1948

CLEVELAND BROWNS

"The Year Around With The Browns"

 

Although they were not yet in the NFL, the 1948 Cleveland Browns became the first pro football team to go undefeated for an entire season (14-0)! Starved for pro football since the Rams left for Los Angeles in 1945, Browns fans swarmed into gigantic Municipal Stadium to watch winning football. In a battle of unbeatens on November 14, the largest crowd in all pro football history (82,769) packed in to watch the Browns beat the San Francisco 49’ers 14-7 in a hard-fought game! At halftime, the film takes you into the Browns locker room and you’ll see coaches Paul Brown, Dick Gallagher, Blanton Collier, John Bricker and the team, with Paul Brown at the blackboard changing a bit of strategy for the second half. Two weeks later in a re-match at old Kezar Stadium in front of almost 60,000, the Browns again beat the 49’ers 31-28, clinching the Western title. Three weeks later, they defeated the Eastern Champion Buffalo Bills in the snow at Cleveland to wrap up their 3rd consecutive AAFC championship! These games and others vs the Chicago Rockets, original Baltimore Colts with AAFC Rookie-of-the-Year Y.A. Tittle and Billy Hillenbrand, and New York Yanks with Lowell Wagner are shown on this film. In action for the 49’ers are QB Frankie Albert, Joe Perry, John Strzykalski and Alyn Beals. Against the Bills, Marion Motley scores three TD’s and team captain Lou Saban runs back an interception at the end, as the Browns overwhelm Buffalo 49-7! Throughout the film, other Browns you’ll see in action include Ed Ulinski, Billy Boedeker, Bob Cowan, Bob Gaudio, Chubby Grigg, Chet Adams, George Young, John Yonakor, Horace Gillom, Tommy Colella, Tommy James, Lou Groza, Mac Speedie, Lou Rymkus, Edgar Jones and Dante Lavelli and more!

This rare and somewhat unusual film was released by the Cleveland Browns after their victorious 1948 season, also giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the players, both on and off the field, leading up to and during their championship season. Introduced by young quarterback Otto Graham and narrated by early Browns play-by-play broadcaster Bob Neal, the film is part color and part black & white - B & W for the football action and color at the beginning for the informal shots of the players shown at work and at home during the off season as well as at training camp during the Browns’ annual team picnic for coaches, players, coaches, wives and members of the media. Here’s a sample of what you’ll see in color: Lou Saban and wife Lorraine at Lou’s graduation from Baldwin-Wallace, great vintage scenes of Ohio State campus as Tony Adamle, Dean Sensanbaugher, Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza, Bill Willis, Ollie Cline and Lin Houston all return to Ohio Stadium and the practice field for an informal workout, on campus at Kalamazoo Bill Boedeker is studying and you’ll see summer weddings that year for Warren Lahr and Ollie Cline. On his horse is guard Weldon Humble and working outside at home during the summer are Mac Speedie and son Mike and center Frank Gatski shoveling coal. Otto and Beverly Graham are neighbors of Cliff Lewis, who is building an outdoor fireplace and Otto comes over to check it out. Edgar Jones is a sandlot baseball pitcher during the summer, Lou Rymkus is a girl’s league baseball umpire and fullback Marion Motley trims his bushes with sons Ronald, Raymond and Phillip before leaving for training camp at Baldwin-Wallace. Shown is head coach and team founder Paul Brown holding his annual coach’s clinic at Bowling Green with Howard Brinker of Steubenville, Augie Morningstar and Ray Ride of Case Tech, Mike Scarry of Western Reserve and more. Team motion-picture cameraman John Borza (maker of this film) is present shooting players and wives participating at the annual team picnic and you’ll see Browns PR director Nate Wallack, writers Paul Hornung, Herman Goldstein, Harold Sauerbrei, coach Fritz Heisler, and players Dub Jones, Cliff Lewis, Ara Parseghian, Len Simonetti, Tommy James and more. Then great scenes of the stadium, leading up to B & W shots of game-action. This is the only copy of this rare NFL film known to exist, and is a fascinating treat for early Browns fans as well as NFL historians!

To order, send $29.95 + $4.00 S & H to:   (Illinois residents must add $2.30 state sales tax).