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When Cleveland Football was a Dynasty
By Mark Hodermarsky
(This article and quiz appeared in the December 27
issue of the Cleveland Plain Dealer)
How many of the following nicknames can you match with five Cleveland Pro Football Hall of Famers?
- “Gunner”
- “The Cat”
- “Glue Fingers”
- "The Toe”
- “Automatic Otto”
Two popular players should jump out at you, while the three others might warrant either a grandparent’s (more likely, a great-grandparent’s) recollection or a Browns history text. (See answers at the bottom of this article)
Demonstrating again that no more passionate fan base exists in the NFL, hopes of playoff football and a chance to see the local team play in the league’s final game have again sparked a satisfying buzz around Cleveland, for obvious reasons. The wait has been agonizingly long. The Browns have never won a Super Bowl and have not been crowned NFL champions in nearly 60 years (since Dec. 27, 1964). What few fans realize, however, is that no other city can claim a championship run like ours.
Between 1945 and 1950, our professional football teams won an incredible six consecutive league titles, including as the 1945 NFL Cleveland Rams, the 1946-1949 AAFC (All-America Football Conference) Cleveland Browns, and the 1950 NFL Cleveland Browns. The Browns grabbed two additional NFL championships in 1954 and 1955, making it eight crowns in 11 years — an incomparable and astonishing display of football brilliance. With that string, our city’s love affair with football had become forever fixed in our hearts. Those championships, of course, resulted from excellent coaching and putting extraordinary players on the field. Indeed, among the many Cleveland Browns in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, more than 10 coached and played on squads in this era. (You could add HOF inductees Doug Atkins, a defensive end, and Chuck Noll, a guard, who were briefly with the Browns on title teams, but they earned their Canton busts as a Chicago Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler, respectively.) The Hall of Famers from those teams include:
· Paul Brown (most innovative coach of his time)
· Len Ford (initially a fine offensive player but who became a
devastating defensive end)
· Frank “Gunner” Gatski (no tougher center has played the
game)
· Otto “Automatic Otto” Graham (legendary quarterback who
in his 10-year career played in 10 consecutive championship
games and won seven)
· Dante “Glue Fingers” Lavelli (a receiver famous for his sure
hands and clutch receptions)
· Mike McCormack (cited by Paul Brown as the finest offensive
tackle in history)
· Marion Motley (the most punishing running back ever to have
carried the ball)
(Re-printed by permission)
NOTE: Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Mark Hodermarski taught English for 40 years before his recent retirement. He is a published author/editor (8 books), book critic, and author of numerous articles on various subjects in a variety of publications.
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