Of The Golden Trifecta and a way-too-long drought
By STEVE KING
We're mourning the loss of Dick Schafrath, a Browns Legend who was one of the best offensive linemen in our franchise's history.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 16, 2021
📰 » https://t.co/bWMk8smHZW pic.twitter.com/H0eyC07WKS
The passing the other day at the age of 84 of the great Dick Schafrath, one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL during his 13-year career with the Cleveland Browns, reminds us of two things, one really cool and iconic for local fans, and the other bad, and miserable.
First of all, it reminds us that there once was a time when little boys in Ohio did the golden trifecta, playing high school football, then for the Ohio State Buckeyes and finally for the Browns.
Schafrath was one of those people.
Schafrath played at Wooster High School (he died in Wooster), for the Buckeyes and head coach Woody Hayes in the mid- to late 1950s, becoming a team captain on a squad that, according to some polls, won the 1957 national championship, and for the Browns, as a second-round choice in the 1959 NFL Draft, under head coaches Paul Brown and then Blanton Collier, being a six-time Pro Bowler at left tackle and playing on teams that never had a losing record, qualified for the playoffs six times, made it on four occasions to the NFL Championship Game and won a league title in 1964.
Schafrath, who was inducted into the Cleveland Browns Legends and deserves to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had a teammate at both Ohio State and Cleveland by the name of Jim Houston, a Massillon High School product and also a Browns Legend after a 13-year career, mostly at linebacker. Joining them both at Ohio State and then briefly at Cleveland after being drafted by the Browns in 1959 with Schafrath, was London, Ohio native Dick LeBeau, a cornerback who went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Detroit Lions. He was cut by the Browns, who were loaded with talent at the time.
When those guys were still in diapers, there were golden trifecta pioneers like Massillon product Tommy James, a cornerback who played for Paul Brown with the Tigers, then also at Ohio State and Cleveland. He is a Browns Legend, as is another Massillon graduate and Ohio State product in punter Horace Gillom. He played for Brown at all three stops, too. Also going from Massillon High to Ohio State to the Browns under Brown was Houston’s older brother, Lin, a guard.
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Lin Houston, James and Gillom were teammates with the Browns and Buckeyes with Hall of Fame wide receiver Dante Lavelli, a Hudson High School product, HOF kicker/left tackle Lou Groza, a Martins Ferry High graduate, and HOF middle guard Bill Willis, from Columbus East High School.
The last notable player to do the golden trifecta was linebacker Tom Cousineau. He went from Lakewood St. Edward High School to Ohio State in the late 1970s and finally to the Browns in the early 1980s.
So, then, what was the other thing that the passing of Schafrath reminds us?
That it’s been way, way, way too long since the Browns have won a league title. Schafrath was a key member of the 1964 Browns, who, though 11-point underdogs, crushed the mighty Baltimore Colts 27-0 to capture what is still their last NFL championship. He completely neutralized one of the great defensive ends at the time in Ordell Braase, who led the Colts in sacks that season with 12.5, thus allowing quarterback Frank Ryan plenty of time to throw three touchdown passes, all to wide receiver Gary Collins, and also plenty of room for Jim Brown to run for 114 yards. against one of the top defenses in pro football history.
In the 57 years since, the Browns, in their near-misses:
*Returned to the NFL title game the following season, 1965, but failed to repeat by losing to the Green Bay Packers, 23-12.
*Lost to the Baltimore Colts 34-0 in 1968 in the NFL (now considered the NFC) Championship Game, the doorstep of getting to the Super Bowl, and to the Minnesota Vikings 27-7 in the 1969 title contest.
*Lost to the Denver Broncos three times in the AFC Championship Game, the qualifier for the Super Bowl, in 1986 (23-20 in overtime), ’87 (38-33) and ’89 (37-21).
Enough is enough, don’t you think?
We’ll see what happens this season, when hopes are as high as they’ve been since the last half of the 1980s.
Breaking that long drought would be the ideal way to honor the legacy of Dick Schafrath.
By the way, along those same lines, wouldn’t it be a cool gesture if the Browns put a No. 77 patch (his uniform number) to memorialize one of their top players of all-time?
Are you listening, team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam?
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