Back in the day when they were winning championships, the Browns had a lot of firsts in pro football – good firsts, that is.
But they’ve had some bad firsts, too, and the worst of them – the saddest of them – is that a former Brown became the first pro football player – and one of just two overall – to have died while serving in the Vietnam War.
Don Steinbrunner, an offensive tackle who played one year for the Browns and in the NFL in 1953, was killed on July 20, 1967 when the C-123 Provider plane he was piloting as a major with the U.S. Air Force was shot down over Kon Tum, South Vietnam. He was just 35. The other four crewmen aboard also died.
Steinbrunner, who refused a safer assignment following an injury so as to be able to continue flying missions, was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The second – and last – NFL player to be killed while serving in Vietnam was Buffalo Bills guard Bob Kalsu . He died four years and a day after Steinbrunner, on July 21, 1970, at the age of 25.
The passing of Kalsu made all the headlines. And that’s understandable, for he had started for the Bills just two years before, in 1968, and was named their rookie of the year before enlisting in the Army.
But the death of Steinbrunner, probably because he had been out of football for 13 years, went almost completely unnoticed at the time in terms of its relevance to the NFL.
The Browns formally honored Steinbrunner on Nov. 14, 2004 in a touching ceremony at their headquarters in Berea that included his widow, Diane Steinbrunner-Barron.
Steinbrunner, who was an all-state athlete in both football and basketball at Mount Baker (WA) High School before going on to Washington State, was picked by the Browns in the sixth round, at No. 71 overall, in the 1953 NFL Draft. He was cut in training camp by the talent-laden club but then was re-signed after four regular-season games. He was with the Browns through the remainder of the year as they went 11-1 to tie for their best regular-season winning percentage ever in the NFL (.917) and then were edged 17-16 by the Detroit Lions in the league championship game.
Steinbrunner had been in the ROTC in college and began fulfilling his two-year active duty requirement in 1954. He thought about returning to the Browns when that was up, but instead continued to serve in the Air Force. He was sent to Vietnam in 1966.
Today on Memorial Day, when we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to this country, please consider including ex-Brown Don Steinbrunner in your thoughts and prayers.
