Top Five 1940s Cleveland Browns games to watch while social distancing
Here are five Cleveland Browns games from the 1940s for you to watch while social distancing at home, to make life a little more bearable.
This is the perfect time for Cleveland Browns fans to catch up on the history of our team, since most of us are spending a lot of time at home, hopefully staying safe from Covid-19. Amazingly, there is quite a bit of video footage from the Browns of the 1940s. Anyway, it is not nearly as depressing as current events.
Believe it or not, there is quite a bit of film from the 1940s Browns which you can watch on youtube, much of which has been posted by persons with handles “Comrade Dobler” and “Classic Sports” among others.
Most fans are aware that the Browns were created in 1946 to play in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). This should not be compared with the XFL or Alliance of American Football (AAF). The AAFC was not a minor league at all. Rather, it was headed by a group of businessmen who wanted to wrest control of the pro game away from the NFL. They outspent the NFL and really did sign the biggest stars of college.
So here come the 1946 Cleveland Browns, filling the void as the World Champion Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles. A year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, Paul Brown knocked it down by signing fullback Marion Motley and defensive linemen Bill Willis, both of whom made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Quarterback Otto Graham had made a name for himself in 1941, leading the Northwestern Wildcats over the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes, coached by Paul Brown. When Brown became coach of the Browns, he lured Graham away from professional basketball, where he had been a member of the Rochester Royals who were champions of the National Basketball League, the forerunner to the NBA.
Star pass-catchers included Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie. Center Frank Gatsky made it to the Hall of Fame. Complementing Motley was halfback Edgar “Special Delivery” Jones.
On defense, the team was captained by linebacker Lou Saban (yup, Nick’s dad), though Willis was the best player. The 1946 Browns still hold the pro football record with an amazing 67 defensive takeaways, led by ex-Cleveland-Ram Tommy Collela with 10 interceptions.
Defensive back Cliff Lewis began the season as the starting quarterback but made a name for himself in the defensive backfield. John Yanakor was a pass-rushing defensive end who also saw action as a wide receiver.
In addition to the highlight reels, youtube has some game footage available from 1946 but in many cases, the play by play audio has not been retained. It may be that the films were made by Paul Brown’s crew for scouting purposes, and not by the media. The broadcasts were live in those days and not taped, and so there may be no record of them.
You may notice that the Browns featured white helmets in those days. They were not always orange as is commonly believed. Also, Otto Graham appears as number 60. Later in his career, he switched to the more quarterback-like number 14. But he began the season as a defensive safety and part-time quarterback, but it soon became obvious he was the man destined to be the quarterback for this team.
Although your humble correspondent is himself an old geezer, the early days of the Browns were before my time. Fortunately, written accounts of the games are preserved in the Cleveland Plain Dealer articles by Harold Sauerbrie, the New York Times, Wikipedia and other sources on the internet.