Two days in a row, two birthdays for former Browns enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A day after running back Jim Brown celebrated his 80th birthday on Wednesday, we need to recognize the fact that defensive end Len Ford would have turned 90 today.

Ford, who was born Feb. 18, 1926 in Washington, D.C. and died in 1972 at the way-too-young-age of 46, spent his first two years in pro football with the Los Angeles Dons in 1948 and ’49 and then came to the Browns in 1950 after the All-America Football Conference dissolved. A University of Michigan product, he played eight years with the Browns, through 1957, was selected to four Pro Bowls and was named All-NFL on four occasions. He played in seven NFL Championship Games, three of which the Browns won.

As the right end, Ford went against HOF left tackle/kicker Lou Groza every day in practice for eight years. Seeing that, in itself, would have been worth the price of admission. At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Ford, who played some pro basketball, had a unique combination of size, strength and quickness. The same could be said for the 6-3, 240-pound Groza, who was captain of his Martins Ferry (Ohio) High School basketball team that won the Class A (big-school) state title in 1941.

Ford, who finished his career by playing with the Green Bay Packers in 1958, was inducted into the HOF in 1976. He is one of just two Browns defensive players, the other being middle guard Bill Willis, his teammate for his first four seasons in Cleveland, to be enshrined in the Hall. That’s a shame, for the Browns had the best defense in the NFL through the 1950s.

Ford’s daughter, Deborah Geraldine Bledsoe Ford, is a well-known judge in Detroit.