Cleveland Browns Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

Fall 2022: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Browns poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Cleveland Browns – The Team Name 

This franchise was established in 1946 as a charter member of the new AAFC (All American Football Conference). At the end of the 1949 season, the AAFC ceased operations and the Browns joined the NFL where they remained until 1995. 

In 1996, Browns owner Art Modell made the decision to move the team from Cleveland to Baltimore. After a large outcry from Cleveland fans, an agreement was made between the city of Cleveland and the NFL to keep the team's history, name and colors in Cleveland, while Modell's team in Baltimore would be regarded as an expansion team. The Baltimore Ravens would begin play in 1996, and the Browns would return to the league in 1999. 

For record-keeping purposes, the Browns are considered to have suspended operations from 1996 to 1998. Thus the team's name history looks like this: Cleveland Browns (AAFC) 1946-1949 Cleveland Browns (NFL) 1949-1995 Cleveland Browns (NFL) 1999-Present 

2. Cleveland Browns – The Championship Record 

Four AAFC Championships: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 

Four NFL Championships: 

December 24, 1950 Cleveland 30, Los Angeles 28 

December 23, 1954 Cleveland 56, Detroit 10 

December 26, 1955 Cleveland 38, Los Angeles 14 

December 27, 1964 Cleveland 27, Baltimore 0 

3. Cleveland Browns – Home Stadium History 

1. Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland 1946-95 

2. Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland 1999 - Present 

4. For more information on the Browns, you should bookmark these four great websites: 

For a huge amount of great historic player and team information: www.databasefootball.com and www.pro-football-reference.com/teams 

For a great summary of the Browns' year by year standings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cleveland_Browns_seasons 

For great information about the team's stadiums (don't be fooled by the fact that the website is called "ballparks.com", it also has great information on football stadiums): www.ballparks.com 

5. Celebrate the Browns' uniform history by owning a piece of history: 

If you love the Cleveland Browns and the history of the Browns franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 14 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 14 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out. These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). Each piece can be bought one of three ways: 

1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left) 

2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version) 

3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)  

If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Cleveland Browns YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0glulkfKpbI or go directly to the artwork website www.heritagesportsart.com/Cleveland-Browns-c111/ where you can see and purchase the artwork. 

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox 

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Browns. 

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This blog was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated August 17, 2010. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com ! 

Many thanks!!! 

Scott