Tonight (November 6, 2015) The NFL Network will FINALLY give Paul Brown his due as The Father of Modern Football. (Interesting how this is being shown on the 20th Anniversary of Art Modell announcing his move to Baltimore.)
For way too long, Paul Brown has been ignored by NFL Historians for any number of reasons. Here are the reasons in my opinion why:
- The "If it happened before the Super Bowl Era, it doesn't count" Mentality that the NFL has managed to brainwash much of the media and fans into believing. A Level of Brainwashing that Mao, Lenin, Stalin and Goebbels would be proud of.
- It has to do with the two pro teams that Brown is affiliated with: The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals
- There was a lot of resentment by both The (1950's) NFL Establishment because of his immediate success in the NFL after coming over from the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) which was seen as an inferior league by the NFL, and the AFL Establishment because Brown saw starting The Bengals as his way of rejoining the NFL as he saw that they would eventually either merge with the NFL or have an NFL/AFL working agreement like in Major League Baseball.
It's true that Lombardi, Walsh, Landry and Shula are all Legends and True Hall of Famers, but many Football Historians and knowledgeable fans consider to be the Father of Modern Pro Football. Here are the reasons why:
HE HELPED DESEGREGATE PRO FOOTBALL
Brown wasn't the only person to help in this, but was a Major Part of it. When The Rams moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland, the City of Los Angeles stipulated that The NFL must desegregate. The Browns began in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946 and many of the teams there signed African-American Players from the beginning. Paul Brown signed many and played them. He also Desegregated The Ohio State Football Program when he was named Head Coach in 1941
HIS COACHING TREE IS EXTENSIVE
Many men that Coached and/or Played for Brown became notable Hall of Fame Head Coaches themselves:
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| WEEB EWBANK: Coached under Brown in Cleveland (1949-1953). They were teammates at Miami University in Ohio. Coached the Baltimore Colts to the 1958 and 1959 NFL World Championship then coached the New York Jets to the 1968 AFL Championship and Super Bowl III (Becoming the first AFL Team to do that.) |
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| DON SHULA: Played for Brown (Cornerback) in Cleveland (1951-1952). Played for Ewbank in Baltimore (1953-1956) Became Head Coach of The Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins. Won Super Bowls VII and VIII as Dolphins Head Coach and Holds the record for both Regular Season Wins (328) and Super Bowl Appearances as Head Coach (6) |
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| CHUCK NOLL: Played for Brown (Guard) in Cleveland (1953-1959). Became Head Coach of The Pittsburgh Steelers where he led them to four Super Bowl Titles (IX-X-XIII-XIV) |
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| BILL WALSH: Coached for Brown in Cincinnati (1968-1975) where he took Brown's Offense and adjusted it for QB Virgil Carter. This variation became the basis for "The West Coast Offense". Coached the 49ers to three Super Bowl Titles (XVI-XIX-XXIII) and developed his own successful coaching tree. |
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| ARA PARSEGHIAN: Played for Brown (Halfback/Defensive Back) in Cleveland (1948-1949). Became a Hall of Fame College Head Coach at Miami (Ohio), Northwestern and Notre Dame. Won two National Championships at Notre Dame (1966, 1973) |
Other notable Coaches that played for and/or coached under Brown are Lou Saban, Bud Grant and Blanton Collier.
PAUL BROWN WAS AN INNOVATOR
AHEAD OF HIS TIME
There's a reason why
many regard Paul Brown as "The Father of Modern Pro Football. Aside from
the reasons stated above, Browns was a true innovator who came up with the
following:
THE FACEMASK: This was thought of by Brown after Otto Graham took a
vicious hit in a 1953 Game vs. The 49ers which resulted in needing 15
stitches to his chin area. The first mask was clear plastic but then Brown
got together with an engineer with Riddell to invent the modern facemask.
(There were College Players before this who wore face masks and other
forms of facial protection which were crude in comparison to the modern
mask.) He also was the first pro coach to require all of his players to wear
them.
COACHES IN THE PRESS BOX AND FULL TIME ASSISTANT COACHES: Brown came up with the idea of placing Assistant
Coaches in the Press Box to watch the game and send down plays by phone.
Paul Brown began this when he was at Ohio State. He also was the first to make being an assistant coach a full time job at the Pro Level.
PRACTICE SQUADS: Brown came up with this idea of reserve players that
practice with the team during the week but do not dress on game day but
may be put on the active roster if needed. Originally, this
was nicknamed "Taxi Squad" as these players were
technically employees of Mickey McBride's (Original Browns Owner) Yellow
Cab Franchise in Cleveland. (According to Terry Pluto, the players on the
Taxi Squad never really worked as Cab Drivers,) This was soon adopted by
all NFL Teams in a different way in terms of procedure, but the "Taxi
Squad" name stuck for many years.
SENDING IN PLAYS FROM THE
SIDELINE: Brown came up with this idea.
Back then, Brown would rotate Guards during the game, sending them in with
the play he wanted called by the Offense. They were nicknamed
"Messenger Guards". One of whom was Chuck Noll who later became
Head Coach of The Steelers.
RADIO REVCIEVER EARPIECE IN THE
QUARTERBACK'S HELMET:
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Website; two Ohio Based
Inventors named John Campbell and George Sarles came up with the concept of
placing a Radio in the Quarterback's Helmet so that plays could be
directly sent to him from the sideline. Paul Brown loved the idea and
experimented with it during the 1956 Preseason. Here is the full story from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Website. http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?release_id=2080
THE DRAW PLAY: This was actually invented by accident. According to
Terry Pluto from his book; "Things I've Learned from watching The
Browns" In an AAFC Game, Otto Graham tripped as he was dropping
back to pass. As he fell down, he handed the ball to Marion Motley who
made a long run out of it as the Defense was prepared for a pass and not a
run. From this, Paul Brown designed the Draw Play and it became an
effective weapon in his Offense.
PLAYER NOTEBOOKS, GAME FILM &
INTELLIGENCE TESTS:
These are no doubt from Paul Brown's Academic Background. (He had a
Masters Degree in Education from Ohio State.) He felt that players
remember plays better if they draw the plays themselves in a notebook.
This was his "Classroom" Approach to football. He also was the first to use film of the opponent to study their tendencies. Now common practice with Video and Digital Equipment. He was also the
first to use Intelligence Tests as a Scouting Tool.
THE 40-YARD DASH: According to Terry Pluto from his book; "Things
I've Learned from watching The Browns" Dante Lavelli said Brown
actually first used this at Ohio State as a way to determine who would be
on Special Teams as he wanted his fastest players for coverage. This of
course, evolved into a Scouting Tool.
THE
GREEN BAY PACKERS MAY NEVER HAVE HIRED VINCE LOMBARDI IF IT WEREN'T FOR PAUL
BROWN.
Yet again from Terry Pluto in
his book; "Things I've Learned from watching The Browns", Brown and
Lombardi were friends. When the Packers were looking for a new Head Coach after
the 1958 Season, Brown called The Packers to recommend they hire Lombardi.
Brown told The Packers that Lombardi was the best Assistant Coach in The NFL.
(At the time, Lombardi was The New York Giants Offensive Coordinator and The
Giants won the 1958 NFL Championship.) As they say, The Rest is History.
HAD
HE COME BACK TO OHIO STATE (AS HE INTENDED TO.), IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT WOODY HAYES NEVER WOULD HAVE
BEEN OHIO STATE'S HEAD COACH.
After the 1943 Season,
Brown was Drafted into The Navy. He was assigned to be The Head Coach of The
Great Lakes Naval Station Football Team in Chicago and Ohio State considered
him Head Coach in absentia. Just after this happened, Chicago Tribune Sports
Writer Arch Ward came up with the idea of a second Pro Football League which
was to start play after WWII. This became The All-America Football Conference,
two of their teams still exist today in the NFL: The Browns and The 49ers.
Brown accepted a Very
Generous Offer to become Head Coach, GM and a piece of the team from Arthur
"Mickey" McBride who was the original Browns Owner and Arch Ward. (Ward was a Chicago Tribune Sportswriter who came up with the Major League Baseball All Star Game, Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament, College All Star Game and the AAFC.) Had
he come back to Ohio State, there is little doubt that The Buckeyes would have
been a very successful program under Brown. (Brown did coach The Buckeyes to
the National Championship in 1942.) By The Way, can you picture The History of
Ohio State Football WITHOUT Woody Hayes? (Who was hired in 1951 by Ohio State.)
Of course you can't.
Without Woody, you may never had Bo Schembechler, Lou Holtz and Earle Bruce (all of whom were assistants under Woody at one time.) From Bo; you get LSU Head Coach Les Miles and current Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Earle himself has an impressive and underrated coaching tree. Urban Meyer, Jim Tressell, Nick Saban, Mark Dantonio and Pete Carroll are among those who were assistants under Earle Bruce at one time.
See how the ripple effect works.
Plus remember this: Three NFL Teams wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Paul Brown (...and Art Modell, but don't get me started.) The Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.
Acknowledgements:
Pro Football Hall of
Fame
Wikipedia
