The Cleveland Browns

Few teams wear their founder’s name as their badge. The Cleveland Browns are one of them. When Cleveland’s new franchise launched in 1946 in the All-America Football Conference, a fan contest was held to name the team. The popular choice was “Panthers,” but local rights issues blocked it. Instead, the name “Browns” was suggested to honour Paul Brown, the new coach and already a legend in Ohio football. The name stuck — and became one of the most distinctive in all American sports.

Paul Brown wasn’t just a coach; he was an innovator who changed football forever. He introduced playbooks and classroom-style teaching for players. He pioneered the use of game film to study opponents, put coaches on the sideline with headsets to communicate with quarterbacks, and was one of the first to draft players from historically Black colleges. His methods turned the Browns into a dynasty: they won all four AAFC championships (1946–49), then carried that dominance into the NFL with titles in 1950, 1954, and 1955. Even after Brown’s dismissal in 1963 — following clashes with new owner Art Modell — his influence shaped the game itself. Ironically, after being ousted, Brown founded the Cincinnati Bengals, adding a bitter rivalry to his Cleveland legacy.

The Browns’ history is storied and turbulent. After Paul Brown came Jim Brown, arguably the greatest running back in history, whose power and grace in the 1950s and ’60s defined an era. The team’s last NFL Championship came in 1964, before the Super Bowl era, leaving fans longing ever since. The heartbreak of the 1980s — “The Drive,” “The Fumble” — added to Cleveland’s reputation for near-misses. In 1995, Modell stunned the city by moving the franchise to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens. But Cleveland fought back. The NFL guaranteed the Browns’ name, colours, and history would stay in the city, and in 1999 a new team took the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium. It was rebirth, but the long waited for trophies still allude them.

Cleveland itself has always been a city of resilience. Perched on Lake Erie, it grew as a manufacturing powerhouse — steel mills, railroads, shipping, and industry made it one of America’s great cities. Its skyline is guarded by the monumental “Guardians of Traffic” statues, sculpted in the 1930s to watch over the Hope Memorial Bridge. They symbolise protection, progress, and the endurance of a city that’s weathered booms, busts, and rebirth. Those same qualities live in Browns fans, the Dawg Pound, who pack the stadium whatever the record, barking their loyalty through decades of frustration.

And now, the Browns stand on the brink of change again. In 2024, they received approval to build a new domed stadium outside the city centre, part of a redevelopment plan aimed at boosting the region’s economy and modernising the fan experience. For many, it’s a bittersweet step: leaving their traditional lakefront home for a new suburban landmark. Yet like Cleveland itself, the Browns have always been about reinvention after hardship.

The Cleveland Browns carry a lot of history in their name. They are Paul Brown’s innovations, Jim Brown’s power, decades of heartbreak and hope, a city of steel and statues, of lake winds and loyal fans. Their plain brown helmet — logo-less, stark, unapologetic — is football stripped back to its essence. The Cleveland Browns are football.