1951 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated

1951 Cleveland Browns season
Owner Mickey McBride
General managerPaul Brown
Head coach Paul Brown
Home field Cleveland Stadium
Local radio WERE
Results
Record11–1
Division place1st NFL American
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship
(at Rams) 17–24

The 1951 Cleveland Browns season was the team's second season with the National Football League. Dub Jones set an NFL record with six touchdowns in one game versus the Chicago Bears. [1]

Contents

Offseason and roster moves

Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1950, its first year in the league after four seasons in the defunct All-America Football Conference. Head coach Paul Brown made a number of roster moves in the offseason, including bringing in fullback Chick Jagade, end Bob Oristaglio and defensive backs Don Shula and Carl Taseff.

NFL draft selections

1951 Cleveland Browns draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
114 Ken Konz  *  Halfback LSU Career delayed by service in the Korean War
Pro Bowl (1955) [2]
218Bucky Curtis  End Vanderbilt
338 Jerry Helluin   Tackle Tulane Career delayed by service in the Korean War
439 Bob Oristaglio  End Pennsylvania
441Bob Smith Halfback Texas A&M
450 Art Donovan  *  Tackle Boston College Pro Bowl (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957) [3]
Hall of Fame class of 1968
562 Ace Loomis  Halfback Wisconsin-La Crosse
674Dan Rogas  Guard Tulane
782Irv Holdash  Center North Carolina
786 Walt Michaels  * Halfback Washington and Lee Pro Bowl (1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959) [4]
888 Art Spinney  * EndBoston CollegePro Bowl (1959, 1960) [5]
898Max Clark Halfback Houston
9105 Burl Toler  Guard San Francisco
9110 Don Shula   Halfback John Carroll Hall of Fame class of 1997
10123 Chet Gierula  Guard Maryland
11135Bernie Curtis Halfback Syracuse
12142Milan Sellers Halfback Florida State
12147Stew Kirtley End Morehead State
13159Bob Voskuhl Center Georgetown (KY)
14171Rudy Cernoch Tackle Northwestern
15183 Joe Skibinski  Guard Purdue
16195Ed Pasky Halfback South Carolina
17207Leroy Ka-Ne Halfback Dayton
18219Rube DeRoin Center Oklahoma State
19231Ray Solari Guard California
20243Jack Crocher Halfback Tulsa
21255Ray Stone End Texas
22267 Carl Taseff   Cornerback John Carroll
23279Johnny Champion Halfback Southern Methodist
24291Wayne Benner HalfbackFlorida State
25303John Knispel TackleWisconsin–La Crosse
26315 Fred Williams  * Tackle Arkansas Pro Bowl (1952, 1953, 1958, 1959) [6]
27327Jack Jones Halfback Livingston
28339Roger Thrift Halfback East Carolina
29351Bill Driver HalfbackFlorida State
30362 Sisto Averno  Guard Muhlenberg
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster and coaching staff

1951 Cleveland Browns roster

Quarterbacks 

Halfbacks

Fullbacks 

Ends

Guards 

Tackles

Centers


Assistants

Rookies in italics (2)
34 Active, 0 Inactive

NFL American Conference
CHC
CLE
NYG
PHI
PIT
WAS
National Conference
BAL
CHB
DET
GB
LA
NYY
SF

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 17 College All-Stars W 38–71–0 Soldier Field 92,180
2August 25 New York Yanks W 52–02–0 Rubber Bowl 25,820
3September 4at Detroit Lions L 20–212–1 Briggs Stadium 35,165
4September 9at Chicago Bears W 32–213–1 Wrigley Field 67,342
5September 14 Los Angeles Rams W 7–64–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 38,851

Regular season schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 30at San Francisco 49ers L 10–240–1 Kezar Stadium 52,219 Recap
2October 7at Los Angeles Rams W 38–231–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 67,186 Recap
3October 14 Washington Redskins W 45–02–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 33,968 Recap
4October 21 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–03–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium32,409 Recap
5October 28 New York Giants W 14–134–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium56,947 Recap
6November 4at Chicago Cardinals W 34–175–1 Comiskey Park 19,742 Recap
7November 11 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–176–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium36,571 Recap
8November 18at New York GiantsW 10–07–1 Polo Grounds 52,215 Recap
9November 25 Chicago Bears W 42–218–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium40,969 Recap
10December 2Chicago CardinalsW 49–289–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium30,550 Recap
11December 9at Pittsburgh SteelersW 28–010–1 Forbes Field 24,229 Recap
12December 16at Philadelphia EaglesW 24–911–1 Shibe Park 16,263 Recap

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
Championship December 23at Los Angeles Rams L 17–240–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 57,540 Recap

Standings

NFL American Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns 1110.9179–0331152W11
New York Giants 921.8187–2–1254161W4
Washington Redskins 570.4174–5183296L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 471.3643–5–1183235W1
Philadelphia Eagles 480.3333–6234264L2
Chicago Cardinals 390.2500–8210287W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and records

Related Research Articles

The 1953 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth season with the National Football League. Their start of eleven wins before losing their last game was the closest to a true perfect season in the NFL until the 1972 Miami Dolphins. After that fifteen-point loss at Philadelphia, the Browns met the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game for the second straight year; the Lions won again, this time by a point at home.

The 1954 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fifth season with the National Football League. The Browns' defense became the first defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest rushing yards allowed, fewest passing yards allowed, and fewest total yards allowed.

The 1990 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 41st season with the National Football League.

The 1991 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 42nd season with the National Football League. On August 5, Browns founder Paul Brown died at the age of 82.

The 1983 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 34th season with the National Football League.

The 1970 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 21st season with the National Football League. The Browns attempted to improve on its 10-3-1 record from 1969. The team would fail to do so, and they finished with an even 7-7 record and missed the postseason. This was the first season that the Browns would play the Cincinnati Bengals, their new arch-rival in the AFC Central. The two teams split their two meetings in the first season series.

The 1978 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 29th season with the National Football League (NFL). After nearly three years of struggling offensively – and not making the playoffs—while posting just one winning record under ultra-strict, disciplinarian head coach Forrest Gregg, the Browns in 1978 decided to take a softer approach to liven up their attack – and their team. They did so by hiring a virtually unknown assistant at the time, New Orleans Saints receivers coach Sam Rutigliano, to replace Gregg, who was fired with one game left in the 1977 season. Rutigliano was the fourth head coach hired by Art Modell in his 18 years as club owner to that point, and it marked the first time Modell had not promoted from within the organization to fill the spot.

The 1955 Cleveland Browns season was the team's sixth season with the National Football League. The Browns' defense became the first defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.

The 1960 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 11th season with the National Football League. The 1960 Browns compiled an 8–3–1 record, and finished second in the NFL's Eastern Conference, behind the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles. As runner-up, the Browns qualified for the inaugural third place Playoff Bowl in Miami, but lost 17–16 to the Detroit Lions on January 7.

The 1964 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 19th season, and 15th season with the National Football League. The Browns won the NFL Championship, despite having not made the playoffs in six seasons.

The 1965 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 16th season with the National Football League. With an NFL-best 11–3 mark, the 1965 team finished just a shade better than the year before (10–3–1) and, just as they had in 1964, the Browns returned to the NFL Championship Game; however, this time, they lost 23–12 to the Green Bay Packers in the last title contest held before the advent of the Super Bowl. It would be the first of three straight NFL crowns for the Packers, who went on to win the first two Super Bowls as well.

The 1966 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 17th season with the National Football League. They finished just 9–5, their worst record since 1962, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1963.

The 1967 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 18th season with the National Football League. The Browns were back in the playoffs after a one-year absence. They finished 9–5, the same as in 1966, but this time, it was good enough for them to get in as they won the Century Division championship in the first year of play after the NFL split the Eastern and Western conferences into two divisions each. The division race was not close, as the Browns finished two games ahead of the runner-up New York Giants (7–7), their old arch rival in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The 1968 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 19th season with the National Football League. The Browns made it to the playoffs for the 2nd straight year thanks to an 8-game winning streak. Quarterback Bill Nelsen replaced Frank Ryan as the starting quarterback prior to week 4 of their season.

The 1969 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 20th season with the National Football League and the last before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.

The 2003 Cleveland Browns season was the franchise's 55th season as a professional sports franchise and its 51st season as a member of the National Football League. The Browns were unable to replicate the success from the previous season, and they ended up winning only five games. They failed to return to the playoffs. This season would begin a stretch, which was unbroken until the 2020 season, in which the Browns would not make it to the playoffs in any capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Cleveland Browns season</span> 56th season in franchise history

The 2004 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 56th season and 52nd with the National Football League. The Browns were looking to improve on their 5–11 record from 2003 and return to their 2002 playoff position; however, hindered by a tough schedule they regressed further and only won four games. On November 30, Butch Davis resigned as head coach and general manager of the team. He was succeeded by offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie. Robiskie promoted tight end coach Rob Chudzinski to offensive coordinator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Los Angeles Rams season</span> NFL team season

The 1951 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 14th year in the National Football League and the sixth season in Los Angeles. In 1951, the Rams had an up-and-down season, never winning more than three games in a row, but were able to win eight games and clinch the National Conference after defeating the Green Bay Packers during Week 12 of the season. Los Angeles also led the National Football League in attendance for the second time while in Southern California; the first of 10 consecutive seasons leading the league in attendance. The Rams' largest crowd during the 1951 campaign was 67,186 against the Cleveland Browns during Week 2.

The 1979 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and 20th overall.

References

  1. The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.226, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN   978-1-58979-360-6
  2. "Ken Konz career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  3. "Art Donovan career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  4. "Walt Michaels career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  5. "Art Spinney career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  6. "Fred Williams career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.