Such things as Rivalry Week have been touted any number of times around the football landscape.
But how about Rivalry Day?
That’s what today’s date, Dec. 28, has been in history for the Browns.
It was on this date in 1969 that the Browns beat their chief rival at that time in the playoffs. And it was on this date in 1952 that the Browns lost in the postseason to what eventually turned out to be their main rival at that time.
Here’s a a look-see:
*1969 – Browns 38, Dallas Cowboys 14 – Eastern Conference Championship Game — at the Cotton Bowl – The Browns had turned the tide against the Cowboys, and this – the final chapter of the teams’ great rivalry through the last half of the 1950s – cemented it.
After losing four straight times to the Cowboys, including once in the playoffs, and not scoring more than 14 points in any one of those games, the Browns recorded three consecutive victories over Dallas, including twice in the playoffs, and scored 31 points or more in each of them. This was also the Browns’ first win at Dallas during that stretch.
The Browns had blistered Dallas 42-10 in mid-season in 1969, scoring their second-most points ever against the Cowboys, and the most since the first meeting in the series in the team’s expansion season of 1960. The Browns jumped on them early in that game, leading 28-3 at halftime, and they did so again, going on top 17-0 and then increasing the margin to 24-0 in the third quarter.
In sprinting to that advantage, Bo Scott had a pair of two-yard touchdown runs, Bill Nelsen threw a six-yard scoring pass to tight end Milt Morin and Don Cockroft kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Leroy Kelly, who led all rushers with 66 yards in 19 carries, added a one yard TD run in the fourth quarter, then safety Walt Sumner sealed the deal, pushing the margin to 38-7 with an 88-yard interception return for a TD off Craig Morton.
The Browns put the clamps on Morton, limiting him to just 8 completions in 24 attempts for only 92 yards with two interceptions. Rookie standout Calvin Hill, who would later play four seasons for the Browns during the Kardiac Kids era, was held to 17 yards in eight carries.
Nelsen completed 18 of 27 attempts for 219 yards and the TD with no interceptions. His favorite target was wide receiver Paul Warfield with eight receptions for 99 yards. Morin added four catches for 52 yards.
The completion of the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, which included the Browns moving to the re-purposed AFL, the AFC, made the rivalry with the Cowboys a thing of the past.
But before they headed to the AFC, the Browns were headed to Minnesota in a week for a rematch with the Vikings in the final NFL Championship Game in the old format.
1952 – Detroit Lions 17, Browns 7 – NFL Championship Game – at Cleveland Stadium – The Browns did a lot of good things in trying to recapture the league title they had lost the year before, rolling up 384 yards, or 126 more than the Lions. But it still wasn’t enough as the Browns failed to capitalize on two drives inside the Detroit 10 in the fourth quarter.
The Browns’ only score came on Harry “Chick” Jagade’s seven-yard TD run in the third quarter to cut their deficit to 14-7. He rushed for 104 yards in 15 carries and Marion Motley added 74 yards in just six tries as Cleveland ran through the Lions to the tune of 227 yards.
Otto Graham completed 20 of 36 passes for 191 yards with an interception. A pair of running backs, Rex Bumgardner and Ray Renfro (who would later be moved to wide receiver), both had four receptions, as did wideout Dante Lavelli.
Lions quarterback Bobby Lane was held to just 68 yards passing but did run for 47 yards, including a two-yarder for a TD. Doak Walker also sprinted 67 yards for a score as Detroit had 199 yards rushing as a team.
This was the first of three straight NFL title games, and four in a six-year span, that the teams would play against one another in the 1950s. The Lions would win three of them.
