My All Time Favorite Cleveland Browns Players
When people think of the Cleveland Browns and its greatest players, they’ll usually think back to the team’s glory days of the 1950s and early 1960s. The Browns had some of the best players in football history on their teams. The early days of the Browns franchise featured a stout defense, but people who recall the Browns early years remember its offense. Marion Motley, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli and quarterback Otto Graham were a high flying bunch who greatly influenced what became the modern NFL offensive game. These players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and are some of the best Browns in team history.
Jim Brown is considered by many to be not only the best Browns player, but one of the greatest football players ever. His mix of strength and power made him one of the most feared and best running backs of all time. Despite retiring from football at the peak of his prowess, Brown is beloved by the Cleveland faithful and his standing as one of the top Browns ever is safe.
The 1980s were ultimately very disappointing for Browns fans, but it wasn’t because of a lack of talent. These Browns teams had some of the best players in team history. Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack proved to be a formidable 1-2 combination at running back, even if Byner is remembered for “The Fumble.” More recently, left tackle Joe Thomas is one of the best linemen in the entire NFL and is a solid anchor on their offensive line.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACKS
Otto Graham
Brian Sipe
Bernie Kosar
RUNNING BACKS
Jim Brown
Leroy Kelly
Marion Motley
Eric Metcalf
WIDE RECEIVERS
Paul Warfield
Dante Lavelli
WR – Mac Speedie (1946-1952)
Gary Collins
Derrick Alexander
TIGHT ENDS
Ozzie Newsome
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Lou Groza
Gene Hickerson
Frank Gatski
Jim Ray Smith
Mike McCormack
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Len Ford
DT – Bill Willis (1946-1953)
DT – Bob Gain (1952,1954-64)
Lyle Alzado
Michael Dean Perry
LINEBACKERS
Clay Mathews
LB – Walt Michaels (1952-1961)
Chip Banks
LB – Jim Houston (1960-1972)
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Frank Minnifield
CB – Hanford Dixon (1981-1989)
DB – Tommy James (1948-1955)
Warren Lahr
Thom Darden
S – Bernie Parrish (1959-1966)
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Matt Stover
P – Chris Gardocki
PR – Bobby Mitchell
KR – Joshua Cribbs
NICKNAME
- When owner Arthur McBride bought an AAFC team to Cleveland, he held a newspaper contest to name the team and offered a $1,000 war bond to the winner. Browns became a popular choice in tribute to Paul Brown the team’s head coach. Browns was selected the team was unable to use the winning entry Panthers, in honor of Cleveland’s first NFL entry.
TEAM HISTORY
- *-Played in AAFC (1946-1949)
- *-Played in NFL (1950-1995)
- *-On Hiatus (1996-1998)
- *-Played in NFL (1999-Present)
HEAD COACHES
- Paul Brown (1946-1962)
- Blanton Collier (1963-1970)
- Nick Skorich (1971-1974)
- Forrest Gregg (1975-1977)
- Dick Modzelewski (1977)
- Sam Rutigliano (1978-1984)
- Marty Schottenheimer (1984-1988)
- Bud Carson (1989-1990)
- Jim Shofner (1990)
- Bill Belichick (1991-1995)
- Chris Palmer (1999-2000)
- Butch Davis (2001-2004)
- Terry Robiskie (2004)
- Romeo Crennel (2005-2008)
- Eric Mangini (2009-2010)
- Pat Shurmur (2011-2012)
- Rob Chudzinski (2013)
- Mike Pettine (2014-2015)
- Hugh Jackson (2016-2018)
- Gregg Williams (2018)
- Freddie Kitchens (2019-Present)
SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS
- None
NFL CHAMPIONS (PRE-1966)
- 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964
AAFC CHAMPIONS
- 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES
- None
NFL CHAMPIOINSHIP GAMES (PRE-1966)
- 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965
NFL/AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
- 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987, 1989
DIVISION CHAMPIONS
- 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989
PLAYOFF APPEARANCES
- 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2002
PLAYOFF RECORD
- 16-20 .444
HALL OF FAME PLAYERS
- Doug Atkins DE (1953-1954)
- Jim Brown FB (1957-1965)
- Paul Brown Coach (1946-1962)
- Willie Davis DE (1958-1959)
- Len Dawson QB (1960-1961)
- Joe DeLamielleure G (1980-1984)
- Len Ford DE (1950-1957)
- Frank Gatski C (1946-1956)
- Otto Graham QB (1946-1955)
- Lou Groza T/PK (1946-1959, 1961-1967)
- Gene Hickerson G (1958-1973)
- Henry Jordan DT (1957-1958)
- Leroy Kelly RB (1964-1973)
- Dante Lavelli End (1946-1956)
- Mike McCormick T (1954-1962)
- Tommy McDonald WR (1968)
- Bobby Mitchell WR (1958-1961)
- Marion Motley FB (1946-1953)
- Ozzie Newsome TE (1978-1990)
- Paul Warfield WR (1964-69, 1976-1977)
- Bill Willis Guard (1946-1953)
RETIRED NUMBERS
- 14 Otto Graham QB (1946-1955)
- 32 Jim Brown FB (1957-1965)
- 45 Ernie Davis RB (1962 Draft Pick)
- 46 Don Fleming DB (1960-1962)
- 76 Lou Groza T/PK (1946-1959, 1961-1967)
PRO BOWL Bowl MVP
- 1951 Otto Graham QB
- 1962 Jim Brown FB
- 1963 Jim Brown FB
- 1966 Jim Brown FB
AWARDS
COACH OF THE YEAR
- 1949 Paul Brown
- 1951 Paul Brown
- 1953 Paul Brown
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
- 1982 Chip Banks LB
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
- 1957 Jim Brown FB
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- None
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- None
AAFC MVP
- 1947 Otto Graham QB
- 1948 Otto Graham QB
NFL MVP
- 1953 Otto Graham QB
- 1955 Otto Graham QB
- 1957 Jim Brown FB
- 1965 Jim Brown FB
- 1980 Brian Sipe QB
SUPER BOWL MVP
- None
The Cleveland Browns have had many great players over their history. Here is a list of Cleveland Browns players by position.
Cleveland Browns Quarterbacks
Derek Anderson, Tim Couch, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Jeff Garcia, Otto Graham, Kelley Holcomb, Bernie Kosar, Paul McDonald, Bill Nelson, Jim Ninowski, Tommy O’Connell, Mike Phipps, Milt Plum, Brady Quinn, George Ratterman, Frank Ryan, Mark Rypien, Brian Sipe, Vinnie Testaverde
Cleveland Browns Running Backs
Bill Boedeker, Jim Brown, Earnest Byner, Ken Carpenter, Reuben Droughns, Ernie Green, William Green, Calvin Hill, Leroy Hoard, Dub Jones, Edgar Jones, Leroy Kelly, Jamal Lewis, Kevin Mack, Eric Metcalf, Cleo Miller, Bobby Mitchell, Fred Morrison, Marion Motley, Ed Modzelewski, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Errict Rhett, Bo Scott, Charles White
Cleveland Browns Wide Receivers
Derrick Alexander, Pete Brewster, Antonio Bryant, Gary Collins, Andre Davis, Braylon Edwards, Ricky Feacher, Fair Hooker, Michael Jackson, Dante Lavelli, Reggie Langhorne, Dave Logan, Dennis Northcutt, Frank Pitts, Ray Renfro, Reggie Rucker, Webster Slaughter, Mac Speedie, Paul Warfield
Cleveland Browns Tight Ends
Mark Bavaro, Johnny Brewer, Mark Campbell, Chip Glass, Frank Hartley, Steve Heiden, Harry Holt, Brian Kinchen, Milt Morin, Ozzie Newsome, Gary Parris, Oscar Roan, Ralph Smith, Travis Tucker, Kellen Winslow Jr.
Cleveland Browns Offensive Lineman
Mike Baab, Rickey Bolden, Harold Bradley, Courtney Brown, John Brown, Orlando Brown, Monte Clark, Don Colo, Bill Contz, Jim Copeland, Barry Darrow, Willie Davis, Joe DeLamielleure, Tom DeLeone, Bob DeMarco, John DeMarie, Al Dennis, Doug Dieken, Steve Everitt, Mike Farren, Dan Fike, Herschel Forester, Frank Gatski, Abe Gibron, Forrest Grigg, Lou Groza, Fred Hoaglin, Art Hunter, Tony Jones, John Kissell, Mike McCormack, Bob McKay, John Morrow, Chuck Noll, Shaun O’Hara, Gene Hickerson, Robert E. Jackson, Jim Ray Smith, Chuck Reynolds, Cody Risien, Lou Rumkus, John Sandusky, Dick Schafrath, Henry Sheppard, Gerry Sullivan, Joe Taffoni, Ryan Tucker, Wally Williams, Frank Winters, John Wooten
Cleveland Browns Defensive Lineman
Lyle Alzado, Doug Atkins, Al Baker, Bob Briggs, Rob Burnett, Reggie Camp, Sam Clancy, Earl Edwards, Len Ford, Elvis Franks, Bob Gain, Bill Glass, Bob Golic, Jack Gregory, Carl Hairston, Gerald Irons, Bill Johnson, Walter Johnson, James Jones, Joe Jones, Henry Jordan, Jim Kanicki, Mack Mitchell, Dick Modzelewski, Frank Parker, Michael Dean Perry, Anthony Pleasant, Dave Puzzuoli, Orpheus Roye, Jerry Sherk, Ron Snidow, Mike St. Clair, Gerard Warren, Paul Wiggin, Bill Willis, John Yonakor, George Young
Cleveland Browns Linebackers
Tony Adamle, Alex Agase, Dick Ambrose, Billy Andrews, Bob Babich, Carl Banks, Chip Banks, Mike Caldwell, Vince Costello, Tom Cousineau, Andra Davis, Galen Fiss, John Garlington, Dave Graf, David Grayson, Charlie Hall, Lin Houston, Weldon Humble, Robert L. Jackson, Eddie Johnson, Mike Johnson, Pepper Johnson, Ricky Jones, Dale Lindsey, Dave Lloyd, Mike Lucci, Bob Matheson, Walt Michaels, Scott Nicolas, Lou Saban, Frank Stams, Tommy Thompson, Van Waiters
Cleveland Browns Defensive Backs
Erich Barnes, Larry Benz, Leigh Bodden, Ron Bolton, Stephen Braggs, Clifford Brooks, Thom Darden, Ben Davis, Hanford Dixon, Ross Fichtner, Bobby Franklin, Corey Fuller, Robert Griffith, Al Gross, Mark Harper, Anthony Henry, Randy Hilliard, Mike Howell, Tommy James, Ernie Kellerman, Ken Konz, Warren Lahr, Antonio Langham, Cliff Lewis, Earl Little, Frank Minnifield, Stevon Moore, Bernie Parrish, Don Paul, Chris Rockins, Clarence Scott, Jim Shofner, Walt Sumner, Bennie Thompson, Eric Turner, Everson Walls, Felix Wright
Cleveland Browns Kickers
Matt Bahr, Don Cockroft, Phil Dawson, Lou Groza, Matt Stover
Cleveland Browns Punters
Don Cockroft, Chris Gardocki, Horace Gillom, Jeff Gossett, Brian Hansen, Tom Tupa
©MMXIX My All Time Favorites, all pictures and logos, team names are property of the National Football League. This site is not affiliated with the NFL or Cleveland Browns. All Football Cards are low resolution scans from a personal collection and each is credited with the production company name and year. This site is maintained for research purposes only.