Mount Rushmore of Browns right tackles

6+4+3=2 Shirts under $15!

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 16th in a series of stories about the Mount Rushmore-worthy players – the best players – in Browns history. Today we look at right tackles.

By STEVE KING

The Browns have a long, storied tradition at left tackle.

That’s well-known. It’s one of the team’s calling cards.

But what may not be so obvious, though, is that the Browns also have a pretty strong history at right tackle.

The Mount Rushmore of Browns right tackles is led by a Pro Football Hall of Famer in Mike McCormack, who played with the Browns from 1954-62, John Sandusky (1950-55), who preceded McCormack, Monte Clark (1963-69), who followed McCormack, and Cody Risien (1979-83 and 1985-89), who played during the Kardiac Kids and Bernie Kosar eras.

Here they are:

MIKE MCCORMACK

Think about an offensive line that had Hall of Famers at both tackles, with McCormack and then Lou Groza on the left side. No wonder the Browns did so well during that era. A Kansas product who was a third-choice of the New York Yankees in the 1951 NFL Draft and played with them for one season before going to Cleveland in 1954, McCormack made it to five Pro Bowls – in a row.

JOHN SANDUSKY

A second-round choice of the Browns, at No. 18 overall, out of Villanova in their first NFL Draft in 1950, he became the starter in 1952 following the retirement of Lou Rymkus and remained there for four years, during which the team made it to the NFL Championship Game four times, with two titles.

MONTE CLARK

A USC product, he was drafted in the fourth round by the San Francisco 49ers in 1959 and played with them for three years and then the Dallas Cowboys for a season before coming to Cleveland in 1963. He became a starter the following year, when the Browns won their last NFL championship.

CODY RISIEN

The Browns hit it big in 1979 when they were able to draft their right tackle for the next decade in the seventh round, at No. 183 overall, out of Texas A&M. Risien, who made it to two Pro Bowls, was extremely reliable, and consistent. It’s no coincidence that in 1984, when they were without him after he suffered a knee injury late in the fourth quarter of the preseason finale, the Browns nosedived to a 5-11 finish after they were predicted before the season to win the AFC Central title.

 NEXT: Left tackles.  

 Cleveland Browns:

• “Browns’ Landry Ahead Of Schedule In Rehab From Hip Surgery” (AP) 
• 6+4+3=2 Shirts under $15!
• “Browns sign Harrison Bryant, Donovan Peoples-Jones” (PFT)
•  New 2020 Cleveland Browns Jerseys
• Missing Cleveland Stadium (Browns Daily Dose)
• “Browns create virtual locker room Thursdays to build camaraderie during pandemic” (ABJ) 
• “Jarvis Landry building relationship with new receivers coach Chad O’Shea after departure of Adam Henry” (BrownsZone) 
• Browns great Bill Nelsen (Browns Daily Dose)

We may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this Mount Rushmore of Browns right tackles article.