June a busy month in formation of the Browns
By STEVE KING
June is not really a football month.
Indeed, the beginning of summer is set aside for vacations, time at the beach and trips to amusement parks, and, for sports fans, following Major League Baseball.
Despite all that, though, the first weeks of June have seen several significant events in the formation of the Browns and their early years.
It was 77 years ago, on June 4, 1944, just two days before D-Day and the Allies’ invasion of Normandy in World War II, that a group of prospective owners met in St. Louis about the formation of a new pro football league to compete with the NFL. The meeting was called by Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward and included another person with strong ties to that city, native Chicagoan Arthur :Mickey” McBride, a Cleveland businessman. Three months later, on Sept. 3, the formation of the All-America Football Conference was announced, and McBride was awarded the Cleveland franchise.
A year later, on June 8, 1945 as World War II was winding down, the Cleveland’s AAFC team finally had a name after a week-long newspaper contest. It was Panthers. It was chosen by 36 people, including Lawrence,Mass. resident John Hartnett, who was stationed in Cleveland while serving in the Navy. He won the prize of a $1,000 war bond for writing the best letter explaining his suggestion.
Later, a man who owned a since defunct Cleveland semi-pro team called the Panthers, laid claim to the name and said he would be interested in selling his rights to it to the new franchise. McBride said he wasn’t interested and another name-the-team contest was held. Overwhelmingly, the name of “Browns” was submitted in honor of Paul Brown, the man who had been hired as head coach and general manager.
Brown, who was coaching the college team at Great Lakes Naval Academy during the war, was ultra-popular in Ohio after coaching Massillon High School to national prominence in the 1930s and then, in 1942, guiding Ohio State to its first national championship. Brown was all about the team aspect, and so the last thing he wanted was to have the club named for him, but McBride, who understood promotion and public relations, insisted and Brown relented. And so it was the Browns. They and the rest of the AAFC began play in 1946.
McBride, who was in the taxi cab business, owned the Browns for their first seven seasons, through 1952, during which they played in seven league championship games, winning the title five times. It was 68 years ago, on June 11, 1953, that McBride sold the Browns to a syndicate headed by Cleveland businessman Dave Jones for $600,000, the largest amount ever for a pro football team.
His group also included Homer Marshman, a Cleveland attorney and the first president of the NFL’s Cleveland Rams in 1937; Ellis Ryan, former president of the Cleveland Indians, Saul Silberman, owner of Randall Park race track in suburban Cleveland; and Ralph DeChiaro. Robert Gries, who owned a small piece of the Browns under McBride, retained his interest in the club, and Brown continued as head coach and general manager, in full charge of all football operations.
The Jones group owned the Browns for eight years, selling them in 1961 to some guy named Art Modell.
