A day to remember Don Steinbrunner
By STEVE KING
We love football.
We really do.
And we love watching and enjoying the Browns.
It’s been that way for 76 years, since 1946, a year after World War II ended.
We owe that privilege to the men and women who have served in the armed forces down through the years and protected our country and our freedoms. That’s especially true for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.
On this Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/3NtDdiOudB
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 30, 2022
Included in that latter list is Don Steinbrunner, an offensive tackle for the Browns on their 1953 team that went 11-1 to win the Eastern Conference title and then lost 17-16 to the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game. He was the first former NFL player to be a casualty in the Vietnam War when his plane was shot down over South Vietnam on July 20, 1967, killing all five crewmen aboard. He is one of just a small group of pro football players who died in the service of their country, the others being Bob Kalsu of the Buffalo Bills and Pat Tillman of the Arizona Cardinals.
It is today, Memorial Day, when we honor all of those brave, fallen heroes, whether they played football or not.
Those early Browns teams were filled with players who had served in World War II, such as Pro Football Hall of Famers Otto Graham, Lou Groza and Dante Lavelli. They came out of the war and resumed their football careers. Any number of times, when games got tight and somebody needed to step up and save the day, they did so without batting an eye or breaking a sweat.
“Pressure? You’ve got to be kidding me,” they would say when asked about their performance. “There’s no pressure here. This is football. Now, fighting in a war, getting shot at and trying to stay alive? That’s pressure.”
Take a moment or two today to remember Don Steinbrunner and all those others who paid with their lives for our freedoms, including the ability to follow our favorite sports teams.
