards for Kosar and eight Pro Bowlers (Kosar, Mack, Dixon, Golic, Minnifield, linebacker Clay Matthews, wide receiver Gerald McNeil, and offensive lineman Cody Risien). Cleveland won another AFC Central crown with a 10-5 record and easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts 38–21 in the divisional playoff to set up a rematch with the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game in Denver. With the score 21–3 in favor of the Broncos at halftime, Kosar led a third-quarter comeback with two touchdowns by Earnest Byner and another by Reggie Langhorne. Early in the fourth quarter, Webster Slaughter's 4-yard touchdown catch tied the game at 31–31. The Broncos regained the lead with a 20-yard Sammy Winder touchdown with less than five minutes to go, setting the stage for another Browns comeback...or so they thought. Kosar drove the Browns to the Broncos' 8-yard line with 1:12 to go, and handed off to Byner. Just when it looked like he had an open route to the end zone, Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille stripped him of the ball. The Broncos recovered what became known as "The Fumble". After taking an intentional safety, the Broncos had shocked the Browns again, 38–33.
Injuries to Kosar and two of his backups sidelined them for much of the season, but the Browns still finished 10–6. A final-week comeback victory in a snowstorm at Cleveland Municipal Stadium over the Houston Oilers clinched them a wild-card playoff spot and a home game rematch against the Oilers in the first round. After Mike Pagel, in for an injured Don Strock (the recently signed ex-Dolphins quarterback), threw a touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter late in the fourth quarter to pull the Browns within a point at 24–23, the Browns had three chances to recover an onside kick (due to penalties), but the Oilers recovered and stopped the Cleveland comeback.
Schottenheimer left the Browns by mutual agreement with Modell shortly after the loss to the Oilers. Modell was tired of losing in the playoffs, and Schottenheimer was tired of what he perceived as Modell's interference with his coaching personnel and game strategy. The Kansas City Chiefs quickly hired Schottenheimer for the season. Bud Carson was his replacement in Cleveland, but his tenure was short—only one and a half years.
The 1989 season opened with the Browns defeating the rival Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh 51-0, which as of 2010 remains the most lopsided game in the rivalry as well as the all-time worst loss for the Steelers. The rest of the season was headlined by Slaughter's Pro Bowl-worthy 1,236 yards receiving, and was a success at 7–3 until a 10–10 tie with Schottenheimer's Chiefs in November led to a 3-game losing streak. Two comeback wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Oilers in the season's final two weeks kept them in the playoff race. The tie ended up being the Browns' saving grace, with their 9–6–1 record winning them the AFC Central title and first-round bye over the Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers at 9–7. The Browns narrowly survived a scare from the Buffalo Bills in their divisional playoff game, when Scott Norwood missed an extra point that would have pulled Buffalo within three points and, later, when Jim Kelly's desperation pass to the end zone on the final play of the game was intercepted by Clay Matthews.
Cleveland's 34–30 win set them up for another tilt with the Broncos in Denver for the AFC Championship. While their two previous matchups went down to the wire, the result of this particular game was never in doubt. The Broncos led from start to finish, and a long Elway touchdown pass to Sammy Winder put the game away in the fourth quarter. Denver easily won 37–21.
In things began to unravel. Kosar threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (10) for the first time in his career; and the team finished last in the league in rushing offense, and near the bottom in rushing defense. Carson was fired after a 2–7 start, and the team finished 3–13, second-worst in the league. After the season Bill Belichick, defensive coordinator of the then-Super Bowl champion New York Giants, was named head coach.
1991–1995: Bill Belichick and Modell's move
The Browns saw only a slight improvement under Belichick in , finishing 6–10. Kosar was markedly better, with a ratio of 18 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, and
Leroy Hoard had a breakout season.
The next season, with Kosar sitting out much of the season and
Mike Tomczak in under center, Cleveland was in the thick of the AFC Central race before dropping their final three games to finish 7–9.
The season saw Belichick make the controversial decision of cutting Kosar while back-up Vinny Testaverde, who had been signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was injured. The Browns were in first place at the time and the Browns faltered as Todd Philcox became the starter. Kosar was signed by the Dallas Cowboys and a few days later led the Cowboys to a win in place of an injured Troy Aikman. Kosar would win a ring that season as the Cowboys won the Super Bowl with a healthy Aikman. Cleveland won only two of its final nine games finishing 7–9 once again.
Cleveland managed to right the ship in , although the quarterback situation hadn't quite improved. A solid defense led the league for fewest yards allowed per attempt, sending four players (Rob Burnett, Pepper Johnson, Michael Dean Perry, and Eric Turner) to the Pro Bowl. The Browns finished 11–5, making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In the AFC Wild Card game against the New England Patriots, the Browns' defense picked off Drew Bledsoe three times, with Testaverde completing two-thirds of his passes, to win 20–13. Arch-rival Pittsburgh ended the Browns' season the following week, however, with a 29–9 blowout in the AFC Divisional game.
Modell announced on November 6, 1995, that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore in —a move which would return the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the Colts relocated to Indianapolis after the 1983 season. The very next day, on November 7, 1995, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved an issue that had been placed on the ballot at Modell's request, before he made his decision to move the franchise, which provided $175 million in tax dollars to refurbish the outmoded and declining Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Modell's plan was later scrapped and taxpayers ultimately paid close to $300 million to demolish the old stadium and construct a new stadium for the Browns on the site of Municipal Stadium.
Browns fans reacted angrily to the news. Over 100 lawsuits were filed by fans, the city of Cleveland, and a host of others. Congress held hearings on the matter. Actor/comedian Drew Carey returned to his hometown of Cleveland on November 26, 1995, to host "Fan Jam" in protest of the proposed move. A protest was held in Pittsburgh during the Browns' game there but ABC, the network broadcasting the game, declined to cover or mention the protest. It was one of the few instances that Steelers fans and Browns fans were supporting each other, as fans in Pittsburgh felt that Modell was robbing their team of their rivalry with the Browns. Belichick resigned early in February 1996.
1996–1999: inactivity
After extensive talks between the NFL, the Browns, and officials of the two cities, Cleveland accepted a legal settlement that would keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland. In February 1996, the NFL announced that the Browns would be 'deactivated' for three years, and that
a new stadium would be built for a new Browns team, as either an
expansion team or a team moved from another city, that would begin play in 1999. Modell would in turn be granted a new franchise, the NFL's 31st, for Baltimore, the
Baltimore Ravens, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel. The Browns ceased play at the end of the 1995 season when Modell relocated the organization to Baltimore. The Browns franchise was then reactivated, and its roster restocked via an expansion draft before resuming play in the 1999 season. There would be a new team, but the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland. The move also fueled a proliferation of 12 new stadiums throughout the NFL. Using the NFL–City of Cleveland agreement's promise to supply a team to Cleveland by 1999, several NFL franchises used the threat of relocation to coerce their respective cities to build new stadiums with public funds. Such franchises include the Broncos, Patriots, Eagles, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Bengals, Steelers, Lions, Cardinals, and Colts.
Cleveland NFL Football LLC (Cleveland Browns Trust) was formed by the NFL. President of the Trust was Bill Futterer, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was the Trustee. The Trust represented the NFL in the stadium design and construction, managed the sale of suites and club seats, and sold Permanent Seat Licenses and season tickets. Additionally, the Trust reorganized the Browns Backers fan clubs across the United States, resumed coaches shows on television and radio throughout the state of Ohio, and conducted a dramatic one-year countdown celebration that incorporated the first live Internet broadcast in NFL history. The Trust operated its campaign under a Countdown to '99 theme, utilizing Hall of Famers such as Lou Groza and Jim Brown extensively, and sold nearly 53,000 season tickets—a team record in 1998. It remains the only time in professional American football history that a league operated a team "in absentia" in order to preserve the history of the franchise and to build value in that franchise for the future owner. The NFL sold the Browns as an expansion team in 1998 for a North American record $530 million for a professional franchise, more than double any previous selling price for a pro sports team. Commissioner Tagliabue announced that the Browns would be an expansion team, rather than a relocated team, at the owners meeting in March 1998.
1999–2004: rejoining the NFL
.]]
Cleveland returned to the NFL in 1999 with high hopes and expectations, featuring deep-pocketed ownership in
Al Lerner. The team's football operations appeared to be in solid hands in the form of president and CEO
Carmen Policy and general manager
Dwight Clark, both of whom had come from the
San Francisco 49ers.
Chris Palmer, former offensive coordinator of the
Jacksonville Jaguars, was hired as head coach. The team was
rebuilt from a special expansion draft and the regular NFL draft; the latter included the number one selection, QB
Tim Couch.
It was to be expected that the resurrected Browns would struggle at first, as for all practical purposes they were an expansion team. However, the Browns' first two seasons were awful even by expansion standards. 1999 started with a home game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on ESPN Sunday Night Football, with Cleveland native Drew Carey participating in the opening-game coin toss. However, it would be the only highlight for the Browns that night. The Steelers got revenge on the 51-0 loss to the Browns ten years earlier (though Steelers All-Pro center Dermontti Dawson was the only player remaining from either team from the 1989 game) by beating the Browns 43-0 in their first game back. Though it is not the team's worst loss ever, it is their second worst loss since the team returned to the NFL, behind a 48-0 loss to Jacksonville on December 3, 2000.
The 1999 season saw the Browns start 0–7 en route to a 2–14 finish, the worst in franchise history. was slightly better, with a 3–13 finish—the lone highlight being the Browns' first home win in five years, against the Steelers on September 17. Compounding the fans' frustration was the Baltimore Ravens' win over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV that season. Though the Ravens were considered a "new franchise", the team still had players such as Matt Stover and Rob Burnett who had played for the Browns before the Modell move. Palmer was fired after the season and replaced by University of Miami coach Butch Davis.
Under Davis the Browns became more competitive, finishing 7–9 in , three games out of the playoffs. With the team apparently close to being a contender again, Clark was forced to resign after the season, and Davis was named general manager as well as coach. In , the Browns finished 9–7, and thanks to multiple tiebreakers they made the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Facing Pittsburgh in the first round, the Browns led 33–21 with five minutes to go, but ultimately lost 36–33. Their largest lead in the game was actually 17 points—they led 24–7 in the third quarter; after that point the Steelers outscored them 29–9—eerily the very score the Browns had lost by in the 1994 playoff meeting.
The Browns did not sustain the momentum, finishing with double-digit losing records in and . Davis resigned in December 2004 with the team shouldering a 3–8 record; Policy had resigned earlier in the year. Offensive Coordinator Terry Robiskie was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2004 season.
2005–2008: the Savage/Crennel era
, 2007]]
Before the 2005 season began,
Romeo Crennel, a one-time Browns assistant coach under
Chris Palmer and, at the time, defensive coordinator for the
New England Patriots, was named the Browns head coach. The team also hired Phil Savage as a new general manager. But despite the changes, the 2005 and 2006 seasons saw the Browns losing trend continue, with records of 6–10 and 4–12. Prior to the Browns' final game of the
2005 NFL season, ESPN reported that team president
John Collins was going to fire Savage. However, the resulting uproar from fans and local media was strong, and on January 3, 2006 Collins resigned instead. The role of team "President and CEO" was vacated until 2008, with owner Randy Lerner filling in as de facto CEO until Michael Keenan was hired.
In the 2007 season, the team saw a remarkable turnaround on the field. After opening the season with a 34–7 defeat by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, with backup Derek Anderson assuming the starting role. In his first start, Anderson led the Browns to a 51–45 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, tying the franchise record of five touchdown passes in a single game. The Browns finished the 2007 season a surprising 10–6, barely missing the playoffs due to tie-breaker rules. Nevertheless, the record was the team's best since 1994. Six players earned Pro Bowl recognition, with Anderson starting for the AFC in place of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Coach Crennel agreed to a two-year contract extension.
The Browns entered the 2008 season with high expectations, and many pundits predicted that the team would win the division. The highlight of the season was an upset of the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants on Monday Night Football. However, inconsistent play and key injuries led to a disappointing 4–12 record. The Browns ended up using four starting quarterbacks during the season: Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn and Ken Dorsey were lost to injury; the fourth, Bruce Gradkowski, was hired mid-season. Ending with six straight losses, the Browns finished with a franchise first two consecutive shutouts Savage and Crennel were subsequently fired.
2009–present: the Holmgren era
On January 5, 2009, the Browns hired former
New York Jets coach
Eric Mangini as head coach. Mangini, who started his career as a ballboy in Cleveland, worked as an assistant under former Browns coach Bill Belichick until becoming head coach of the Jets in 2006. On January 25, the team hired
George Kokinis as the team's general manager. The Browns continued to struggle as they became accustomed to a completely new coaching staff. Throughout the preseason,
Brady Quinn and
Derek Anderson competed for the starting quarterback position. Quinn ended up winning the job, but after three games marked by team inconsistency (and an 0-3 record), he was benched in favor of Anderson. On November 1, the team announced the firing of GM Kokinis after only 8 regular season games (and a 1-7 record), with his duties essentially being assumed by Mangini. Soon afterwards, Mangini decided that a quarterback switch was to be made again, and Quinn given the starting job back. After being 1-11 at the three-quarters point in the season (12 games), the team went on a four-game winning streak and finished with a record of 5–11, highlighted by the team beating the Steelers after twelve consecutive losses against their bitter rival.
On December 21, 2009, as Mangini's first season was coming to a close, former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren was hired as team President and was given authority over the team's football operations. This hire was made after Browns owner Randy Lerner announced that he wished to bring in a "serious, credible leader" to steer the team in the right direction. After much public speculation by the media that Holmgren and Mangini would not be able to co-exist, Holmgren announced the retaining of Mangini and the entire coaching staff for the 2010 season. The following week, Holmgren hired former Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert to become the new GM for the Browns.
After taking control as President, Holmgren decided to release Anderson and trade away Quinn (getting back eventual 1,100+ yard rusher and fan favorite RB Peyton Hillis in return). He signed veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme, who had led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003, along with veteran backup Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks. During the 2010 draft, the team of Holmgren, Heckert and Mangini focused mostly on improving the teams defensive secondary, although they also managed to acquire the University of Texas's Colt McCoy in the third round; McCoy has the most recorded wins in NCAA history.
Despite heading into the 2010 season with an overall sense of optimism, the Browns started off poorly. They set an NFL record when they lost their first three games after leading in the fourth quarter. They finally won their first game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. However, both Delhomme and Wallace injured their ankles over the first five games, forcing Colt McCoy to start in Week 6 against the Steelers even though Mike Holmgren stated that he would sit and learn the entire season. Though McCoy lost his first NFL start against the Steelers, he was able to win the following week when the Browns upset the defending Super Bowl Champions, the New Orleans Saints. With this victory, the Browns defeated the defending Super Bowl Champions three years in a row, becoming the seventh NFL team to achieve this feat. The Browns continued this positive streak by outplaying the New England Patriots for a 34-14 victory in their next game. However, they lost to the New York Jets in overtime the following week, despite a late 4th quarter game tying touchdown drive by McCoy. On January 3, 2011, after losing four games in a row to end the season, Holmgren and the Browns decided to fire head coach Eric Mangini, who posted a record of 10-22 in his two seasons as head coach. Eleven days later, Holmgren signed St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to become the new head coach.
Logos and uniforms
Logos
The Browns are the only team in the NFL that does not have a logo on their helmets. However, the team has had various promotional logos throughout the years, such as the "
Brownie Elf" mascot or a Brown "B" in a white football. While Art Modell did away with the Brownie Elf in the mid-1960s, believing it to be too childish, its use has been revived under the current ownership. In 1965, NFL Creative Services designed a brown
"CB" logo for the Browns' helmet. It was never used in any games. Finally, the popularity of the Dawg Pound section at Cleveland Browns Stadium has led to a brown and orange dog being used for various Browns functions. But overall, the orange, logo-less helmet continues to remain as the primary trademark of the Cleveland Browns.
Uniforms
The original designs of the jerseys, pants, and socks have remained mostly the same, but the helmets have gone through many significant revisions throughout the years.
Jerseys: 1. Home Uniforms: brown (officially "seal brown") with white numerals and a white-orange-white-orange-white stripe sequence on the sleeves. 2. Away Uniforms: white with brown numerals and a brown-orange-brown-orange-brown stripe sequence on the sleeves. The three white or brown stripes are approximately twice the width of the two orange stripes. (The original 1946 jerseys featured block-shadow numerals.) 3. A third orange jersey was used for night games in the 1954 season, as well as from 2002-2005 when the NFL encouraged teams to create a third jersey.
Pants: 1. White - white with an orange-brown-orange stripe sequence on the sides (the stripes are of equal width). 2. Brown - solid brown (no stripes). Orange pants with a wider brown-white-brown stripe sequence were worn from 1975–1983 and become symbolic of the "Kardiac Kids" era. The orange pants were worn again occasionally in 2003 and 2004.
Socks: Brown or white with matching stripe pattern to jerseys (1946–1983; 1985–1995; 1999–2002 mid-season); solid brown with brown jerseys and solid orange with white jerseys (1984); solid brown when worn with white pants (2002 mid-season–2008); white striped socks with brown pants (2009) Exceptions: White striped socks appeared occasionally with the white jerseys in 2003–2005 and again in 2007. Brown striped socks appeared with 1957-style throwback uniforms in 2006-2008.
Helmet: Solid white (1946–1949); solid white for day games and solid orange for night games (1950–1951); orange with a single white stripe (1952–1956); orange with a single white stripe and brown numerals on the sides (1957–1959); orange with a brown-white-brown stripe sequence and brown numerals on the sides (1960); orange with a brown-white-brown stripe sequence (1961–1995 and 1999–present).
Over the years, the Browns have had on-again / off-again periods of wearing white for their home games, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as in the early 2000s after the team returned to the league. Until recently, when more NFL teams have started to wear white at home at least once a season, the Browns were the only non-subtropical team north of the Mason-Dixon line to wear white at home on a regular basis.
Numerals first appeared on the jersey sleeves in 1961. Over the years, there have been minor revisions to the sleeve stripes, the first occurring in 1968 (brown jerseys worn in early season) and 1969 (white and brown jerseys) when stripes began to be silk screened onto the sleeves and separated from each other to prevent color bleeding. However, the basic five-stripe sequence has remained intact (with the exception of the 1984 season). A recent revision was the addition of the initials "AL" to honor team owner Al Lerner who died in 2002.
Orange pants with a brown-white-brown stripe sequence were worn from 1975–1983 and become symbolic of the "Kardiac Kids" era. The orange pants were worn again occasionally in 2003 and 2004.
Other than the helmet, the uniform was completely redesigned for the 1984 season. New striping patterns appeared on the white jerseys, brown jerseys and pants. Solid brown socks were worn with brown jerseys and solid orange socks were worn with white jerseys. Brown numerals on the white jerseys were outlined in orange. White numerals on the brown jerseys were double outlined in brown and orange. (Orange numerals double outlined in brown and white appeared briefly on the brown jerseys in one pre-season game.) However, this particular uniform set was not popular with the fans, and in 1985 the uniform was returned to a look similar to the original design. It remained that way until 1995.
In 1999, the expansion Browns adopted the traditional design with two exceptions: 1.) Jersey-sleeve numbers were moved to the shoulders, and 2.) The orange-brown-orange pants stripes were significantly widened.
Experimentation with the uniform design began in 2002. An alternate orange jersey was introduced that season as the NFL encouraged teams to adopt a third jersey, and a major design change was made when solid brown socks appeared for the first time since 1984 and were used with white, brown and orange jerseys. Other than 1984, striped socks (matching the jersey stripes) had been a signature design element in the team's traditional uniform. The white striped socks would appeared occasionally with the white jerseys in 2003–2005 and 2007.
Experimentation continued in 2003 and 2004 when the traditional orange-brown-orange stripes on the white pants were replaced by two variations of a brown-orange-brown sequence, one in which the stripes were joined (worn with white jerseys) and the other in which they were separated by white (worn with brown jerseys). The joined sequence was used exclusively with both jerseys in 2005. In 2006, the traditional orange-brown-orange sequence returned.
Additionally in 2006, the team reverted to an older uniform style, featuring gray face masks; the original stripe pattern on the brown jersey sleeves (The white jersey has had that sleeve stripe pattern on a consistent basis since the 1985 season.) and the older, darker shade of brown.
The Browns wore brown pants for the first time in team history on August 18, 2008, preseason game against the New York Giants. The pants contain no stripes or markings. The team had the brown pants created as an option for their away uniform when they integrated the gray facemask in 2006. They were not worn again until the Browns "family" scrimmage on August 9, 2009 with white-striped socks. The Browns have continued to wear the brown pants throughout the 2009 season. Browns quarterback Brady Quinn supported the team's move to wearing the brown pants full time, claiming that the striped pattern on the white pants "prohibit[ed] mobility".
However, the fans generally did not like the brown pants, and after being used for only one season, the team returned to their white shirt-on-white pants in 2010. Coach Eric Mangini told The Plain Dealer (newspaper) the Browns won't use the brown pants anymore. "It wasn't very well-received," Mangini said. "I hope we can get to the point where we can wear fruit on our heads and people wouldn't notice."
Rivals
The Cleveland Browns has rivalries with all three of its
AFC North opponents. In addition, the team has had historical rivalries with the
Baltimore Colts,
Denver Broncos, and
Detroit Lions.
The team's biggest rival in the AAFC was the San Francisco 49ers, though this has cooled and in some cases turned into a friendly relationship, as many 49ers personnel helped the Browns relaunch in 1999 as well as current team President Mike Holmgren having started his NFL career in San Francisco. In addition, 49ers owners John York & Denise DeBartolo York reside in the Youngstown, Ohio suburb of Canfield, Ohio, 76 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Often called the "Turnpike Rivalry", the Browns' main rival has long been the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Though the Browns dominated this rivalry early in the series (winning the first eight matchups), the Steelers currently have the all-time edge 61-56, making it the oldest rivalry in the
AFC and also the most even. Former Browns owner
Art Modell scheduled home games against the Steelers on Saturday night from 1964-1970 to help fuel the rivalry. The rivalry has been fueled by the proximity of the two teams, number of championships both teams have won, players and personnel having played and/or coached for both sides, and personal bitterness. Though the rivalry has cooled in Pittsburgh due to the Modell move (as well as the Browns having a 4-20 record against the Steelers since returning to the league in 1999), the Steelers remain the top rival for Cleveland.
Cincinnati Bengals
Originally conceived due to the personal animosity between
Paul Brown and
Art Modell, the "Battle of Ohio" between the Browns and the
Cincinnati Bengals have been fueled by the sociocultural differences between
Cincinnati and Cleveland, a shared history between the two teams, and even similar team colors, since Brown used the exact shade of orange for the Bengals that he used for the Browns. (Though this has changed since then, as the Bengals now use a brighter shade of orange.) Modell, in fact, moved the Browns to the AFC after the
AFL–NFL merger in order to have a rivalry with the Bengals. The rivalry has also produced two of the eight highest-scoring games in NFL history. Cincinnati has the all-time edge 38-36.
Baltimore Ravens
Created as a result of the
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, the rivalry between the Browns and the Ravens is more directed at Art Modell than the team itself, and is simply considered a divisional game in Baltimore. The Ravens still have many personnel that were in Cleveland at the time of the move, and won
Super Bowl XXXV only five years after the move to the dismay of Browns fans. Unlike the other two rivalries, this one is more lopsided: Baltimore leads it 16-7.
Fans
Perhaps the most visible Browns fans are those that can be found in the
Dawg Pound. Originally the name for the bleacher section located in the open (east) end of old
Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the current incarnation of is likewise located in the east end of
Cleveland Browns Stadium and still features hundreds of orange and brown clad fans sporting various canine-related paraphernalia. The fans adopted that name in 1984 after members of the Browns defense used it to describe the team's defense.
Retired cornerback Hanford Dixon, who played his entire career for the Browns (1981–1989), is credited with naming the Cleveland Browns defense 'The Dawgs' in the mid-80's. Dixon and fellow teammates Frank Minnifield, and Eddie Johnson would bark at each other and to the fans in the bleachers at the Cleveland Stadium to fire them up. It was from Dixon's naming that the Dawg Pound subsequently took its title. The fans adopted that name in the years after. and is considered the largest sports-fan organization in the USA.
A 2006 study conducted by Bizjournal determined that Browns fans are the most loyal fans in the NFL. The study, while not scientific, was largely based on fan loyalty during winning and losing seasons, attendance at games, and challenges confronting fans (such as inclement weather or long-term poor performance of their team). The study noted that Browns fans filled 99.8% of the seats at Cleveland Browns Stadium during the last seven seasons, despite a combined record of 36 wins and 76 losses over that span.
Following Browns owner Randy Lerner's acquisition of English football club Aston Villa, official Villa outlets have started selling Cleveland Browns goods such as jerseys and NFL balls. This has raised interest in England and strengthened the link between the two sporting clubs. Aston Villa supporters have set up an organization known as the Aston (Villa) Browns Backers of Birmingham.
Players of note
Current roster
Players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Cleveland Browns have the fourth largest number of players enshrined in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame with a total of sixteen enshrined players elected based on their performance with the Browns, and five more players elected who spent at least one year with the Browns franchise. No Browns players were inducted in the inaugural induction class of 1963.
Otto Graham was the first Brown to be enshrined as a member of the class of 1965, and the most recent Brown to be included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is
Gene Hickerson, who was a member of the class of 2007.
Cleveland Browns Legends
The Legends program honors former Browns who made noteworthy contributions to the history of the franchise. In addition to all the Hall of Famers listed above, the Legends list includes:
Retired uniform numbers
Browns Ring of Honor
Beginning in 2010, the Browns established a Ring of Honor, honoring the greats from the past by having their names displayed around the upper deck of Cleveland Browns Stadium. The inaugural class in the Browns Ring of Honor was unveiled during the home opener on September 19, 2010, and featured the sixteen Hall of Famers listed above who went in to the Hall of Fame as Browns.
Starting quarterbacks
First-round draft picks
Coaches of note
Head coaches
Paul Brown 1946–1962
Blanton Collier 1963–1970
Nick Skorich 1971–1974
Forrest Gregg 1975–1977
Dick Modzelewski 1977 (Interim)
Sam Rutigliano 1978–1984
Marty Schottenheimer 1984–1988
Bud Carson 1989–1990
Jim Shofner 1990 (Interim)
Bill Belichick 1991–1995
Chris Palmer 1999–2000
Butch Davis 2001–2004
Terry Robiskie 2004 (Interim)
Romeo Crennel 2005–2008
Eric Mangini 2009–2010
Pat Shurmur 2011-Present
Current staff
Radio and TV
Since 2001, the Browns' flagship radio stations are
WMMS FM 100.7 and
WTAM AM 1100.
Jim Donovan--sports director of
WKYC channel 3 (
NBC)--is the play-by-play announcer, former Browns offensive tackle
Doug Dieken is the color analyst, with Clevelandbrowns.com and
SportsTime Ohio personality Jamir Howerton serving as sideline reporter. WTAM morning co-host/sports director Mike Snyder, and former Browns quarterback
Mike Pagel host the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. During the preseason and early September games,
WTAM will broadcast the
Cleveland Indians games while
WMMS will broadcast Browns games when both teams play at the same time.
Preseason telecasts air on WKYC, with Jim Donovan and Bernie Kosar in the booth, and WKYC weekend sports anchor Dave Chudowski as sideline reporter. When Donovan does TV, Mike Snyder moves to radio play-by-play, and WTAM evening host Bob Frantz handles pregame/halftime/postgame duties.
SportsTime Ohio is the official cable home of the team, and airs numerous weekly Browns related programs.
When a game is broadcast on either ESPN or NFL Network, a local over-the-air station will simulcast the game (as per NFL policy). WJW-TV channel 8 (Fox) has been airing the bulk of these games in recent years, though Browns TV partner WKYC has occasionally picked up the games as well.
Cleveland native
Arsenio Hall's television program,
The Arsenio Hall Show, was known for the audience's shouting "Woof, woof, woof!" while pumping their fists—a chant that was used by fans of the Cleveland Browns football team. He would refer to a section of the live audience as his "dawg pound."
Cleveland Brown is the name of a character originally featured on the Fox TV show Family Guy, and the central character of the spin-off series The Cleveland Show.
References
Further reading
External links
Cleveland Browns official web site
Sports E-Cyclopedia.com
Category:Sports clubs established in 1946
Category:All-America Football Conference
Category:National Football League teams
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![Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland, Ohio, near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is the home of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. The stadium sits on 31 acres (13 ha) of land on the shores of Lake Erie and has a capacity of over 73,200.[1] The normal use of the stadium is only for football; however, the stadium was built with a playing surface large enough to allow it to host international soccer matches.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110617232014im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/e4/bc/3670871463803f823eb6e3fcde1d_grande.jpg "Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland, Ohio, near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is the home of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. The stadium sits on 31 acres (13 ha) of land on the shores of Lake Erie and has a capacity of over 73,200.[1] The normal use of the stadium is only for football; however, the stadium was built with a playing surface large enough to allow it to host international soccer matches.")
![Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland, Ohio, near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is the home of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. The stadium sits on 31 acres (13 ha) of land on the shores of Lake Erie and has a capacity of over 73,200.[1] The normal use of the stadium is only for football; however, the stadium was built with a playing surface large enough to allow it to host international soccer matches.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110617232014im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/e4/bc/3670871463803f823eb6e3fcde1d_thumb.jpg "Cleveland Browns Stadium is a football stadium located at North Coast Harbor in Cleveland, Ohio, near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is the home of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. The stadium sits on 31 acres (13 ha) of land on the shores of Lake Erie and has a capacity of over 73,200.[1] The normal use of the stadium is only for football; however, the stadium was built with a playing surface large enough to allow it to host international soccer matches.")
