1954 Cleveland Browns season

1954 Cleveland Browns season
1954 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Local radio	WGAR
Results
Record	9–3
Division place	1st Eastern
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship (vs. Lions) 56–10
	← 1953; Browns seasons; 1955 →;

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.^[1]

The Browns were 9–3 in the regular season and won the Eastern Conference. They hosted the NFL Championship Game, and met the two-time defending champion Detroit Lions for the third straight year. This year's result was different, as the Browns won with a 56–10 blowout.^[2]^[3]

The teams had met on the same field the previous week, in a meaningless game won 14–10 by the Lions. Both teams had already clinched their respective conference titles; it was postponed from early October due to the World Series.^[4] After the win, Detroit was a slight favorite for the title game.^[5]^[6]

Offseason[]

Defensive Back Don Paul arrived via a trade with the Washington Redskins, who acquired him from the Chicago Cardinals. Upon his arrival in Washington, he fell in disfavor with George Preston Marshall of the Redskins.^[7]

In January 1954, assistant coach Weeb Ewbank departed to become head coach of the Baltimore Colts.^[8]^[9]

NFL Draft[]

The 1954 NFL Draft was one of the biggest busts in the team's history. With the first overall pick in the draft, the Browns selected quarterback Bobby Garrett out of Stanford University. The plan was that he would be the heir to Otto Graham. Garrett suffered from a stuttering problem which hindered his performance in the huddle. Eventually, Garrett was traded to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Babe Parilli, although Parilli would not play for the Browns until 1956.^[7] Later in the first round, the club selected John Bauer, who never played for the Browns and only played in two NFL games in his career.^[7]

Roster[]

1954 Cleveland Browns roster

Quarterbacks

14 Otto Graham
16 George Ratterman

Running Backs

54 Tony Adamle (LB)
38 Maurice Bassett (FB)
46 Billy Reynolds (RB, DB)
32 Fred Morrison
44 Chet Hanulak

Wide Receivers

26 Ray Renfro
56 Dante Lavelli
40 Dub Jones (WB, DB, RB, KR)
94 Don Phelps (KR, PR)

Tight Ends

82 Pete Brewster
56 Dante Lavelli E (RE)

Offensive Linemen

74 Mike McCormack LT (DL)
76 Lou Groza RT (K)
64 Abe Gibron G/C
65 Chuck Noll RG
52 Frank Gatski C
62 Herschel Forester
78 John Sandusky
60 Harold Bradley

Defensive Linemen

82 Carlton Massey DE
70 Don Colo DE
79 Bob Gain DL (T)
83 Doug Atkins DE
80 Len Ford DE
79 Don King DL
72 John Kissell DE

Linebackers

65 Chuck Noll LB (G, C)
54 Tom Catlin (C)
34 Walt Michaels
54 Tony Adamle

Defensive Backs

42 Tommy James
20 Don Paul
22 Ken Konz DB
15 Ken Gorgal DB

Special Teams

76 Lou Groza K (RT)
84 Horace Gillom P (DE)

Reserve Lists

N/A

Source:

Exhibition schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 21	at Green Bay Packers	W 14–13	15,747
2	August 27	at Los Angeles Rams	L 38–10	58,567
3	September 5	at San Francisco 49ers	L 21–38	46,877
4	September 10	vs. Detroit Lions at Dallas	L 31–56	42,000
5	September 18	Chicago Bears	L 7–35	17,631

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 26	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–28	0–1	Connie Mack Stadium	26,546
2	October 3	Postponement to December 19; (World Series)
3	October 10	Chicago Cardinals	W 31–7	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	24,101
4	October 17	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 27–55	1–2	Forbes Field	33,262
5	October 24	at Chicago Cardinals	W 35–3	2–2	Comiskey Park	23,823
6	October 31	New York Giants	W 24–14	3–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	30,448
7	November 7	Washington Redskins	W 62–3	4–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	25,158
8	November 14	at Chicago Bears	W 39–10	5–2	Wrigley Field	48,773
9	November 21	Philadelphia Eagles	W 6–0	6–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	41,537
10	November 28	at New York Giants	W 16–7	7–2	Polo Grounds	45,936
11	December 5	at Washington Redskins	W 34–14	8–2	Griffith Stadium	21,761
12	December 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 42–7	9–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	28,064
13	December 19	Detroit Lions	L 10–14	9–3	Cleveland Muncipal Stadium	34,168

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	9	3	0	.750	8–2	336	162	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	7	4	1	.636	7–3	284	230	W1
New York Giants	7	5	0	.583	7–3	293	184	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	7	0	.417	4–6	219	263	L2
Washington Redskins	3	9	0	.250	2–8	207	432	W1
Chicago Cardinals	2	10	0	.167	2–8	183	347	L3

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

NFL Championship Game[]

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Championship	December 26	Detroit Lions	W 56–10	1–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	43,827	Recap

Source:^[2]^[3]

References[]

^ The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6
^ ^a ^b Stolle, Fred (December 27, 1954). "Graham features as Cleveland crushes Detroit, 56-10, for pro grid championship". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). p. 8.
^ ^a ^b Liska, Jerry (December 27, 1954). "Graham stars as Browns humble Lions, 56-19". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 3, part 2.
^ "Mixture as before: Lions beat Browns". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 20, 1954. p. 21.
^ Livingston, Pat (December 26, 1954). "Lions battle Browns for NFL title". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.
^ "Browns-Lions clash in Cleveland today for grid title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 26, 1954. p. D1.
^ ^a ^b ^c The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.308, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6
^ "Baltimore signs Ewbank, Browns' aid(e), as coach". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 15, 1954. p. 3, part 2.
^ The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.310, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6

[1] The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6

[grftrs-2] Stolle, Fred (December 27, 1954). "Graham features as Cleveland crushes Detroit, 56-10, for pro grid championship". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). p. 8.

[gsabh-3] Liska, Jerry (December 27, 1954). "Graham stars as Browns humble Lions, 56-19". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 3, part 2.

[mxasbef-4] "Mixture as before: Lions beat Browns". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 20, 1954. p. 21.

[pgppre-5] Livingston, Pat (December 26, 1954). "Lions battle Browns for NFL title". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.

[yvpreg-6] "Browns-Lions clash in Cleveland today for grid title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 26, 1954. p. D1.

[Football_p.308-7] The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.308, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6

[bsewb-8] "Baltimore signs Ewbank, Browns' aid(e), as coach". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 15, 1954. p. 3, part 2.

[9] The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.310, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6

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v t Cleveland Browns 1954 NFL champions
14 Otto Graham 15 Ken Gorgal 16 George Ratterman 20 Don Paul 22 Kenny Konz 24 Warren Lahr 26 Ray Renfro 32 Curly Morrison 34 Walt Michaels 38 Mo Bassett 40 Dub Jones 42 Tommy James 44 Chet Hanulak 46 Billy Reynolds 50 Tom Catlin 52 Frank Gatski 54 Tony Adamle 60 Harold Bradley Jr. 62 Herschel Forester 64 Abe Gibron 65 Chuck Noll 70 Don Colo 72 John Kissell 74 Mike McCormack 76 Lou Groza 78 John Sandusky 79 Bob Gain 79 Don King 80 Len Ford 82 Carlton Massey 83 Doug Atkins 84 Horace Gillom 86 Dante Lavelli 88 Pete Brewster — Quincy Armstrong
Head Coach: Paul Brown
Assistant Coaches: Paul Bixler Howard Brinker Fritz Heisler Ed Ulinski

v t Cleveland Browns
Founded in 1946 Based in Cleveland, Ohio Headquartered in Berea, Ohio
Franchise	History Players Head coaches Seasons Logos and uniforms First-round draft picks 1999 expansion draft Starting quarterbacks Pro Bowlers Broadcasters
Stadiums	Cleveland Stadium FirstEnergy Stadium
Key personnel	Owners: Jimmy Haslam Dee Haslam Chief Strategy Officer: Paul DePodesta EVP of Football Ops/GM: Andrew Berry Head coach: Kevin Stefanski
Culture and lore	Art Modell Bottlegate Cleveland sports curse Dawg Pound The Drew Carey Show ("Drew Goes to the Browns' Game") Draft Day Hot Tub Time Machine Kardiac Kids Marty ball Miracle at the Met Paul Brown Red Right 88 Relocation controversy "The Best Man" The Drive The Express: The Ernie Davis Story The Fortune Cookie The Fumble
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers
Playoff appearances (29)	1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1958 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1971 1972 1980 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1994 2002 2020
Division championships (12)	1946 1947 1948 1967 1968 1969 1971 1980 1985 1986 1987 1989
Conference championships (11)	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1964 1965 1968 1969
League championships (8)	AAFC: 1946 1947 1948 1949 NFL: 1950 1954 1955 1964
Retired numbers	14 32 45 46 76
Hall of Fame inductees	Players: Brown, J. DeLamielleure Ford Gatski Graham Groza Hickerson Kelly Lavelli McCormack Mitchell Motley Newsome Warfield Willis Coach: Brown, P.
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1950–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: North Division
Former league affiliation	League: All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)