The Mount Rushmore of Browns Punters

HORACE GILLOM ‘LIGHTS UP’ BROWNS PUNTING HISTORY

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

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By STEVE KING

Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Lou Groza wasn’t the only player on those first Browns teams who benefited greatly from head coach Paul Brown’s tremendous focus on special teams.

The punters did, too, and Massillon native Horace Gillom is proof of that.

During Gillom’s 10 seasons in Cleveland (1947-56), the Browns had not only the best kicker in pro football in Groza but also the top punter in Gillom. While Groza was booming field goals to put points on the scoreboard, Gillom, a Cleveland Browns Legend as one of the team’s hall of famers, was booming punts to put opponents in poor field-position.

Talk about a “special” one-two punch to go along with all the great offensive and defensive players the Browns had then. The club went to the league championship game in nine of the first 10 seasons of Gillom’s career and won six titles.

CLEVELAND, OH – 1948: Members of the Cleveland Browns pose for a team portrait in 1948 at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. The members are (L to R) (front row) trainer Walter Bock, Leonard Simonetti, Dean Sensanbaugher, Warren Lahr, George Terlep, Ed Ulinski, Tommy James, Alex Agase, Assistant Trainer Morrie Kono; (second row) Fritz Heisler, Ollie Cline, Ara Parseghian, Otto Graham, Cliff Lewis, Lou Saban, Bob Gaudio, Billy Boedeker, Bob Cowan, Edgar “Special Delivery” Jones, John Brickels; (third row) head coach Paul Brown, Blanton Collier, Dante Lavelli, Chubby Grigg, Tom Colella, Frank Kosikowski, Mel Maceau, Lin Houston, Tony Adamle, Weldon Humble, Marion Motley, Bill Edwards, Dick Gallagher; (fourth row) Horace Gillom, George Young, Frank Gatski, Dub Jones, Lou Rymkus, John Yonakor, Mac Speedie, Ben Pucci, Lou Groza, Bill Willis, Chet Adams. (Photo by: Henry Barr Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

So, I’ll put Gillom on that Mount Rushmore of Browns punters, and to go alongside him, I’ll add Gary Collins (1962-71), Chris Gardocki (1999-2003) and Dave Zastudil (2006-10).

Just as was the case with Matt Stover not being included on the Mount Rushmore of Browns kickers because, while he performed well, he just didn’t do it long enough, or as long as the others with whom he was competing, the same can be said for Britton Colquitt (2016-18). Yes, Colquitt is the Browns’ career punting leader with a 46.1 average, but he played just three seasons. And yes, his 246 punts are just eight behind Zastudil’s 254, but Zastudil did it for five seasons (actually, four on the field since he missed all of 2010 with an injury) and his average of 44.12 is second to Colquitt’s mark. So that’s why I went with Zastudil.

Anyway, here’s a closer look at my Mount Rushmore punters:

HORACE GILLOM

Gillom played for Paul Brown at Massillon High School (actually, Washington High School, as I am reminded by another graduate of the school), and Brown called him “the greatest high school player I ever coached.” He boomed punts for the Tigers that were so high that, according to reports then, they “soared above the stadium lights.”

Gillom led the NFL in punting in both 1951 (45.5) and ’52 (45.7) and averaged 44.7 in his final Browns season. He was the team’s career punting leader at 43.8 until Zastudil came along. Gillon is fourth now, with Spencer Lanning (2013-14) being third at 44.06, just .06 behind Zastudil.

Gillom was also the first Brown to play what is now the tight end position.

GARY COLLINS

Along with being one of the best wide receivers in Browns history and the hero of the 1964 NFL Championship Game win over the Baltimore Colts with three touchdown catches, Collins was also a fine punter, holding the job for his first six seasons. He led the league in 1965 with a 46.69 average that stood as the club record until Andy Lee (46.74) barely broke it 50 years later, in 2015.

CHRIS GARDOCKI

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Nobody in Browns history – and possibly no one in the game in his five seasons in Cleveland — did a better job of placing the ball, especially inside the 20-yard line, than Gardocki. He was incredible. It was almost as if he walked the ball down and gently laid it in a spot.

But possibly the thing for which Gardocki is best known as a Brown is when, during a game at Cleveland in his final season of 2003, he stood about 10 feet in front of Bill Cowher and made an obscene gesture toward him because he thought the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach had ordered one of his players, Joey Porter, to take a cheap shot at him. There are some who think, because of that alone, Gardocki should be a Cleveland Browns Legend. That he signed with Pittsburgh in free agency after that season may disqualify him, though.

DAVE ZASTUDIL

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Although he played with the rival Baltimore Ravens for the four seasons before coming to Cleveland and with the Arizona Cardinals for the final four years of his career after leaving Cleveland, Zastudil will forever be a Brown and a fan favorite. He grew up in the Cleveland suburb of Bay Village and played at Bay High School and then Ohio University.

That he was also a great punter, averaging 45.5 and 44.7 in his final two seasons on the field in Cleveland and thus getting the team’s punting back on a good stead after the departure of Gardocki in free agency, made Zastudil just that much more special.

Next: Specialists

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The Mount Rushmore of Browns Punters