1953 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated

1953 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach Paul Brown
Home field Cleveland Stadium
Local radio WTAM
Results
Record11–1
Division place1st Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship
(at Lions) 16–17

The 1953 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth season with the National Football League. Their start of eleven wins before losing their last game was the closest to a true perfect season in the NFL until the 1972 Miami Dolphins. After that fifteen-point loss at Philadelphia, [1] the Browns met the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game for the second straight year; the Lions won again, this time by a point at home. [2] [3]

Contents

This was the second of two NFL seasons that coach Paul Brown would win eleven games. It would be seventy years before another (Kevin Stefanski) would win eleven games in two seasons coaching the Browns, by which time the NFL regular season schedule had expanded from twelve to seventeen games.

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 23at San Francisco 49ers W 20–71–0 Kezar Stadium 36,273
2August 28at Los Angeles Rams L 9–271–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 21,440
3September 4at Detroit Lions T 24–241–1–1 Briggs Stadium 39,985
4September 7vs. Baltimore Colts W 23–212–1–1 Rubber Bowl 20,000
5September 11at Chicago Bears W 20–143–1–1 Wrigley Field 36,796
6September 19 Green Bay Packers W 21–134–1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 22,336

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceSources
1September 27at Green Bay Packers W 27–01–0 Milwaukee County Stadium 22,604 [4]
2October 4at Chicago Cardinals W 27–72–0 Comiskey Park 24,374 [5]
3October 10 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–133–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 45,802 [6] [7]
4October 18at Washington Redskins W 30–144–0 Griffith Stadium 33,963 [8]
5October 25at New York Giants W 7–05–0 Polo Grounds 30,773 [9]
6November 1 Washington Redskins W 27–36–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium47,845 [10]
7November 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–167–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium35,592 [11]
8November 15 San Francisco 49ers W 23–218–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium80,698 [12]
9November 22at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–169–0 Forbes Field 32,904 [13]
10November 29 Chicago Cardinals W 27–1610–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium24,499 [14]
11December 6 New York Giants W 62–1411–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium40,235 [15]
12December 13at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–4211–1 Connie Mack Stadium 38,654 [16]

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 at Milwaukee

In the first-ever regular season meeting between Cleveland and Green Bay, the Browns rolled up 376 yards and Otto Graham completed 18 of 24 yards to highlight a 27–0 season opening win in at the new County Stadium in Milwaukee. [17] The Browns yield 159 yards and allow the Packers to penetrate Cleveland territory just four times.

Week 5 at New York

Graham scores the game's only touchdown on a 4-yard run in the second period as the Browns beat the Giants, 7–0, on a muddy Polo Grounds field. Graham, who attempts only five passes as the inclement conditions, scores after an offsides penalty on Lou Groza's missed field goal attempt gives the Browns a critical first down.

Week 6 vs. Washington

The undefeated Browns make life miserable for Redskins quarterback Eddie LeBaron by intercepting four passes in a 27–3 win at Cleveland Stadium. Tommy James ties his own Browns record with three as Cleveland scores 24 points off turnovers.

Week 8 vs. San Francisco

A Cleveland Stadium crowd of 80,698 watches the Browns dispatch longtime rival San Francisco, 23–21. With the Browns leading 10–0, Graham is knocked out of bounds by defensive back Fred Bruney and elbowed in the face by linebacker Art Michalik, who opens a gash that requires 15 stitches and nearly incites a riot. Graham returns for the third quarter wearing a clear plastic protective bar in front of his face, a device that will evolve into today's face mask. Showing little effect from his injury, Graham leads the Browns to 13 second half points and the victory.

Week 11 vs. New York

The Browns improve to 11–0 by winning a 62–14 laugher over the Giants at Cleveland Stadium. George Ratterman starts in place of Graham and completes 15-of-27 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns. Graham plays briefly and completes 3-of-4 passes, two for touchdowns. Pete Brewster catches seven passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the most productive game of his career.

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns 1110.9179–1348162L1
Philadelphia Eagles 741.6366–3–1352215W1
Washington Redskins 651.5456–3–1208215L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 660.5005–5211263W2
New York Giants 390.2503–7179277L2
Chicago Cardinals 1101.0910–10190337W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Championship Game

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceSources
Championship December 27at Detroit Lions L 16–170–1 Briggs Stadium 54,577 [18]
Source: [2] [3]

Awards and records

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References

  1. ↑ "Eagles upset Cleveland, 42-27". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 14, 1953. p. 24.
  2. 1 2 Sell, Jack (December 28, 1953). "Lions retain NFL title; edge Browns, 17-16". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12.
  3. 1 2 "Lions capture pro title 17-16". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press, Associated Press reports. December 28, 1953. p. 2B.
  4. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers - September 27th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at Chicago Cardinals - October 4th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Browns beat Eagles, 37-13". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. October 11, 1953. p. 1C.
  7. ↑ "Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns - October 10th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at Washington Redskins - October 18th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at New York Giants - October 25th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Washington Redskins at Cleveland Browns - November 1st, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - November 8th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  12. ↑ "San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns - November 15th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers - November 22nd, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Chicago Cardinals at Cleveland Browns - November 29th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  15. ↑ "New York Giants at Cleveland Browns - December 6th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles - December 13th, 1953". ProFootball Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  17. ↑ Larson, Lloyd (September 28, 1953). "Browns' machine crushes Packers under 27-0 count". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
  18. ↑ "Championship - Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions - December 27th, 1953". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
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