Play Clock
by Kelly Petryszyn // photos by Tylar Sutton
1910s After winning Olympic gold in 1912 and earning a rep as the world’s greatest athlete, Jim Thorpe joined the Canton Bulldogs and sported this letterman’s sweater. “You have this huge American hero playing professional football. It elevated the status of the game,” says Saleem Choudhry, vice president of museum and exhibits services.
1920 Long before the Vince Lombardi Trophy, winners scored an inscribed gold watch fob, like this one awarded to the victorious Akron Professionals — the first NFL champs. “They just declared whoever had the best record at the end of the season as the champion,” Choudhry says.
1920s This warmup jacket belonged to Harry Robb, who played for the Canton Bulldogs when they became the first back-to-back NFL champions in 1922 and 1923.
1946 Ohioans Lou Groza, Marion Motley and Bill Willis are among the Cleveland Browns player names engraved on this championship trophy. In the post-war era, the Browns dominated, winning four straight championships in the final years of the All-America Football Conference.
1948 “A lot of people point to the Miami Dolphins in 1972 as the only team to have a perfect record,” Choudhry says. But the 1948 Browns were the first pro team to go undefeated in the regular season and win the AAFC championship. This poster previews the playoffs between the Browns and the New York Yankees.
1955 The crown illustrated on this ball and the bronze cap awarded to Paul Brown mark not only the Browns 1955 championship win in the NFL but also the seven titles won during the team’s midcentury reign. In the 17 years the Massillon High School grad coached the Browns, he had a 167-53-8 record and only one losing season.
1955 From 1946 to 1956, Browns quarterback Otto Graham led the team to a championship game every year. This prestigious S. Rae Hickory Belt was his award, but the jewels in it now are fake. “He took the diamond out and used that to create his engagement ring to his wife,” says Choudhry.
1966 This Jim Brown jersey is still fresh. “The jersey was issued to him. It was never worn,” Choudhry says. He had a contract dispute with Browns owner Art Modell over him missing practice to shoot the movie “Dirty Dozen.” Brown quit football to pursue acting and retired with a record 12,312 career rushing yards.
1972 These cleats are still dirty from when Stow native Larry Csonka wore them in Super Bowl VII and led the Miami Dolphins to a championship win, completing the team’s perfect season. That season he was the NFL MVP and had his best record of 1,117 rushing yards.
2017 When Browns tackle Joe Thomas started in his 162nd straight game on Sept. 17, he wore these shoes and this jersey. He reached 10,000 consecutive snaps by the fourth quarter. Thomas is the first offensive lineman in history to make the Pro Bowl each of his first eight seasons.
2018 The Bud Light Victory Fridges that were placed in sports bars near FirstEnergy Stadium and only opened when the dawgs won became such an iconic fan symbol of the elusive Browns win that Bud Light started selling mini versions for die-hards to take home.
2018 Nick Chubb set a new record on Nov. 11, 2018, when he made a 92-yard run in the third quarter to help Cleveland defeat the Atlanta Falcons. The play is the longest rushing touchdown in Browns history and the second-longest touchdown run by a rookie in NFL history.