There Certainly Is Rams vs Paul Brown/Ohio Teams NFL Championship Game History

While the upcoming 56th Supe, (the first not only was not called the Super Bowl, but had only two thirds capacity attendance, also in L.A.) marks the first Rams/Bengals post-season action and just the second playoff entity contested between teams from Cincinnati and Los Angeles, there is great history involved in Rams vs Paul Brown/Ohio teams in NFL Championship Game annals.

First of all Paul Brown the legendary coach and founder of the Cleveland Browns for whom the team was/is named, was/is the father of current Bengals’ owner, now 86 year old Mike Brown. Paul Brown was the first Bengals coach, after much but especially a dispute with then Browns’ co owner, Art Modell, caused his departure from the team which enjoyed sustained excellence, and at times utter greatness with Paul Brown from (1946-1962).

Mr. Modell eventually moved the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore where they are known as the Ravens. E.A. Poe could have done much with the treachery involved in big business, teams moving, lack of loyalty and utter greed which could have an NFL picture next to it.

However, the less exposed NFL and in these cases, barely exposed league is rich in history. That sustains me through the other.

Those Paul Brown founded Cleveland Browns (son Mike was 10 or 11 when the team started play in the long defunct All American Football Conference in 1946) made its league’s title game in their first 10 seasons, all with Brown as coach and the great “Automatic” Otto Graham at the quarterback helm/station (alas I made up quarterback station and in a rare nod by me to the military, Mr. Graham later became the head football coach at the Coast Guard Academy).

The first four seasons were as members of the aforementioned AAFC.

Cleveland did not slow down, far from it, appearing in the NFL Championship Game in their first 6 seasons and 7 of 8, the 7th in Jim Brown’s first season in 1957.

Thrice (1950, the Browns’ first NFL season, 1951 and 1955) it was the Browns vs the Rams for the NFL crown. Ten days hence it will be the Rams vs a Brown/Ohio team in a 4th game with the NFL title at stake.

Cleveland won the 1950 game at home and the ’55 last ever Otto Graham game in L.A. The Rams only L.A. title came 70 years ago in a (24-17) win vs the Browns in the 1951 NFL Championship Game. There is much more and I will detail some of it during the seemingly endless wait for the 56th Supe to commence.

In a typical AndyBsports.com “esoteric stretch,” 19FIFTY SIX was the only year from (1945-1957) that neither the Browns or Rams made a title tilt. The Rams won it all as the Cleveland Rams in 1945 and also played and lost a home title tilt to a repeat champion Philadelphia Eagles team led by Steve Van Buren in 1949.

 

Left to right, two Football immortals, Otto Graham and Paul Brown.