The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns-Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty

by Andy Piascik

Overview

For ten years the Cleveland Browns compiled a better record and won more championships than any team in pro football history. In their first game they set an all-time attendance record and consistently drew the largest crowds of the post-World War II era. They dominated an upstart league and then silenced their detractors by doing the same to the NFL. The Browns were led by Paul Brown, a football visionary who changed pro football. Most important among his innovations was the leading role the franchise played in the integration of pro sports. While much of their competition continued with the racial exclusion of the past, the Browns featured some of the greatest black players of all-time, men who were an integral part of the Cleveland dynasty. The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns, Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty tells the story of those players and that dynasty. Included in that story is the construction of the Browns as well as accounts of the team's many victories. Dozens of interviews bring to life the exploits of Otto Graham, Bill Willis, Marion Motley, Lou Groza, Mac Speedie, Len Ford, Dante Lavelli, Frank Gatski, and so many others. In rich detail, The Best Show in Football demonstrates why Cleveland's dynasty was the greatest ever, greater even than several teams that are usually accorded that honor. The conclusions may be surprising but the evidence is all here. And along the way author Andy Piascik provides a wonderful trip back to football's golden age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589796164
Publisher:	Taylor Trade Publishing
Publication date:	10/16/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	930,582
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Andy Piascik is a long-time activist for peace and social justice. He has written articles about labor history, African-Americans in sports, and other subjects for a variety of publications. In addition to The Best Show in Football, he is the author of Gridiron Gauntlet. He lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Notes on Terms xiii

Introduction 1

1 The Beginning 5

2 Willis, Motley, and the Fall of the Color Line 31

3 The First Season 45

4 Two Championships in a Row 69

5 Jet Age Passing Attack 85

6 Perfect 105

7 Last Hurrah for the AAFC 123

8 Taking the NFL by Storm 151

9 The AAFC, the NFL, and the 1946-1949 Browns: Comparison and Evaluation 187

10 Continued Greatness and a Championship Game Loss 219

11 Lake Erie Rivalry 237

12 Groza and Gillom 255

13 Big Changes and a Third Straight Championship Game Loss 263

14 Willis and Motley Depart 287

15 A Defense for the Ages 291

16 Back on Top 305

17 Seven Championships in Ten Years 327

18 The Browns and Other Dynasties Compared 345

19 The End of an Era 365

Cleveland Browns Composite Roster, 1946-1955 369

A Key to the Nicknames 371

Sources 373

Index 381

About the Author 397

Editorial Reviews

Piascik's meticulous look at the success of the Browns during their first ten years of existence, and the impact that black players had in making that success possible, should be read by any fan of pro football.

Charles K. Ross

The Best Show in Football makes a solid case that from 1946 thru 1955, the Cleveland Browns were the greatest team in pro football history and proves beyond any reasonable doubt that they had some of the sport's greatest players and its greatest coach, Paul Brown.

Author Rabbi

Well-grounded in the boisterous economic optimism of post-'45 America, Piascik's work shows how the Cleveland Browns combined savvy management and marketing, social innovativeness, brilliant coaching, and raw athletic talent to unite an already football-crazed region and create one of the most successful sports organizations in history. Were the '46-'55 Browns the greatest football dynasty ever? Piascik says yes. Let the debate begin.

Alan H. Levy

Pro football began in Ohio, and Cleveland had a pro football identity long before the 1946 Browns. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that the original Browns made pro football the integral part of the Cleveland sports scene that it remains today. The original Browns had magnificent players. A half dozen players on the very first Browns team went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They were a special group of men. It is fitting that their story be told. Today's fans need to be reminded of the great impact the early Browns team had on pro football and how they influenced the game we all enjoy today.

Mike Brown

The Best Show in Football makes a solid case that from 1946 thru 1955, the Cleveland Browns were the greatest team in pro football history and proves beyond any reasonable doubt that they had some of the sport's greatest players and its greatest coach, Paul Brown.

Jack Clary