SPEEDIE’S INDUCTION SOMETHING TO YELP ABOUT

By STEVE KING

I don’t surprise easily anymore.

I guess that happens as you get older and have seen a lot of surprising things already.

But I yelped – yes, yelped – when I heard that former Browns wide receiver Mac Speedie has made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of its Centennial Year class.

I have long believed that Speedie, along with several other long-ago Browns, most specifically left tackle Dick Schafrath and wide receiver Gary Collins, deserve to be in the Hall, but I had more or less given up hope that it would ever happen. That one of them has actually, finally gotten in is nothing short of sensational, hence the yelp.

Speedie played with the Browns for their first seven seasons of existence, 1946-52, and during that time, his statistics were well beyond those of fellow wideout Dante Lavelli. But there were, unfortunately and unfairly, major differences that made Lavelli a shoo-in for the HOF years ago while Speedie never saw the induction in his lifetime – not even close, in fact.

Lavelli was from Hudson, between Akron and Cleveland, and then went on to play at Ohio State. Speedie was from Utah.

Lavelli was a decorated World War II veteran from the Battle of the Bulge.

Lavelli was ruggedly handsome.

Lavelli had a tremendous presence. Speedie was quiet.

Lavelli caught the winning touchdown pass in the All-America Football Conference Championship Game in that first season.

Lavelli played four more years with the Browns, appearing in three more title games and winning two crowns, after Speedie bolted to the big money being offered him from the Canadian Football League following the 1952 season.

Lavelli kept himself in the local spotlight following his retirement as a player, doing a lot of appearances while owning and operating an appliance store, while Speedie drifted away and out of local consciousness.

But again, Speedie’s numbers were better for their time together. It didn’t matter for all those years. It finally does now, however, and that’s what counts.

It’s something to yelp about.