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1954 Cleveland Browns season

1954 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWGAR
Results
Record9–3
Division place1st Eastern
Playoff finishWon NFL Championship
(vs. Lions) 56–10
Pro BowlersOtto Graham, QB
Len Ford, DE
Lou Groza, LT
Abe Gibron, G
Don Colo, DT
Dante Lavelli, E
All-Pros
4

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

Main article: 1954 NFL season

Schedule

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

Standings

Program for the October 10 game against the Chicago Cards.
NFL Eastern Conference
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 Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Detroit Lions 9 2 1 .818 8–2 337 189 W1
Chicago Bears 8 4 0 .667 7–3 301 279 W4
San Francisco 49ers 7 4 1 .636 5–4–1 313 251 W2
Los Angeles Rams 6 5 1 .545 4–5–1 314 285 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 8 0 .333 3–7 234 251 L4
Baltimore Colts 3 9 0 .250 2–8 131 279 L1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Championship Game

Main article: 1954 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

  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
  2. ^ a b Stolle, Fred (December 27, 1954). "Graham features as Cleveland crushes Detroit, 56-10, for pro grid championship". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). p. 8.
  3. ^ a b Liska, Jerry (December 27, 1954). "Graham stars as Browns humble Lions, 56-19". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 3, part 2.
  4. ^ "Mixture as before: Lions beat Browns". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 20, 1954. p. 21.
  5. ^ Livingston, Pat (December 26, 1954). "Lions battle Browns for NFL title". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.
  6. ^ "Browns-Lions clash in Cleveland today for grid title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 26, 1954. p. D1.
  7. ^ 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
  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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