Countdown to 2020: Best Cleveland Browns player to wear No. 58

Who is the best Cleveland Browns player to wear 58?

The countdown to the 2020 NFL season is upon us. With 58 days remaining until the Browns season opener, we continue the countdown by celebrating the best Cleveland Browns player to ever wear number 58: Mac Speedie.

Mac Speedie was a member of the inaugural Cleveland Browns squad in 1946. His path to playing pro football took many twists and turns as it did for many young men in the early 1940’s. Although, even by most young aspiring athletes’ standards of his day, Speedie’s path to greatness was unique.

Speedie had Perthes Disease as a young child. Perthes Disease is a condition that is characterized by a lack of blood supply to the hip. This lack of blood flow can cause the head of the femur bone to die. As a result of his condition, Speedie wore braces on his legs for several years in an attempt to correct the condition.

When Speedie had the braces removed, one of his legs was shorter than the other. Miraculously Speedie’s athleticism was unaffected by the nonsymmetrical length of his legs. Speedie flourished in every athletic venture he attempted.

That trend followed Speedie all the way to college. Speedie played football, basketball, and track for the University of Utah. On the football field, Speedie was a standout end (what we would refer to as a wide receiver) during his time playing collegiately for the Utah Redskins.

However, after college, Speedie entered the U.S. Army due to the United States’ involvement in World War II. He was stationed in Wyoming at Fort Warren and played football for their military team, the Broncos. It was there that Paul Brown became acquainted with Speedie when Brown’s Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets faced the Fort Warren Broncos on November 25, 1944.

After the war concluded, Speedie had many suitors bidding for his talents. Brown jumped at the chance to get Speedie on the newly formed Cleveland Browns and offered him a contract. Speedie accepted Brown’s offer and made his way to Cleveland.

Speedie along with Dante Lavelli formed the most prolific tandem of pass-catchers during the All-America Football Conference’s four-year existence. Speedie dominated the AAFC, leading the league in receptions three times and in receiving yards twice. Speedie was named to the All-AAFC first team every year of the league’s duration. The Browns were the only champions the league ever knew, winning four straight titles between 1946 and 1949.

When the Browns were absorbed into the NFL prior to the 1950 season. Speedie and the Browns picked up right where they left off in the AAFC, winning the championship their first year in the more established league. Speedie was named to the Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-NFL honors in 1950.

Speedie played two more seasons in a Browns uniform before leaving the team to play in the Canadian Football League due to a dispute with coach Brown. His final season in Cleveland saw him lead the league in receptions, earning another first-team All-NFL nomination as well as another Pro Bowl nod.

Speedie passed away in 1993, however, his name will finally be getting called in Canton, Ohio this summer as he is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His accolades include: four AAFC championships, one NFL championship, four first-team All-AAFC, and two All-NFL appearances, and he was named to the 1940’s All-Decade Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as the Cleveland Browns Legends Program.

Mac Speedie is without a doubt the best player to ever wear number 58 for the Cleveland Browns.