Paul Brown (football coach)

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Paul Brown
Positions:
Head Coach , General Manager 		Jersey number (s):
-
born on September 7, 1908 in Norwalk , Ohio
died on August 5, 1991 in Cincinnati , Ohio
Career information
Active : 1946 - 1975
College : Miami University
Teams
Career statistics
Win-lose-draw     213: 104: 9
Win rate     67.2%
Games     326
Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards

Trainer

General manager

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Paul Eugene Brown (* 7. September 1908 in Norwalk , Ohio , † 5. August 1991 in Cincinnati , Ohio) was an American American football trainer in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the American Football League (AFL) and in the National Football League (NFL). Brown trained the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals .

He won the NFL championship three times with the Cleveland Browns (1950, 1954 and 1955) and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

youth

Paul Brown was born the son of a dispatcher for a railroad company. At the age of nine, he and his family moved from Norwalk to Massillon , where he also attended high school . From 1923 to 1925 he played as a quarterback for the "Massillon High School Tigers" and was the successor to Harry Stuhldreher . After graduating from high school, he first studied at Ohio State University . Believing he didn't have the physical skills to play on a senior college football team, Brown moved to Miami University . In his final year of study he was elected to the league selection team. Brown completed a teaching degree and received his bachelor's degree in 1930 .

Coaching career

Teacher / high school football coach

After graduating, Paul Brown worked as a teacher and trainer at various schools before becoming a teacher at his old high school in Massillon from 1932 at the age of 24. As coach of the football team, he won 80 games by 1940, lost eight and drew twice with his team. In the years 1935, 1936, 1938-1940, he and his team remained completely undefeated. In 1940 alone, his team scored 477 points with six counterpoints. His team won six league championships and four national titles. From 1934 Brown was also active at the school as a sports director. Due to the success of his team, the school was forced to build a new stadium from 1936 with a capacity of 21,000 people. The stadium opened in 1939 and was later renamed the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Brown introduced new training techniques and game tactics during his time in Massillon. The moves were recorded in game boards and adapted to the respective opponent. He announced the moves and used a guard, which he substituted before the move to give the quarterback the appropriate instructions. Brown also took care of the environment of a game. He introduced a mascot in a tiger costume and promoted the school's music band, which then performed to entertain the audience during the games.

College coach

In 1941, Brown coached the Buckeyes , the Ohio State University football team . In 1942, his team won the Big Ten Conference and was named national title holder by the Associated Press . Brown remained a coach in Columbus for another year . As a college coach, he was able to win eighteen of 27 games and lost eight of them. During World War II , Paul Brown served as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the US Navy . He coached a naval football team in Chicago . He did not return to college sports immediately after the war.

Professional trainer

Cleveland Browns

In 1945 a new professional league was launched in the USA - the All-America Football Conference. To this end, a new team was founded in Cleveland . The success of Paul Brown had also attracted professional clubs. While he was still in the Navy, Brown was signed by the Cleveland team. Until the start of the league, he was paid $ 1,000 a month . At the start of the first round of the game, he was paid an annual salary of US $ 20,000 and 15% of the club's profit. In addition, the team should be named after him. With the engagement of Brown, the newly formed team was henceforth called Cleveland Browns .

Otto Graham

Even as a professional trainer, Paul Brown left nothing to chance. He introduced intelligence tests to the players, carried out extensive analyzes of the opponent and the players on the basis of film recordings and hired numerous assistant coaches . The technical equipment of the players has also been significantly improved with the introduction of the face grille.

Before the inaugural season of the AAFC, Paul Brown had succeeded in retaining numerous young players who were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after their careers to the team. So he hired Otto Graham , whom he had already met as a college player, as quarterback . There were also players like running back Marion Motley , guard Bill Willis or the end Dante Lavelli . Until the dissolution of the league after the 1949 season, the Browns remained the game-determining team in the league. In 1946 the Browns won twelve of fourteen games during the regular season and were able to move into the AAFC final. Opponents in the final were the New York Yankees trained by Ray Flaherty , who could be defeated 14: 9. The following year, the Yankees could be defeated again in the final, this time they lost with 14: 3 In 1948 Brown and his team remained undefeated in the regular season. Opponents in the final this time were the Buffalo Bills , who had no chance in the 49: 7 defeat. The fourth and final AAFC championship game was played by the Browns against the Buck Shaw- trained San Francisco 49ers . This game also ended with a win for the Cleveland team. The 49ers lost 21: 7.

After the 1949 season, the AAFC stopped playing and the Browns were taken over into the NFL. In general, the AAFC was classified as the weaker league and the Browns were prophesied that they shouldn't play a big role in the NFL. Paul Brown proved the opposite of his team's critics. Together with the Detroit Lions trained by Buddy Parker , the Browns dominated the NFL for the next few years. In 1950, the Browns were able to beat the Los Angeles Rams, trained by Joe Stydahar , in the final with 30:28. In the next three game years, the Browns failed in the championship game at the Rams and twice at the Lions, but were able to prevail against the team from Detroit in the final with 56:10 in 1954 . In 1955, the Browns moved into the NFL final for the sixth time in a row and this time they could again assert themselves against the Rams with 38:14. The 1957 final was the Browns' seventh finals in eight years. The team lost the final against the Detroit Lions clearly with 59:14.

The Browns' successes also made themselves felt economically. While in 1950 only one radio station only broadcast the Browns' away games, in 1959 84 television stations nationwide showed the team's games.

In 1961, Art Modell bought the Ohio team. The relationship between Brown and the model was extremely tense. Brown also demanded full freedom of action from Modell when putting the team together. There were constant arguments between the two people over the choice of players and how they should be used. So model called for the use of at leukemia diseased Ernie Davis , which was rejected by Brown because of his illness. Ultimately, the controversy between the two led to Paul Brown being fired after the 1962 season.

Cincinnati Bengals

In 1959 a new football league was launched in Chicago - the American Football League (AFL). In contrast to the AAFC, the AFL was able to establish itself permanently. In 1967, the Cincinnati Bengals was founded by a group of investors around Paul Brown . The AFL received a total of $ 7.7 million for approving the sports franchise . Brown, who held a 10% stake in the Cleveland Browns, previously gave up his stake. He became general manager and coach of the Cincinnati team . However, he could no longer celebrate a championship success with the Bengals. Until he resigned from his coaching post after the 1975 season , he managed to get into the play-offs only three times , where the team was always eliminated early. Paul Brown remained in office as General Manager and Vice President until his death. The Riverfront Stadium was built during his tenure . Under head coaches Forrest Gregg in 1981 and Sam Wyche (a former Brown player) in 1988, the Bengals each won the AFC Championship Game , but lost Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers . Paul Brown died of pneumonia . He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Massillon.

Influence of Paul Brown on the sport of football

Don Shula 2009

In addition to numerous innovations already described, Paul Brown also made a name for himself as an instructor for young trainers. Numerous coaches had previously been active as players or as assistant coaches for Brown:

  • Blanton Collier was assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns under Paul Brown. He was his successor in coaching and won the 1964 NFL championship with the Browns.
  • Weeb Ewbank was an assistant coach with the Browns from 1949 to 1953 and won Super Bowl III as the coach of the New York Jets .
  • Chuck Noll played for the Cleveland Browns from 1953 to 1959 and won the Super Bowl four times as head coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers .
  • Don Shula was a player with the Browns in 1951 and 1952, and won the Super Bowl twice with the Miami Dolphins .
  • Ed Ulinski won all four AAFC titles as a player with the Browns. After a stint with the Baltimore Colts , he returned to the Browns as an assistant coach. He looked after the team in the championship seasons 1954, 1955 and 1964 and was active in the coaching staff of the Browns until 1984.
  • Bill Walsh was Brown's assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1968 to 1975. He won the Super Bowl three times as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

His son Mike Brown is now the President of the Bengals. Players Otto Graham, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza , Frank Gatski , Jim Brown , Len Ford , Mike McCormack , Bobby Mitchell and Charlie Joiner were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after their careers .

Honors

Paul Brown Stadium

Paul Brown was six times total for NFL Coach of the Year ( the year coach ) selected. The Bengals named their new venue, Paul Brown Stadium, after him. He is a member of the Ohio Sports Hall of Fame and has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1967 .

Web links

literature

  • George Cantor: Paul Brown. The Man Who Invented Modern Football. Triumph Books, Chicago IL 2008, ISBN 978-1-57243-725-8 .
  • Andrew O. Toole: Paul Brown. The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Football's Most Innovative Coach. Clerisy Press, Cincinnati OH 2008, ISBN 978-1-57860-357-2 .
  • Ken Coleman, Dan Valenti: Talking on Air, A Broadcasters's Life in Sports. Sports Publishing, Champaign IL 2000, ISBN 1-58382-062-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amanda Wismer: Massillon History: High School Football. Massillon High School Tigers Football Team. In: massillonmuseum.org. Massillon Museum, accessed July 3, 2014 (English): "Paul Brown played for Massillon from 1923-1925, then after a short stint at OSU he attended Miami University of Ohio (" Cradle of Coaches ")."
  2. ^ Paul Brown Tiger Stadium
  3. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1946
  4. ↑ AAFC final statistics 1946
  5. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns, 1947
  6. ↑ AAFC final statistics 1947
  7. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1948
  8. ↑ AAFC final statistics 1948
  9. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1949
  10. ↑ AAFC final statistics 1949
  11. ↑ Annual statistics of the Browns 1950
  12. ^ NFL final statistics 1950
  13. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1951
  14. ↑ 1951 NFL final statistics
  15. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1952
  16. ↑ NFL final statistics 1952
  17. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1953
  18. ↑ 1953 NFL final statistics
  19. ↑ Annual statistics of the Browns 1954
  20. ↑ 1954 NFL final statistics
  21. ^ Annual statistics of the Browns 1955
  22. ↑ NFL final statistics 1955
  23. ↑ Annual statistics of the Browns 1957
  24. ↑ 1957 NFL final statistics
  25. ↑ Franchise Statistics for the Cincinnati Bengals
  26. ↑ Paul Brown's grave in the Find a Grave database


personal data
SURNAME Brown, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brown, Paul Eugene (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football coach
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Norwalk , Ohio , United States
DATE OF DEATH 5th August 1991
Place of death Cincinnati , Ohio , United States