By STEVE KING

The NFL Players Association was a big hit in Cleveland right from the start.

It was nearly 65 years ago to the day, on Feb. 5, 1957, that the Browns players voted 100 percent to back the newly-formed NFLPA, doing so by a margin of 35-0.

That’s not surprising, since the union was established in Cleveland on Nov. 29, 1956.

A total of 304 players voted for the union after NFL Commissioner Bert Bell first scoffed at it, saying it had no authority to speak for the players and questioned its very existence. But after several weeks, Bell recognized the NFLPA, and wisely so.

The NFLPA, of course, has been a major part of league history for decades. The work stoppages as a result of stalemates between the team owners and the union, are well-documented.

The players unions are obviously big in most all pro sports. The start of the Major League Baseball season might be delayed by a current stalemate between the union, the creation of which back in 1956 was spearheaded by Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller of the … uh, Guardians, and the owners.

In another Browns history note, Monday will mark the 40th anniversary of the arrival of the team’s first strength and conditioning coach. It was on Feb. 7, 1982 that Dave Redding was hired for that role. He had had the same job at the University of Missouri for the previous three years.

These hirings were starting to happen all over the NFL as it had become apparent that strength and conditioning programs, especially in the offseason when players would do nothing special to take care of their bodies and get ready for the next season, were sorely needed. Previously, players had spent the first part of training camp getting into shape, football and otherwise. Now players report in shape because they have been working out in the offseason in the teams’ strength and conditioning programs.

Redding, who spent seven seasons, through 1988, in Cleveland, was one of the team’s most popular coaches ever.