Posted 14 years ago
Leonard
(1 item)
From the Russ Berrie Co.
I contacted the Russ Berrie Co. and they cant find this item in there
records. I gave them an item #.
Wonder what its worth?
1946 Cleveland Mug | ||
| American Football Memorabilia382 of 426 |  |  |
1946 was the Browns first year. They played in the All America Football Conference.
My Dad told me when I was just a kid that the upstart Browns ,(named after founder and coach Paul Brown ) were mostly scoffed at as a bunch of amatures and not a serious pro team . When a play-off was arranged between leagues they responded by drubbing their opponents somthing like 49 to zip . Paul Brown was an innovator who searched obscure colleges in the south for talent that escaped the mainstream ,such as super-star Jim Brown .His team was a powerhouse for many years . Paul Brown was forced out of Cleveland and created another pretty good team , The Cincinatti Bengals
The merger between the NFL and AAFC came in 1950. The Niners, Browns and Colts were the only AAFC teams that moved into the NFL. The NFL teams hadn't seen the type of timing routes, sideline passes and short passing game that the Browns employed. The Browns beat the Rams for the NFL Championship that year.
During the four years that the Browns were in the AAFC they only lost four games. Two to the 49ers and two to the L.A. Dons.
Thanks for the comments Shadrack .They also hadn't seen the likes of Jim Brown, plowing forward with two or three guys clamped on to him . I live in Seattle now and we just got a new head coach(Pete Carroll) who came from a head coach position at USC . Paul Brown came from a high school coaching position ! ( Massillon high) to become one of best ever pro coaches . , Time will tell if Pete has the stuff of greatness . Jack