The Browns won another title before moving to Baltimore in 1996 and that was vs a Baltimore franchise that eventually moved to Indianapolis but remained the Colts.
In 1964 the Cleveland Browns won what was the last Cleveland title until the Cavaliers won the NBA crown less than 2 months ago.
The baseball Indians won titles in 1920 and 1948. Three of the seven Cleveland titles were won by the great Paul Brown coached teams of the 1950’s.
Despite this great feat and the fact in many ways Mr. Brown invented “modern football,” ESPN a modern day indication of our serious problems as a society, left Brown off a list of sports’ 20 That is TWENTY greatest coaches. That is a total disgrace and I was far from Paul Brown’s biggest fans but his accomplishments were incredible.
The great coach and football innovator, Paul Brown, pictured above.
Though they did not clash in what would have been a meaningless exhibition game, a look at some “6” year history involving the teams scheduled to play two nights ago.
The Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, the latter once the Baltimore Colts of the NFL Western Conference in which they engaged the Packers in epic 1960’s battles for that entity’s supremacy, each have a legitimate chance to make this year’s Super Bowl. Of course the odds are against each team but in neither case are they that high.
Green Bay has won 3 of the 8 NFL titles in years ending in “6,” won in a championship game, be it the NFL Championship Game or The Super Bowl.
They did so in 1936 with the great receiver Don Hutson, thirty years later with 5 time championship quarterback, Bart Starr. Mr. Starr is vastly under rated, contrasted with Brett Favre, just inducted into the Football “Hall” and the quarterback on the 1996 Supe winning Packers.
Indianapolis with another over rated quarterback, the current defending Supe winning one, Peyton Manning, copped a “6” year NFL crown in the 2006 season. In that Supe win on a rainy January 2007 night in Miami, a venue in which he failed in an AFC wild card game one of many big post season failures in his career, Manning did little in the victory. Sound familiar? He did even less but did win with the Denver Broncos in the most recent Super Bowl.
Memo to me—Do you think Manning cares about what I think of him? Do I over emphasize my strong opinion that he was essentially a big game failure? Is it even the least bit important? Answers are no, yes and no but I probably will keep doing it as a small voice in contrast to those like writer, Mike Lupica, who believe Manning was near, if not the top, in quarterback greatness.
A post written yesterday evokes the song “Yesterday” by The Beatles, specifically Paul McCartney. Two “yesterdays” ago, I attended Paul’s show at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
Much needed sleep after dealing with the unbelievable traffic/logistical nightmare that is inherent in leaving events at the football stadium venue and my venting on football’s ills, have not decreased my slight disappointment in the great Sir Paul McCartney and the show.
He is still a fabulous singer and performer, looking great, married a third time and though it was somewhat difficult to hear from far away and high up in the football stadium, that honors among others, Leon Hess, to me one of many symbols of New York Jets’ failure to achieve, Mr. McCartney’s words and recollections provided great treasures.
While he sang “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday” the latter so appropriate, not because a post was published late, but because time waits for none, there were many great songs eschewed, in favor of so called new songs.
Sir Paul, not his fault a maniac did not kill him but did kill the more socially intense, fellow Beatle, John Lennon, now over 35 years of “yesterdays” ago, remarked how the venue had great cell phone (why those?) induced light during Beatles’ songs, but remained dark during the new songs.
He added in a nice?, certainly non confrontational tone, that he/they (his band was great) did not care.
Old songs, new songs and I think about another Sunday night? performance by Rick Nelson, the Traveling Man, who died far too young, doing so and his song “Garden Party.” At Madison Square Garden, they did not like Mr. Nelson’s choice of songs and he wrote about it in “Garden Party.”
My thoughts turn to just missing the Beatles perform, most notably at Shea Stadium in 1965. That stadium, Yankee Stadium for football and its original ground, even Giants Stadium, the first “greed run” by the (not to me, nor in reality) “sainted” late football Giants’ owner, Wellington Mara, are gone.
Five dollar bottled water and a lowest common denominator culture remain.
While Paul, so often even at this late date, performed meaningful songs with a magic corresponding with his great talent and yes wealth, two “yesterdays” ago, for startling, free market, high prices, could have and in my and so many other attendee’s opinions, SHOULD have done so more often.
Click below to view Paul McCartney singing his iconic song, “Yesterday”
As with certain hot dogs, Paul’s greatness means holding him to a higher standard and despite my complaints, seeing and hearing him perform is a treasured memory. Hopefully there are enough good “tomorrows” to make my “longing for yesterday” not as intense nor sad.
Paul McCartney – Yesterday – Live at Anfield, Liverpool 1st June
This post was written on August 8th—Yesterday a 7th, not even close to “a day of infamy,” yet significantly, Alex Rodriguez announced his retirement from baseball.
As of now he will play once more that on Friday night in a home game for his current team, the New York Yankees vs the Tampa Bay Rays.
In that scenario which has been announced, unless Mr. Rodriguez as a billion to one shot, ties a major league record and hits 4 home runs, he will not become the fourth big league player to hit as many as 700 home runs (Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron and George “Babe” Ruth are the only players to achieve that feat).
It is for that and other reasons, I believe Mr. Rodriguez should have stayed on the team, in baseball especially with the rosters expanding in three plus weeks. Will he join another team?
One of two World Series won, by what is now the Cleveland Indians’ franchise, was by a (5-2) margin in a best of nine World Series.
That was in 1920. The other was (4-2) in the best of seven 1948 Fall Classic.
The Indians just loss the season series vs the New York Yankees (5-2) despite posting a (5-2) win on Saturday past, in a game they trailed (2-0).
Their A.L. Central lead is just two games after the Detroit Tigers won 2 out of 3, vs the other New York team, the “clearly in tournament contention, despite less than stellar play,” Mets.
The Cleveland Browns won the NFL title in their first year in the NFL, riding Lou Groza’s short but beyond clutch field goal to victory vs the Los Angeles Rams (imagine play will begin this NFL season with teams called the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns in place for the first time since 1991) in 1950.
They lost three straight NFL title games, something matched by later Browns’ teams in 1965, 1968 and 1969, from (1951-1953).
However, unlike the later Browns, they bounced back to win NFL crowns in Otto Graham’s last two seasons in 1954 and 1955.
For the record the Browns’ NFL title game losses in 1968 and 1969 were in games that proceeded the Super Bowl. That franchise left Cleveland after the 1995 season and has won 2 Super Bowls as the Baltimore Ravens.
Right now it is almost certain the Chicago Cubs will finish first in an entity for the sixth time since last winning the National League Pennant in 1945.
If the Cubs’ lead holds and with the margin at ten and a half games, it almost certainly will, this would be the fourth “one eighth” division title for the Cubs, one of which was under Dusty Baker, whose current managed team, the Washington Nationals, trail the Cubs by three and a half games in the race for the National League one seed.
The other two were in consecutive years in 2007 and 2008 under manager Lou Pimiella but both times the Cubs were swept out in the division series, in 2008 with the N.L. one seed.
“Chi” won legitimate “one fourth” division titles under Jim Frey in 1984 and Don Zimmer in 1989. Current manager Joe Maddon likely will be the fifth different manager to guide the Cubs to a first place finish, since Charlie Grimm managed the N.L. Pennant winning Cubs of 1945.
The other major sports league title won by a Kansas City team was by notched by the football Chiefs in the 1969 season.
It was the last AFL season the only AFL season with a wild card presence and K.C. “rode it” (is there still someone riding a horse at their home games?) all the way.
They finished second in the AFL West behind the Oakland Raiders but made the playoffs and defeated the defending champion New York Jets on Saturday December 20, 1969 a day before the regular NFL season ended.
Next they were victorious in Oakland vs the Raiders in the last AFL title tilt.
Kansas City with Len Dawson throwing a touchdown pass to the great receiver Otis Taylor and Jan Stenerud booting 3 field goals beat the 11 point favorite Minnesota Vikings to win it all in Supe 4.
The great receiver, Otis Taylor pictured above.
After watching Montgomery Clift’s great performance in the 1948 film, “The Search,” two movies with Clift and “river” in the title, “Red River” and “Wild River” are shown as TCM airs some of Clift’s films all day, this day.
However, it is on a lake, at least a studio, if not real version thereof, that Clift, as a social climber “George Eastman” in “A Day In The Sun,” cements his meteoric climb, when in love with Elizabeth Taylor’s “Angela Vickers,” he does away with Shelly Winters’ “Alice Tripp.”
In “The Search” Clift’s character is from Baltimore, Maryland, called by his character “the best and most clean city in America.”
Ten years later in 1958, led by John Unitas the Baltimore Colts NFL title gave that city a pride with victory, that still resonates in such Baltimore figures as author, Frank Deford today.
I am still reading and savoring Mr. Deford’s book “I’d Know That Voice Anywhere,” a truly fabulous collection of Mr. Deford’s commentaries on NPR (National Public Radio.)
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr (pronounced car as in star) in a classic love scene, pictured above.
Click below to buy Frank Deford’s great book, “I’d Know That Voice Anywhere.”
I’d Know That Voice Anywhere. – amazon.com
Andy B Sports 