I mentioned in my last post that at least three former Browns deserve to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
They are left tackle Dick Schafrath, wide receiver Gary Collins and linebacker Clay Matthews.
But why? What are their credentials?
Good questions.
We’ll start with Schafrath, the Wooster High School and Ohio State product who was a second-round pick, at No. 23 overall, in the 1959 NFL Draft and played for the Browns for 13 seasons, from 1959-71.
He was outstanding individually, being selected to six Pro Bowls, all in a row from 1963-68, as he took over for the legendary Lou Groza, who had been the team’s left tackle almost since the birth of the franchise in 1946 and decided to retire — only temporarily, for one year — before returning in 1961 and concentrating on his kicking. Hix six Pro Bowl trips tie him with guard Gene Hickerson for second-most in club history behind Groza and running back Jim Brown, who have nine each. Groza, Brown and Hickerson are all in the HOF.
He blocked for three HOF backs in Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly, and, for half of his career, protected the blind side of Frank Ryan, one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
The Browns never had a losing record while Schafrath was playing and made it to the playoffs six times, including four trips to the NFL Championship Game and an NFL title in 1964.
In that 1964 title game victory over the heavily Baltimore Colts, he nullified Colts right defensive end Ordell Braasse, who had a team-leading 13.5 sacks that year.
Collins, the team’s first-round pick, at No. 4 in 1962, had a career very similar to that of Schafrath, as he also played through 1971, a total of 10 seasons. He leads the team in career touchdown catches with 70, which is 18 more than anyone else, including three other wideouts in the HOF. His is an extraordinarily impressive total since it came at a time when defenders who practically mug receivers.
In the championship game against Baltimore, he caught three touchdown passes to tie an NFL record and provide nearly all the scoring in the 27-0 decision.
Matthews, one of two-first-round picks by the Browns in 1978, along with HOF tight end Ozzie Newsome, who wore born a day apart in mid-March 1956, spent 16 years with the Browns, was part of seven postseason teams, including three that made it to the AFC Championship Game. He made it to four Pro Bowls and had a team-record 76.6 career sacks. He was an anomaly in this age of specialization in that, in being just as good against the run and in pass coverage as he was at rushing the passer, he was a three-down linebacker, never coming off the field in any scheme.
And that’s why they all three belong in Canton.
By Steve King
