As you read in my last Browns Daily Dose, Wednesday was the 62nd anniversary of the passing of safety Don Fleming, the last of the three Browns players who died in a 4-1/2-month period during that tragic 1963 offseason.

The others were running back Ernie Davis and two-way back Tom Bloom. Neither of those men ever played for the Browns. Fleming played three seasons (1960-62) for Cleveland.

So, with all that, then, let’s play a quick, short game of “What if?”

What if none of the players had died?

*Would Davis and running back Jim Brown have been a better backfield combination than the duos of Brown-Bobby Mitchell and Brown-Ernie Green?

*How much better would Fleming, one of the best young safeties in the NFL, have been going forward?

*Would the 1962 Browns have had a better record than the 7-6-1 with which they finished, and would it have been good enough to keep head coach Paul Brown from being fired? And if had not fired, then would he have ever found his way to the Cincinnati Bengals?

*How good would the Browns offense had been with Jim Brown, Davis and wide receivers Paul Warfield and Gary Collins as the weapons?

*Would Bloom, a sixth-round 1963 NFL Draft choice, had made the team?

*Would the Browns have still won the 1964 league championship, and if so, then would they have captured other titles through the last half of that decade?

*Would Blanton Collier still have become head coach of the Browns at some point?

Steve King

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• Cleveland Browns Official NFL Game Jersey – Men’s, Multiple Players
• Cleveland Browns Snapback Hat – 2025 Sideline Edition
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📚 For the Football Strategist:

• Sports Illustrated Football’s Greatest: Pro & College Legends
• Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0 by Pat Kirwan – A Guide to Watching Football Like a Pro

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🎯 For Training Camp Season Prep:

• Fantasy Football Book
• Wilson NFL Official Size Football – The Duke Game Ball Replica
• Cleveland Browns Folding Tailgating Chair with Cup Holder

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