Doug Dieken had been a good pass-catcher in college — even historic, as he set the Illinois record for receptions by a tight end.
OK, OK, that — the era of the late 1960s and early ‘70s in Big 10 football — was the Dark Ages. Teams seldom passed the ball, and when they did, it was not usually to a tight end.
Nonetheless, a record is still a record, and when Dieken arrived in Cleveland as a sixth-round choice of the Browns in the 1971 NFL Draft, he was hoping they would give him a shot as a tight end.
But what he didn’t know was that the Browns already an excellent pass-catching tight end in Milt Morin. He also didn’t realize that the Browns had a left tackle in Dick Schafrath, from Wooster High School and Ohio State, who was nearing the end of a storied career that should have landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They needed his heir apparent. In addition, he didn’t know that the Browns thought he had good, quick feet, which made him a candidate to play tackle.
Dieken found out the harsh reality of the situation when he reported to sign his first contract.
“They had a No. 73 jersey setting on the table,” he said. “Tight ends don’t wear numbers in the 70s.”
Though neither Dieken nor the Browns could have ever envisioned it 53 years ago, what ensued was beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. And it is why he is the focus of Part 14 of this Roy Hobbs series of Browns players who have come out of nowhere to do big things.
Dieken wasn’t just a pro tackle. He was an outstanding one. Through his 14-year career, he became a member of the Browns’ incredible lineage at left tackle that at that time included Schafrath and Pro Football Hall of Famer Lou Groza, and now also includes Tony Jones and another Hall of Famer in Joe Thomas, who, incidentally, wore No. 73, too.
In addition, Dieken was an ironman, setting team records for consecutive starts and consecutive games played.
On top of all that, he went on to serve two long stints as the color analyst on the Browns Radio Network, and represented the club consistently for the three years after the departure of the original franchise to Baltimore and the debut of the current one.
All told, he spent 50 years with the Browns, a team record. When he did his final game as an analyst in the 2022 season finale, everyone in Cleveland Browns Stadium turned toward the radio booth in the waning minutes of the game and gave him a standing ovation that went on and on and on. It was a touching scene, sending Dieken off into retirement with a smile and a tear.
Dieken came to the Browns as a stranger and, a half-century later, left it as the most beloved figure in team history.
Whatever number you want to use to describe him — 1, 50, 73 or even a tight end-worthy one in the 80s — it doesn’t do Doug Dieken justice.
NEXT: It was worth the wait.
Steve King
