December 29, 1957: The Detroit Lions' Last Title (So Far)

One of the two touchdown passes caught by Steve Junker

December 29, 1957: The NFL Championship Game is held at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. For the 4th time in the last 6 seasons, it will be between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns.

Although separate by just 170 miles of road, and even less as the crow flies, over Lake Erie, the teams were in separate divisions: The Lions has won the NFL Western Division in 1952, '53, '54, and now again in '57; while the Browns had won the NFL Eastern Division every year since entering the League in 1950. In fact, they had reached their league's championship game every year, until the year before this:

* 1946, in the All-America Football Conference: Beat the New York Yankees. Aside from playing in Yankee Stadium, they had no official connection to the baseball team of the same name.

* 1947: Beat the Yankees again.

* 1948: Beat the Buffalo Bills. This team was folded along with the AAFC, and bears no connection besides name to the current Bills franchise, which was founded with the American Football League in 1960, and joined the NFL with the 1970 merger.

* 1949: Beat the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams were then admitted to the NFL.

* 1950: Beat the Los Angeles Rams.

* 1951: Lost to the Rams.

* 1952: Lost to the Lions in Cleveland, 17-7.

* 1953: Lost to the Lions again, in Detroit, 17-16.

* 1954: Beat the Lions in Cleveland, 56-10.
* 1955: Beat the Rams.

In 1956, their 1st season without Otto Graham as quarterback, they fell to 5-7. But in 1957, their 1st season with Jim Brown in their backfield, they went 9-2-1, giving them the best record in the League. The only blemishes on their record were a loss away to the Philadelphia Eagles, a draw away to the Washington Redskins, and a loss away to the Lions, 3 weeks before the Championship Game.

The Lions had seen the retirement of their great running back, 1948 Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker. And, unlike the Browns, with Paul Brown, they had lost the coach who had led them to glory: Buddy Parker, who had also been a player on their previous NFL Championship team, in 1935, had left in a dispute with ownership. George Wilson was now the head coach, while Parker was quickly hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But they still had Bobby Layne as quarterback, and they still had a Heisman winner in their backfield: 1955 winner Howard "Hopalong" Cassady. And John Henry Johnson was also in their backfield now. And they still had another Heisman winner for Layne to pass to: 1949 winner Leon Hart.

Their offensive line included center Frank Gatski, guard Harley Sewell, and tackle Lou Creekmur. Their defense was led by end Darris McCord, linebacker Joe Schmidt, cornerbacks Jack Christiansen and Jim David, and safety Yale Lary. Layne, Johnson, Gatski, Creekmur, Schmidt, Christiansen and Lary are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Lions went 8-4. But they were significantly less convincing: A visit to San Francisco resulted in a loss of only 35-31. But they lost 34-14 away to the Baltimore Colts, 35-17 to the Rams in Los Angeles, and 27-7 to the Chicago Bears in Detroit.

To make matters worse, Layne broke his ankle late in the season. Tobin Rote stepped in, and got them to a tie for the Western Division title with the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions trailed 27-7 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, but Rote led them to come from behind, winning 31-27, to set up their meeting with the Browns. As it was an odd-numbered year, it was the West winner's turn to host.

Tobin Rote

Despite the game being in Detroit, the Browns were favored. The Lions quickly made everyone wonder why. Jim Martin kicked a field goal. Rote finished the Lions' next drive with a 1-yard touchdown run of his own. He led another drive, ending with another 1-yard run, by Gene Gedman. It was 17-0 Lions after the 1st quarter.

Jim Brown scored on a 29-yard touchdown run to get the Browns on the board. But Rote threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Steve Junker, and Terry Barr intercepted Browns quarterback Tommy O'Connell, returning it 19 yards for a touchdown. At halftime, it was Lions 31, Browns 7.

The game was effectively over, but, at this point, nobody would consider any team coached by Paul Brown to be finished. Alas, O'Connell was his quarterback now, not Otto Graham.  O'Connell led a drive that finished with a 5-yard run by Lew Carpenter, and the Browns were within 31-14. But the Lions put the game away, with Rote throwing a 78-yard touchdown pass to Jim Doran, and a 23-yard pass to Junker. It was 45-14 after 3 quarters.

Rote threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Dave Middleton. Finally, Rote came out of the game, but his backup, Jerry Reichow, threw a 17-yard pass to Cassady, putting the finishing touches on a 59-14 win.

It was the most points scored in an NFL Championship Game, except for the Bears' 73-0 win over the Redskins in 1940. It remains the 2nd-most, as no team has scored more than 55 in a Super Bowl. And the Lions did it with a backup quarterback.

But the Lions have never won another title. Layne joined Parker in Pittsburgh in 1958, and some fans wonder if the Lions might be under "The Curse of Bobby Layne." They went 11-3 in 1962, giving the Packers their only defeat of the season. But, under the system of the time, they didn't make the Playoffs. It was their 3rd straight year finishing 2nd to Green Bay.

They didn't make the Playoffs again until 1970, winning the newly-instituted Wild Card berth in the NFC. From 1957 to 2021, they've won exactly one Playoff game, in 1991, though they went on to lose the NFC Championship Game to Washington. They've hosted exactly 2 Playoff games in 64 seasons. The Lions haven't always been bad, but when they have been bad, they've been atrocious: 2 3-13 seasons, 3 2-14s, and the 1st 0-16 season in NFL history in 2008.

Briggs Stadium was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961. The Lions played there through 1974, moved into the Silverdome in suburban Pontiac in 1975, and back into the city into Ford Field in 2002.

In 1960, George Wilson hired Don Shula to be one of his assistant coaches. In 1961, Shula was named defensive coordinator. In 1963, Shula was named head coach of the Baltimore Colts. Wilson went on to become the 1st head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 1966. He was fired in 1970, and replaced by Shula, who led them to 5 Super Bowls, winning 2.

Tobin Rote would again step in for an injured starter, John Hadl, and lead the San Diego Chargers to the 1963 AFL Championship. Come to think of it, that's the Chargers last league title, too -- and, unlike the Lions, their only one.

Only 3 active NFL teams have won an NFL Championship Game, but not a Super Bowl. Two of them were in this game: The Lions, and the Browns, who have not won one since 1964. The other is the Chicago Cardinals, who last won in 1947, before moving to St. Louis in 1960 and Arizona in 1988.

UPDATE: In the 2023 season, the Lions went 12-5, their best record since 1991. And they won 2 Playoff games, before losing the NFC Championship Game to San Francisco. Maybe things are finally looking up.

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December 29, 1957 was a Sunday. No college football bowl games were played on this day. Baseball was out of season. There were 2 games played in the NBA. The Syracuse Nationals beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 105-97 at the Onondaga County War Memorial (now the Upstate Medical University Arena) in Syracuse, New York. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Cincinnati Royals, 111-103 at the Cincinnati Gardens.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 2-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Chicago Stadium.

December 27, 1964: The Cleveland Browns' Last Title -- So Far

Jim Brown (32) takes a handoff from Frank Ryan (13)

December 27, 1964: The NFL Championship Game is played, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The host Cleveland Browns had been a dominant team from their 1946 inception until 1957, and were back after a rebuild.

Controversially, that rebuild involved Art Modell buying the team, and firing the founding head coach and general manager, Paul Brown. Blanton Collier was put in charge, and he revamped the team, including installing Frank Ryan at quarterback. Ryan was working on a doctorate in mathematics, and would later teach at the university level.

Collier also gave Jim Brown a bit more leeway. In 1963, Collier's 1st season, Brown rushed for 1,863 yards, an NFL record that stood for another 10 years. In 1964, he ran for 1,446. The Browns had another Hall-of-Fame running back in Leroy Kelly. Paul Warfield, a rookie receiver, would also go to Canton. So would guard Gene Hickerson. And so would their one holdover from their 1950s titlists, placekicker Lou Groza.

The Browns went 10-3-1. The St. Louis Cardinals tied them 33-33 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and beat them 28-19 in St. Louis. The Browns also lost 23-7 at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and 28-21 to the Green Bay Packers in Milwaukee. The losses in Milwaukee and St. Louis were both late in the season. But a 52-20 demolition of the Giants at Yankee Stadium in the final regular-season game gave them the Eastern Division title by half a game over the Cardinals, who went 9-3-2.

They would host the NFL Championship Game against the Baltimore Colts, who were favored, having gone 12-2. With Johnny Unitas quarterbacking several holdovers from their 1958 and '59 NFL Champions, they lost their opener away tot he Minnesota Vikings, and their next-to-last game at home to the Detroit Lions. But they won the rest of their games. They did not play the Browns in the regular season. Despite the Browns having the home field, the Colts were favored by 7 points.

There was no scoring in the 1st half. The Browns began the 3rd quarter with the wind at their backs, and Groza's kickoff went beyond the end zone. The Browns' defense held the Colts, and Tom Gilburg had to punt into the wind. The Browns took over in Colt territory, but could only get a 43-yard field goal from Groza.

That seemed to break the ice, though: The Colts could do nothing on their ensuing drive, and an 18-yard run by Brown was followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Gary Collins, and the Browns were up, 10-0.

The Colts could not recover. Tony Lorick ran Groza's kickoff out of the end zone, and was tackled at his own 11. A clipping penalty forced another punt into the wind, and the Browns got the ball back at the Colt 39. Another pass from Ryan to Collins made it 17-0. Unitas got the Colts into Browns territory on the next drive, but the usually reliable Lenny Moore fumbled a handoff, and the Browns recovered. The 3rd quarter closed with a 23-yard run by Jim Brown.

Never before had a single quarter so turned around an NFL championship game, and none would again for 23 years, until the 2nd quarter of Super Bowl XXII, when Denver led 10-0 at the start, and Washington led 35-10 at the end.

The Colts held the Browns to another Groza field goal, and it was 20-0. Unitas looked to have gotten the Colts to the Brown 15, by a wide-open Jimmy Orr dropped the pass, and the Colts had to punt. This time, they had the wind, but it made no difference, and a 3rd Ryan-to-Collins touchdown made the final score 27-0. Collins -- no relation to the actor and game-show host of the same name -- thus became the 1st player ever to catch 3 touchdown passes in an NFL title game.

In spite of the performances of Ryan, Brown and Collins, the Browns' defense was as much of a story. They held Unitas to 95 passing yards, and the team as a whole to 92 rushing yards.

This game had 5 officials: A referee, an umpire, a head linesman, a back judge and a field judge. And their penalty flags were white. The next season, a line judge was added, and penalty flags were changed to yellow, to show up better on color television. In 1978, the side judge brought the on-field officials' complement to their current 7.

This would prove to be Jim Brown's only title. The next season, the Browns got back into the NFL Championship Game, but lost to the Green Bay Packers. Jim then retired to focus on acting and civil rights activism. The Browns would reach the NFL Championship Game again in 1968, but lost to the Colts; and again in 1969, but lost to the Vikings. They reached the AFC Championship Game in the seasons of 1986, 1987 and 1989, but lost all 3. They have never won another NFL title, not since this game, which could be retroactively labeled "Super Bowl -II."

The Colts lost Super Bowl III to close the 1968-69 season, but won Super Bowl V. In 1984, they moved to Indianapolis. In 1995, angry that he couldn't get a new stadium, or at least a better lease at Municipal Stadium, Art Modell moved the Browns -- to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens. You would think that, having had their hearts broken 11 years earlier, Baltimore would have known better. They won Super Bowls XXXV and XLVII.

A new Browns franchise was established for 1999, but they have largely struggled: In their 1st 24 seasons, they've only made the Playoffs twice, winning just 1 game.

Along with the Detroit Lions, the Browns are 1 of 2 teams to have won an NFL Championship, but, through the 2021 season, never reached the Super Bowl. The Browns, the Lions, and the team now known as the Arizona Cardinals are the only 3 teams to have won an NFL Championship, but not won a Super Bowl. (The Cardinals have reached one, but lost it. I should say 4 teams, as the Minnesota Viking won the 1969 NFL Championship, but lost Super Bowl IV.)

The fact that the Browns' titles came before the advent of the Super Bowl means that they get discounted: Even before the distance of time became what it is now, NFL fans had come to regard any title won before the Super Bowl, NFL or AFL, as not a "real" championship.

What's more, the 1964 Browns are often considered, along with the 1963 Chicago Bears, to be an NFL Champion that would have lost to that season's AFL Champions. The day before this game, the AFL Championship Game was played at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo Bills beat the San Diego Chargers, 20-7.

The Browns' 1964 NFL Championship would be the last title won by any Northern Ohio team for a long time, and many gut-wrenching close calls would come in the interim. The Browns would have "The Drive" in the 1986 AFC Championship Game, and "The Fumble" in the 1987 edition, before "The Move" and "The Return."

The Cleveland Indians, now known as the Cleveland Guardians, wouldn't even get close to the Playoffs until winning the American League Pennant in 1995, lost that year's World Series, and then lost the 1997 World Series despite leading in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 7. And they blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the 2007 AL Championship Series. The Cleveland Cavaliers were a hard-luck team, losing a 1989 NBA Playoff series to the Chicago Bulls on the last play, when Michael Jordan made "The Shot."

Finally, in 2016, the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship, ending Cleveland's overall title drought after 51 1/2 years. LeBron James and Jim Brown posed together with the NBA trophy.

*

December 27, 1964 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the St. Louis Hawks, 99-89 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-106 at the Boston Garden. Sam Jones scored 40 points.

* And the Baltimore Bullets beat the Cincinnati Royals, 126-119 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena). Walt Bellamy and Gus Johnson each scored 32 for the Bullets, while Oscar Robertson scored 48 for the Royals.

And There were 2 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 6-2 at the Chicago Stadium. The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs were not scheduled.

November 1, 1964: Jim Brown Breaks the 10,000-Yard Barrier

November 1, 1964: The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-17 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh. Jim Brown rushed for 149 yards. A week earlier, he had surpassed former San Francisco 49ers running back Joe Perry, as the all-time leading rusher in American professional football history, at 9,723 yards. This performance allowed him to become the 1st player surpass the 10,000-yard barrier.

The Browns scored 3 touchdowns in the game, but Brown didn't score any of them. Ernie Green scored 2, and Clifton McNeil caught a touchdown pass from Frank Ryan. Lou Groza, then in his last pro season and the NFL's all-time leading scorer, kicked 3 field goals and 3 extra points.

Brown retired after the 1965 season, with 12,312 yards. This remained a record for 19 years. He played 9 seasons in the NFL, and led the League in rushing yards in all but 1 one of them: 1962, when Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers did so.

In 1999, The Sporting News listed Brown as Number 1 on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Number 2 was Jerry Rice, then still an active receiver with the San Francisco 49ers. In 2010, with Rice's career having reached unprecedented heights for a receiver, the NFL Network rated Rice 1st and Brown 2nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Players.

Brown played 12 games a year from 1957 to 1960, and 14 from 1961 to 1965. The NFL schedule was expanded to 16 games in 1978, and 17 in 2022. With that expansion, through the 2022 season, there have been 31 men who have rushed for at least 10,000 yards. There are 10 players who have surpassed Brown's former record of 12,312 yards. The current leader is Emmitt Smith, with 18,355 yards.

*

November 1, 1964 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the NFL version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 34-17 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-10 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the San Francisco 49ers, 37-7 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams, 37-17 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears, 24-10 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 42-13 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburbs of Bloomington, Minnesota.

There were 3 games played in the American Football League:

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Houston Oilers, 24-10 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 49-39 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* And the San Diego Chargers beat the Oakland Raiders, 31-17 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.

* The day before, on Halloween Night, the New York Jets beat the Boston Patriots, 35-14 at Shea Stadium. This was one New York vs. Boston matchup that was not considered a rivalry at the time. It would become one.

There were 2 games played in the NBA. The Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 114-101 at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-115 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" was in action:

* The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Candiens, 3-1 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-2 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

September 29, 1957: A Harlem Farewell, and Hellos In Green Bay and Cleveland

 

September 29, 1957: The New York Giants baseball team play their last game at the Polo Grounds, their owner Horace Stoneham having already announced that they're moving to San Francisco. Unlike the Brooklyn Dodgers, who played their last home game at Ebbets Field 5 days earlier, they have a farewell ceremony, including Blanche McGraw, widow of longtime manager John, who said that the move would have broken his heart.

Since moving to the site in 1890, including replacing the original stadium that burned down in 1911, the Giants had won 15 National League Pennants, and won the World Series 5 times: In 1905, 1921, 1922, 1933 and 1954.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, unable to even score off the Dodgers on Tuesday night, beat the Giants on Sunday afternoon, 9-1. The crowd is a pathetically small 11,606, and storms the field after the game. At one point, they gather at the center field blockhouse that included both teams' locker rooms, chanting for Mays, "We want Willie!" And, to the tune of "Good Night, Ladies," they sing, "We want Stoneham! We want Stoneham! We want Stoneham, with a rope around his neck!"

Stoneham had already said that the fans had no one to blame but themselves, as they hadn't shown up in sufficient numbers, borne out by the small crowd at the finale: "I feel bad for the kids, but I haven't seen too many of their fathers lately."

As for the Dodgers: Their last game as a Brooklyn team is also on this day, and it is a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. Ed Bouchee homers for the Phils, and Seth Morehead outpitches Roger Craig.

The last active Brooklyn Dodger was Bob Aspromonte, who played until 1971. The last active New York Giant was Willie Mays, who played until 1973.

The last pitch by a Brooklyn Dodger is thrown by an erratic (so far) reliever from Brooklyn, Sandy Koufax. The last Brooklyn play is left fielder Bob Kennedy flying to center fielder Richie Ashburn. It is also, though no one foresees the Winter's tragedy, the last game for Roy Campanella, and his last at-bat is also a fly to Ashburn. With both teams well out of the race, only 9,886 attend the Brooklyn Dodgers' semi-official funeral.

*

That is not the case at the 1st game at the new City Stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the Packers move out of the old one, which was too small, and 32,132 see them beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 21-17.

Actual color photo from the 1st game

The stadium was renamed Lambeau Field after team founder Earl "Curly" Lambeau died in 1965. By that point, capacity was be 50,861. That's how many people attended the 1967 NFL Championship Game on New Year's Eve, known as the Ice Bowl: Despite a gametime temperature of -15 degrees Fahrenheit, without the wind chill factor, there wasn't an empty seat in the house. The capacity became 55,000 by 1970, 58,000 by 1990, 60,000 by 1995, 70,000 by 2005, and is now 81,411.

Since moving to Lambeau Field in 1957, the Packers have made the Playoffs 27 times, won 14 Division titles, reached the NFL (1957-69) or NFC (1970-2016) Championship Game 13 times, won 8, reached 5 Super Bowls, and won 4 of them: I, II, XXXI and XLV -- meaning they have been World Champions for the seasons of 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1996 and 2010.

Lambeau Field is the oldest active stadium in the NFL. The Bears' Soldier Field went up in 2002, replacing the same of the same name on the same site that went up in 1924, although the Bears have only played on the site since 1970.

Its debut was also the NFL debut of Jim Brown, who ran for 86 yards, and caught a pass for 6 yards. This helped the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Giants, 6-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Brown would go on to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher. In 1999, The Sporting News put him on top of their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

*

September 29, 1957 was a Sunday. On this day, Mark L. Attanasio is born in The Bronx, and grows up just across the Hudson River, in Tenafly, Bergen County, New Jersey. Since 2005, he has been the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. This was also the day of the Kyshtym Disaster, a nuclear plant explosion and leak in Russia. I have a separate entry for that event.

In addition to the Giants' and Dodgers' losses, these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams went 2-for-2 with an RBI, before being replaced for defensive purposes by Jimmy Piersall. Jerry Coleman hit a home run. Mickey Mantle did not play.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 7-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Senators' bullpen collapsed in the top of the 10th inning, with the winning run scoring on an RBI double by Brooks Robinson.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 7-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Al Kaline went 2-for-5.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Redlegs, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. (The Reds called themselves the Redlegs from 1953 to 1959, because of the Red Scare.) Hank Aaron went 0-for-3. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-3 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Ernie Banks went 5-for-5 with an RBI. Stan Musial did not play.

And, in addition to the Lambeau and Jim Brown debuts, these NFL games were played:

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Detroit Lions, 34-14 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Washington Redskins, 28-7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-13 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* And the Chicago Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 20-10 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

July 13, 1966: Jim Brown Retires

July 13, 1966: Jim Brown retires from playing football. He is 30 years old.

It is not due to injury. It is because he is a black man who is his own man, and does not like a white man telling him what to do -- unless, possibly, it's by a film director.

Brown had played 9 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, 1957 to 1965, and had led the NFL in rushing yardage in 8 of those seasons, all but 1962. In 1963, he rushed for 1,852 yards, which stood as a single-season record for 10 years. In 1964, he helped the Browns win the NFL Championship, still the last they have ever won. In 1965, he got them back into the NFL Championship Game, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

He was still the best running back in professional football, already the NFL's all-time leading rusher with 12,312 yards (a record that would stand until 1984), and was eventually selected in 1999 by The Sporting News as the greatest player in NFL history.

He was now trying his hand as an actor, filming the World War II movie The Dirty Dozen in London. He was enjoying himself, feeling freer than he ever had.

But preseason training camps were underway, and Browns owner Art Modell told him to leave and come back to join his teammates in Berea, Ohio, 13 miles southwest of downtown Cleveland.

Brown refused, telling Modell, already a noted cheapskate, that he could make more money and sustain fewer injuries as an actor than as a football player. Brown retired from football, taking away the one power that Modell had over him, which was to have an undue affect on his football career, but giving up that football career.

He was 30. As of July 13, 2022, Jim Brown is 86 years old, and has never regretted his decision. As he put it, "What would you rather do: Get hit by Dick Butkus, or make love to Raquel Welch?" (Brown and Welch went on to film one of the earliest interracial love scenes in American movies, in the 1969 Western 100 Rifles. Though she was considered "white," Jo Raquel Tejada was of Bolivian descent.)

He went on to star in several "blaxploitation" films, including the Slaughter series. In 1988, he was among the stars of such films who joined Keenen Ivory Wayans in his parody of such films, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, playing Slammer to Isaac Hayes' Hammer, the two men's characters having retired from fighting crime on the streets of their city to run a barbecue restaurant.

Modell made peace with Brown, and named him a team consultant. Modell continued to own the Browns until 1995, never reaching another World Championship game, until moving them to become the Baltimore Ravens. They won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. He sold the team in 2003, and died in 2012, beloved in Maryland, but despised in Ohio.

A new Browns team began play in 1999, and Brown was named a consultant to their front office. He still holds this post. A statue of him stands outside their home, FirstEnergy Stadium, built in 1999 on the site of their home in his era, Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

UPDATE: Brown died on May 18, 2023, at the age of 87.

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July 13, 1966 was a Wednesday. Singer Gerald LeVert was born. This was also the night that Richard Speck killed 8 student nurses in Chicago. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball was the only major North American sport in season, and this was during the All-Star Break. The day before, the All-Star Game was played at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The National League won, 2-1, on a walkoff single by Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But the World Cup was underway in England, where Brown was filming The Dirty Dozen. On this day, France and Mexico played to a 1-1 draw at the old Wembley Stadium in London. (Brown is not known to have attended.) Argentina beat Spain, 2-1 at Villa Park in Birmingham. Portugal beat Hungary, 3-1 at Old Trafford in Manchester. And Italy beat Chile, 2-0 at Roker Park in Sunderland.

June 15, 1967: "The Dirty Dozen" Premieres

June 15, 1967: The Dirty Dozen premieres, based on the 1965 novel of the same title by E.M. Nathanson. It becomes one of the most popular films set in World War II, striking a chord with people tired of seeing news about the Vietnam War on television every night, and wanting to see American troops win.

The action begins in March 1944. The U.S. Army, in the person of Major General Sam Worden (played by Ernest Borgnine), wants to train some of its worst convicts, all serving life sentences in military prisons, into highly-skilled commandos to eliminate Wehrmacht officers near Rennes, France, disrupting the Nazi chain of command in northern France, thus making the planned D-Day invasion and the subsequent attempt to liberate France easier. If any of the convicts survive, they will be pardoned.

As the title suggests, there are 12 of them, under the command of Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin): Robert T. Jefferson (football star Jim Brown), Joseph Wladislaw (Charles Bronson), Archer J. Maggot (Telly Savalas), Vernon L. Pinkley (Donald Sutherland), Victor Franko (John Cassavetes), Pedro Jiminez (folksinger Trinidad "Trini" López), Samson Posey (Clint Walker), Glenn Gilpin (Ben Caruthers), Roscoe Lever (Stuart Cooper), Milo Vladek (Tom Busby), Seth K. Sawyer (Colin Maitland) and Tassos Bravos (Al Mancini). Their crimes ranged from murder (Jefferson and Wladislaw) to rape (Maggot) to Mob-related activities (Franko).

Brown was filming his scenes in London in June 1966 when Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, called and told him to leave the set and report to training camp. Brown refused. Modell told Brown he would be fined every day he didn't show up. Brown, just 29 years old and the best running back in the game, retired. He was making more money, having more fun, and getting hit less, while making movies than he had been playing football.

Bronson was the only actor to have been one of The Magnificent Seven and one of The Dirty Dozen. Among the other well-known actors in the film: George Kennedy (as Major Max Armbruster), Robert Ryan and Richard Jaeckel.

Upon parachuting into northern France, Jiminez breaks his neck during the jump. With a man down, the mission proceeds with Reisman and Wladislaw, a Polish-American, both of them able to fluently speak German, infiltrating the chateau disguised as German officers.

The element of surprise is lost when Maggott breaks cover, and is subsequently killed. The sound of gunfire makes the Wehrmacht officers and their companions retreat to a locked underground bomb shelter, but the unit pours gasoline and throws grenades into the shelter through ventilation shafts, killing the officers.

Only Reisman and Wladislaw make it back alive. Back in England, a voiceover from Armbruster confirms that General Worden exonerated the sole surviving member of the Dirty Dozen, and communicated to the next of kin of the rest that "they lost their lives in the line of duty."

Many reviewers criticized the film's violence, especially the finale, in which not just the Germans, but their presumably innocent wives and girlfriends, are burned to death. But the depiction of atrocities mirrors the reality of war. The 1960s had already had an effect on film, and, while the Americans do "win," the film does show them to have a darker side.

The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Cassavetes, for Best Supporting Actor, but no wins.

Ben Carruthers died in 1983, Lee Marvin in 1987, John Cassavetes in 1989, Telly Savalas in 1995, Charles Bronson and Tom Busby in 2003, Al Mancini in 2007, Ernest Borgnine in 2012, Clint Walker in 2018, Trini López in 2020. As of June 15, 2022, four of the Dozen are still alive: Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland, Colin Maitland and Stuart Cooper. (UPDATE: Jim Brown died on May 18, 2023, and Donald Sutherland died on June 20, 2024 reducing the number to 2: Colin Maitland and Stuart Cooper.)

*

June 15, 1967 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 2-0 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Mel Stottlemyre pitched a 5-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle hit his 509th career home run.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. The ChiSox took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 11th inning, but in the bottom of the 11th, Tony Conigliaro hit a 2-run home run to win it. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* A doubleheader was split at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies won the opener, 4-1. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the nightcap, 5-2. Roberto Clemente only played in the 2nd game, going 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Jim Brewer pitched 5 innings, Don Sutton pitched 4, and, between them, they pitched a 4-hit shutout. Ernie Banks went 0-for-3.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Al Kaline went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Reggie Jackson, who made his major league debut only 6 days earlier, singled home Josh Donaldson with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Frank Robinson went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Mays went 1-for-4.

* And the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals, the California Angels and the Cleveland Indians were not scheduled.

January 2, 1966: Packers 9, Bears 8 & Jim Brown's Last Game

As the British comedy duo Flanders & Swann, popular at the time,

would have sung, "Mud, mud, glorious mud!"

January 2, 1966: For the 1st time, the National Football League season extends beyond the end of the calendar year. This was due to the fact that a Playoff was needed to decide the Western Division title. The Green Bay Packers won it, in overtime over the Baltimore Colts, earning the right, under the system then in place, as Western Champion, to host the NFL Championship Game. (Yes, Baltimore was placed in the Western Division. I'm not saying it made sense.)

Coached by Vince Lombardi, the Packers had previously lost the title game in 1960, then won it in 1961 and 1962. Lombardi had retooled a bit, and was ready for another title.

Their opponents would be the defending Champions, the Eastern Division winners, the Cleveland Browns, coached by Blanton Collier, with Frank Ryan at quarterback, and with Jim Brown, widely regarded as the best player in the game, running the ball.

Green Bay, and its new City Stadium, recently renamed Lambeau Field in memory of Packer co-founder and coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau, had faced bad Winter weather before. On the night of New Year's Day, there was a snowstorm. The stadium was sold out, anyway, with 50,852 seats. The snow was cleared, but the game-time (1:10 PM Central Time, 2:10 Eastern) temperature was 26 degrees, a 12 mile-per-hour wind blew in, rain fell during the game, and it turned to snow. For most of the game, the field was a muddy mess.

Lombardi, once again, proved to be a master tactician, assigning middle linebacker Ray Nitschke to shadow Jim Brown all day. Brown carried the ball 12 times, for 50 yards. This forced Cleveland's other players to step up and try to win the game. The strategy worked, as the Packers gained twice as many yards from scrimmage as the Browns.

Bart Starr threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Carroll Dale, giving the Packers a 7-0 lead. Ryan threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gary Collins, but Lou Groza, about to turn 42 and then the all-time leading points scorer in NFL history, missed the extra point. He later kicked a 24-yard field goal, and the Browns ended the 1st quarter up, 9-7.

The 2nd quarter saw only field goals: Two by Don Chandler of the Packers, 15 and 23 yards; and one by Groza, 28 yards. It was 13-12 Green Bay at the half. In the 3rd quarter, Paul Hornung scored on a 13-yard touchdown run, putting the Packers up 20-12. In the 4th quarter, Chandler kicked a 29-yard field goal, and the final score was Packers 23, Browns 12.

This was the Packers' 9th NFL Championship. Two years earlier, the Chicago Bears, the Packers' arch-rivals, won the title, their 8th. This 9th title put the Packers ahead. They have been the winningest team in NFL history ever since, increasing their total to 13 NFL Championships. This included winning the NFL title the next 2 seasons, and then winning the 1st 2 Super Bowls. They have now won 4 Super Bowls: I, II, XXXI and XLV.

The Bears won Super Bowl XX, but that's been it: Through Super Bowl LV in 2021, the NFL Championship count stands as follows: Green Bay Packers 13, Chicago Bears 9, New York Giants 8, Pittsburgh Steelers 6, New England Patriots 6, Washington Redskins/Commanders 5, San Francisco 49ers 5, Dallas Cowboys 5, Detroit Lions 4, Cleveland Browns 4, Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts 4, Philadelphia Eagles 4, Cleveland/St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams 4, Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders 3, Denver Broncos 3, Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals 2, Miami Dolphins 2, Baltimore Ravens 2, Kansas City Chiefs 2, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2, New York Jets 1, New Orleans Saints 1, Seattle Seahawks 1.

And for those of you who say that titles won before the Super Bowl began with the 1966 season don't count, you're morons: They do.

The Browns would lose the NFL Championship Game in 1968 and 1969; and the AFC Championship Game in the seasons of 1986, 1987 and 1989. They have not won the title since 1964.

No one knew it at the time, but this turned out to be Brown's last game. He was now trying his hand as an actor. The following Summer, he was in London, filming the World War II movie The Dirty Dozen. He was enjoying himself, feeling freer than he ever had.

But preseason training camps were underway, and Browns owner Art Modell told him to leave and come back to join his teammates in Berea, Ohio. Brown refused, telling Modell, already a noted cheapskate, that he could make more money and sustain fewer injuries as an actor than as a football player. Brown retired from football, taking away the one power that Modell had over him, which was to have an undue effect on his football career, but giving up that football career. The 1964 NFL Championship would be his only title.

*

January 2, 1966 was a Sunday. The American Football League Championship Game had been played a week earlier, on December 26, 1965. The Buffalo Bills beat the San Diego Chargers, 23-0 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.

This was the last season in which the AFL Champion didn't get to play the NFL Champion in a World Championship Game. Through Super Bowl LV in 2021, the Bills have never won a Super Bowl, losing 4 of them. The Chargers, AFL Champions in 1963, haven't won one, either, losing 1 in San Diego before returning to Los Angeles. At least those teams have been there: The Browns still haven't. 

Baseball was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 133-122 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. It was just another day at the office for the Sixers' Wilt Chamberlain: 50 points and 23 rebounds.

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Baltimore Bullets, 138-107 at the Cincinnati Gardens.

* The San Francisco Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons, 136-113 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. Rick Barry scored 43 points.

* And the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 124-113 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. This was a rematch of the previous season's NBA Finals, and a setup of the current season's, with the Celtics winning both.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 6-3 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Chicago Stadium.