Highlighted Year: Jim Benton, 1945

End, Cleveland Rams

Age: 29 (Sept. 25)

7^th season in pro football, 6^th with Rams

College: Arkansas

Height: 6’3”   Weight: 195

Prelude:

A star receiver at Arkansas, where he caught 48 passes for 814 yards as a senior in 1937, Benton was chosen by the Rams in the second round of the 1938 NFL draft. His 19.9-yard average on 21 catches as a rookie led the league and he topped the NFL with seven TDs among his 27 receptions in ’39, when he was a second-team All-NFL choice and selected to the Pro All-Star Game (predecessor to the Pro Bowl). Benton took a year off in 1941 to coach high school football in his native Arkansas, but he rejoined the team in ’42. Due to the Rams suspending play for a year in 1943, Benton played for the Chicago Bears and, while his numbers dropped off, he was a key receiver in clutch situations for the NFL title-winning club. He rejoined the Rams in ’44 and achieved new personal highs with 39 catches for 505 yards.

1945 Season Summary

Appeared in 9 of 10 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 45 [2] 

Most receptions, game – 10 (for 303 yds.) at Detroit 11/22

Yards – 1067 [1]

Most yards, game – 303 (on 10 catches) at Detroit 11/22

Average gain – 23.7 [3]

TDs – 8 [3]

300-yard receiving games – 1

100-yard receiving games – 5

Kickoff Returns

Returns – 3

Yards – 16

Average per return – 5.3

TDs – 0

Longest return – 10 yards

Scoring

TDs – 8 [5, tied with Ted Fritsch & Fred Gehrke]

Points – 48 [7, tied with Fred Gehrke]

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship vs. Washington)

Pass receptions – 9

Pass receiving yards – 125

Average yards per reception – 13.9

Pass receiving TDs – 1

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: AP, Chicago Herald-American, Pro Football Illustrated, NY Daily News

2^nd team All-NFL: INS, UPI

Rams went 9-1 to finish first in the NFL Western Division while leading the league in rushing yards (1714). Won NFL Championship over Washington Redskins (15-14).

Aftermath:

With the franchise moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles, Benton followed up his outstanding 1945 season by leading the NFL in both pass receptions (63) as well as receiving yards (981) in ’46. He was again a consensus first-team All-NFL selection. Benton played one more season for the Rams in 1947, catching 35 passes for 511 yards (14.6 avg.) and six TDs. Overall, over nine seasons he caught 288 passes for 4801 yards (16.7 avg.) and 45 touchdowns, with all but 13 receptions, 235 yards, and three TDs occurring while with the Rams. Benton was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection twice and received at least some second-team honors following two other seasons. He was chosen to the NFL All-1940s team selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Benton’s NFL single-game record of 303 pass receiving yards lasted until 1985.

--

Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1945: Rams Edge Redskins Thanks to Odd Safety to Win NFL Championship

The NFL Championship game on December 16, 1945 featured a postseason newcomer, the Cleveland Rams, against the Washington Redskins, a team that regularly contended for the title.

The Rams had never had a winning season since coming into the league in 1937, but topped the Western Division with a 9-1 record in ’45. Head Coach Adam Walsh implemented the T-formation and had the good fortune of having rookie QB Bob Waterfield  (pictured above) to operate it. The first-year player out of UCLA was the league MVP after performing well not only as a passer, but as a defensive back, kicker, and overall team leader. Halfbacks Fred Gehrke and Jim Gillette and FB Don Greenwood fueled the ground attack while end Jim Benton led the NFL with 1067 yards on his 45 catches.

The Washington Redskins, coached by Dudley DeGroot, topped the Eastern Division for the fourth time in six seasons with an 8-2 tally. QB Sammy Baugh was well-established as the league’s outstanding passer, having set a record with his 70.3 completion percentage during the season, and there were good receivers led by HB Steve Bagarus. However, Baugh had been injured in the season finale against the Giants and was not at his best.

There were 32,178 fans in attendance on a bitterly cold and windy day at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. The field had been covered with bales of hay in the days leading up to the game, and there were also big piles of snow on the sidelines.

The Redskins had the game’s first possession and punted. Cleveland moved the ball well in its initial series as Fred Gehrke ran for a 16-yard gain and Bob Waterfield completed two passes to Jim Benton, who was covered by rookie HB Bob DeFruiter. The second was good for 30 yards to the Washington 15, but the Redskins held the Rams up at their five yard line, with Jim Gillette stopped short on a fourth down play to regain possession. On second down, Sammy Baugh, dropping back into his end zone and feigning a punt, threw a pass that hit the goal post and bounced back. Under the rules at the time, the play was declared a safety and the home team had an early 2-0 lead.

Baugh was injured shortly thereafter and returned to play for only a few minutes during the second half. Following an interception by Washington LB Ki Aldrich early in the second quarter, QB Frank Filchock, subbing for Baugh, threw long to Steve Bagarus (pictured at left) for a 38-yard touchdown. Joe Aguirre added the extra point and Washington was ahead by 7-2.

With less than four minutes to play in the first half, Waterfield connected with Jim Benton for a 37-yard TD that capped a six-play, 70-yard series in which Gillette had a 19-yard run and Benton caught a pass for 14 yards. Waterfield’s extra point attempt was partially blocked and hit the crossbar, but it bounced over and the Rams took a 9-7 lead.

The Rams had another chance with a minute remaining in the first half when LB Pat West intercepted a pass, but Aldrich picked off another Waterfield throw and the score remained unchanged at halftime.

In the first series of the third quarter, Waterfield threw a long, arching pass that Jim Gillette caught for a 44-yard touchdown that concluded an 81-yard series. This time the extra point attempt failed but the Rams were in front by 15-7.

Late in the period, a Waterfield punt had the Redskins starting from their five yard line, but they moved effectively down the field. Following a 15-yard carry by DeFruiter, Filchock threw to Bagarus for a 50-yard gain that set up an eight-yard TD pass to wide-open FB Bob Seymour. Aguirre added the point after to make it a one-point contest.

Washington had two chances in the fourth quarter, but Aguirre missed field goals from 31 and 44 yards. The first followed a Filchock pass to end Les Dye that gained 44 yards to the Cleveland 31 and three running plays that picked up seven more yards. With time running out, Filchock threw long from deep in his own territory and DB Albie Reisz intercepted to nail down the 15-14 win for the Rams.

Cleveland gained more total yards (372 to 214) and led in first downs as well (14 to 8). The Redskins were held to 35 rushing yards on 34 attempts while the Rams were well balanced with 180 yards on the ground and 192 through the air. Cleveland turned the ball over three times, to two suffered by Washington. But the game came down to two plays involving the goal posts, with one leading to a safety and the other a kick that just made it over the crossbar for an extra point.

Bob Waterfield completed 14 of 27 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, giving up two interceptions, and was excellent with his play-calling and punting, too. Jim Gillette (pictured at right) rushed for 101 yards on 17 carries and also caught two passes for 45 yards and a TD. Jim Benton had 9 catches for 125 yards and a score.

Sammy Baugh ended up completing just one of six throws for seven yards. In his place, Frank Filchock was 8-of-14 for 172 yards and two touchdowns as well as two interceptions. Steve Bagarus caught three passes for 95 yards and a TD. HB Merl Condit led the rushers by gaining 18 yards on 9 attempts.

The Rams, having lost money despite putting together a championship season, left for Los Angeles the following year and placed second to the Bears with a 6-4-1 record. They next reached the Championship game in 1949. Washington went into a long period of decline, dropping to 5-5-1 in 1946 and not reaching the postseason again until 1971.

1945: Rams Explode in 4th Quarter to Beat Packers

The NFL contest in Green Bay on October 14, 1945 was a faceoff between two Western Division teams that had started off the season at 2-0. The Green Bay Packers were the defending NFL Champions and still a potent squad, especially after their all-time great end Don Hutson had been persuaded to put off retirement and come back for another year. Coached by Curly Lambeau, the franchise’s founder, the Packers were a team that was used to contending.

As for the visiting Cleveland Rams, they had never been above .500 in any season since joining the NFL in 1937. But they had a new head coach in Adam Walsh, who installed a T-formation offense, and a talented rookie quarterback out of UCLA to run it in Bob Waterfield (pictured above). The Rams had an outstanding receiver of their own in end Jim Benton, who was ably complemented by Steve Pritko, plus a good group of running backs.

There were 24,607 fans in attendance at Green Bay’s City Stadium on a bright and clear day. The Rams scored on their first possession, driving 49 yards and finishing with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Waterfield to Benton. While Waterfield’s first extra point attempt was successful, it was nullified by a holding penalty and the second try was no good when it sailed wide. Still, Cleveland was ahead by 6-0.

That remained the situation until the third quarter when Rams HB Tom Colella fumbled and Green Bay tackle Paul Lipscomb recovered at the Cleveland 25. FB Ted Fritsch ran three times to get to the one and tailback Irv Comp went the last yard for a TD. Hutson kicked the extra point to put the Packers ahead by 7-6.

In the fourth quarter, the Packers went 54 yards, with the highlight a pass from tailback Roy McKay to Hutson for 24 yards. Fritsch plowed through the middle for a three-yard touchdown and Hutson added the point after.

Down by 14-6 in the final period, the Rams had possession at their own 27 and put together a seven-play scoring drive. Waterfield capped it by passing to Colella for a nine-yard TD. Cleveland then received a big break when Green Bay’s McKay fumbled and tackle Roger Eason recovered for the Rams at the Packers’ 17. FB Don Greenwood, Colella, and Waterfield each took a turn running the ball to get to the one yard line and Greenwood scored from there.

McKay and Comp took turns trying to connect on passes to Don Hutson until DB Albie Reisz intercepted one and returned it to the Green Bay 5. Colella ran the ball in from there for a touchdown that sealed the win for the Rams. Thanks to the three fourth quarter TDs, and Waterfield’s successful conversions after each, Cleveland came away the winner by a final score of 27-14.

The Rams led in total yards (289 to 232) but Green Bay had the edge in first downs (16 to 12). However, Cleveland ran the ball more effectively (154 yards on 45 carries to 81 yards on 39 attempts) and the Packers turned the ball over six times, as opposed to four turnovers by the Rams.

As usual, Don Hutson was Green Bay’s chief offensive weapon, catching 7 passes for 110 yards, but he was unable to penetrate the end zone (he had done so four times in one quarter the previous week against Detroit). Jim Benton caught 5 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown for the Rams.

The win moved the Rams into first place in the Western Division and that’s where they stayed, going 9-1 and beating Washington for the NFL title. Green Bay dropped to third with a 6-4 record.

Bob Waterfield overcame a severe rib injury to achieve league MVP honors while passing for 1609 yards and leading the league in yards per attempt (9.4) and touchdown passes (14, tied with Sid Luckman of the Bears).

Jim Benton (pictured below) and Don Hutson were the NFL’s most productive receivers. In his final season, Hutson led the league for the eighth time (fifth consecutive) with 47 pass receptions while his 834 yards ranked second to Benton’s 1067. Benton placed second to Hutson with 45 catches.

The 1945 season marked a change in direction for the two franchises. Green Bay went into a decline that wasn’t reversed until the arrival of Vince Lombardi as head coach and general manager in 1959. The Rams, who moved to Los Angeles in 1946, won four division or conference titles over the course of the next decade and a league championship while regularly being among the NFL’s contending teams.

MVP Profile: Parker Hall, 1939

Tailback/Defensive Back, Cleveland Rams


Age: 23 (Dec. 10)
1st season in pro football
College: Mississippi
Height: 6’0” Weight: 205

Prelude:
An All-American at Mississippi in 1938, Hall was taken in the first round of the 1939 NFL draft by the Rams. He moved directly into the lineup in Cleveland’s single-wing offense.

1939 Season Summary
Appeared in all 11 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 208 [1]
Completions – 106 [1]
Yards – 1227 [2]
Completion percentage – 51.0 [1]
Yards per attempt – 5.9 [7]
TD passes – 9 [2]
Interceptions – 13 [2, tied with Ace Parker, Darrell Tully & Frank Patrick]
Passer rating – 57.5 [5] (Ranked 1st in system used at time)

Rushing
Attempts – 120 [6]
Yards – 458 [5]
Yards per attempt – 3.8 [8]
TDs – 2 [11, tied with sixteen others]

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 1
Yards – -16
TDs - 0

Punting
Punts – 58 [1]
Yards – 2369
Average – 40.8 [5]
Punts blocked – 0
Longest punt – 80 yards

Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: Joe F. Carr Trophy
1st team All-NFL: UPI, PFWA, INS, Chicago Herald-American, NY Daily News
2nd team All-NFL: League, Collyers
NFL All-Star Game

Rams went 5-5-1 to finish fourth in the Western Division, their first .500 season.

Aftermath:
Hall’s subsequent performances never again approached his MVP rookie season. He passed for 1108 yards with 7 TDs and 16 interceptions in 1940 and led the league by tossing 19 interceptions in ’41. He was picked off 19 times again in 1942 while throwing just 140 passes. Hall went into the military for the next three years and played service football. In 1946 he joined the San Francisco 49ers of the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC) but saw scant action as a T-formation quarterback behind Frankie Albert and retired.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/9/14]

Past Venue: League Park

Cleveland, OH



Year opened: 1910
Capacity: 21,414 at opening, increased to 22,500 in 1939

Names:
Somers Park, 1910-15
Dunn Field, 1916-27
League Park, 1927-51

Pro football tenants:
Cleveland Tigers/Indians (APFA), 1920-21
Cleveland Indians/Bulldogs (NFL), 1923-25
Cleveland Rams (NFL), 1937, 42, 44-45

Postseason games hosted:
None

Other tenants of note:
Cleveland Indians (MLB – AL), 1910-46
Cleveland Buckeyes (baseball Negro Leagues), 1943-48

Notes: While Rams played home games at venue in 1945, NFL Championship game was played at Municipal Stadium. Stadium, which was a steel and concrete structure, replaced an earlier wooden ball park of the same name that opened in 1892.

Fate: Demolished for the most part in 1951, some portions remained afterward and the ticket office still stands. The site is used as a public park.

1945: Rams Hire Adam Walsh as Head Coach

On March 14, 1945 the Cleveland Rams signed Adam Walsh to a five-year contract as head coach. Walsh, the line coach at Notre Dame, was the brother of Rams GM Charles “Chile” Walsh and succeeded Aldo “Buff” Donelli, who left to join the Navy.

The 43-year-old Walsh had been on the staff at Notre Dame since mid-1944, when he left Bowdoin, where he had been a successful head coach who turned a losing program around - his teams won the Maine Intercollegiate football championship in seven out of eight years. His overall record was 34-15-6. In 1943, Bowdoin suspended the athletic program for the remainder of World War II, and Walsh was allowed to go on leave of absence to Notre Dame.

Going to Notre Dame was something of a homecoming for Walsh. He played there collegiately and was an All-American center who captained the team in 1924 that contained the legendary starting backfield known as “The Four Horsemen”. After college, and prior to going to Bowdoin, Walsh was head coach and athletic director at Santa Clara from 1925 to ’28 and later served as line coach at both Yale and Harvard.

Walsh was a proponent of the T-formation, which was finding new-found popularity at both the pro and college levels in the 1940s. He was fortunate to have a rookie quarterback out of UCLA, Bob Waterfield, who could run the new offense very effectively. There was also HB Fred Gehrke, returning from a four-year stint in the military, holdover HB Jim Gillette, and rookie FB Don Greenword to handle the running game. End Jim Benton was a proven veteran, and the other starting end, Steve Pritko, had played well in ’44. Two more rookies, tackle Gil Bouley from Boston College and guard/linebacker Milan Lazetich, bolstered the line which also added veteran tackle Eberle Schultz from the Card-Pitt combined team of ’44. Guard Riley Matheson was already there, an established talent who had been a consensus first-team All-Pro in 1942 and ’44.

From a 4-6 record in 1944, the Rams went 9-1 under Walsh in ’45. Waterfield had a MVP season, leading the league with 14 touchdown passes (tied with Sid Luckman of the Bears) and 9.9 yards per attempt. He also showed outstanding toughness (he played one game heavily taped due to torn rib muscles) and leadership to go along with his fine passing, and was an asset on defense (six interceptions, tied for second in the NFL) and as a punter. Benton had a sensational year, catching 45 passes for a league-leading 1067 yards (including 303 in one game) and eight touchdowns. Gehrke, Gillette, and Greenwood all finished in the top ten in rushing and the team was top-ranked in that category. Matheson was again a consensus first-team All-Pro.

The Rams won the Western Division and hosted the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship game on a bitterly cold day at Municipal Stadium. They won, 15-14, and Walsh had a title in his first year as a pro head coach.

While the franchise performed well on the field, it didn’t do so well at the gate. Owner Daniel F. Reeves lost some $50,000 and petitioned the league to allow him to move the club to Los Angeles. Initially turned down by the other owners, an angry Reeves had threatened to sell the team, but the NFL finally allowed the move.

The Rams went west, and faced the immediate challenge of another team, the Los Angeles Dons of the newly-formed All-America Football Conference (AAFC), competing against them for fans and sharing the massive Memorial Coliseum. Under pressure from the commission that governed the stadium, the Rams added two players – first, HB Kenny Washington, who had been a star at UCLA, and then end Woody Strode, also from UCLA – who became the first two African-Americans in the NFL since 1933. They also added HB Tom Harmon, former Heisman Trophy winner from Michigan.

The team was still very competitive at its new location. Waterfield, returning to the city where he had starred collegiately, led the NFL in passing (although by the modern rating method, he finished second to Luckman) as well as touchdowns (17). Benton again led the league in receiving yards (981) and in pass receptions as well (63, which was 31 more than runner-up Hal Crisler of the Boston Yanks). Gehrke had the top rushing average (5.2 on 71 carries for 371 yards).

The team played respectably but not consistently as they failed to win consecutive games until the last two contests of the year. It made for a second place finish at 6-4-1. In the end, the Rams lost even more money in Los Angeles than in Cleveland. Presaging decades of front office upheaval that would characterize the franchise, GM Walsh fired his brother, Coach Walsh, and was then fired himself by owner Reeves, who chose to act as his own general manager. Bob Snyder was hired as coach for 1947, and the team dropped to fourth place with a 6-6 tally.

Adam Walsh left the Rams with a 15-5-1 record as a pro head coach, and a win in the ’45 NFL title game. He returned to Bowdoin (which had always considered him to still be on leave, even after leaving Notre Dame for pro coaching). While not as successful in his second stint with the team, Walsh stayed from 1947 to ’58 and went 63-67-9 for an overall record at the school of 80-85-11.

Following his retirement from football coaching, Walsh served in the Maine House of Representatives and was later appointed U.S. Marshal for Maine by President Kennedy.

While Walsh’s pro coaching career may have been short, his college playing and coaching career earned him later recognition - he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.

MVP Profile: Bob Waterfield, 1945

Quarterback, Cleveland Rams


Age: 25
1st season in pro football
College: UCLA
Height: 6’1” Weight: 200

Prelude:
Following a college career at UCLA, interrupted by a stint in the army during World War II, in which he led the Bruins to the Rose Bowl and starred in the East-West Shrine Game, Waterfield finally joined the Rams, who had chosen him in the 5th round of the 1944 NFL draft. He won the starting quarterback job during the preseason for a team that was just installing the T-formation under new Head Coach Adam Walsh.

1945 Season Summary
Appeared in all 10 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 171 [4]
Completions – 89 [3, tied with Paul Christman]
Yards – 1609 [3]
Completion percentage – 52.0 [4]
Yards per attempt – 9.4 [1]
TD passes – 14 [1, tied with Sid Luckman]
Most TD passes, game – 3 at Chicago Cardinals 11/18
Interceptions – 17 [1]
Passer rating – 72.4 [4]

Rushing
Attempts – 18
Yards – 18
Yards per attempt – 1.0
TDs – 5

Kicking
Field goals – 1 [8, tied with Pete Gudauskas, Dave Ryan & Robert Nelson]
Field goal attempts – 3 [9, tied with Dave Ryan & Joe Kuharich]
Percentage – 33.3
PATs – 31 [1, tied with Don Hutson]
PAT attempts – 34 [2]
Longest field goal – 28 yards vs. Chicago Bears 10/7

Punting
Punts – 39 [4]
Yards – 1585 [4]
Average – 40.6 [3]
Punts blocked – 1
Longest punt – 68 yards

Interceptions
Interceptions – 6 [2, tied with Bob Davis & Bob Margarita]
Return yards – 92 [3]
TDs – 0

Punt Returns
Returns – 2
Yards – 34
Average per return – 17.0
TDs – 0
Longest return – 18 yards

Scoring
TDs – 5 [13, tied with four others]
Field goals – 1
PATs - 31
Points – 64 [3]

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship vs. Washington)
Pass attempts – 14
Pass completions – 27
Passing yardage – 192
TD passes – 2
Interceptions – 2

Rushing attempts – 3
Rushing yards – -1
Average gain rushing – -0.3
Rushing TDs – 0

Punt returns – 1
Yards – 0
Average per return – 0.0
TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: Joe F. Carr Trophy
1st team All-NFL: AP, UPI, Chicago Herald-American, Pro Football Illustrated, NY Daily News
2nd team All-NFL: INS

Rams went 9-1 to win Western Division. Defeated Washington Redskins (15-14) for NFL Championship.

Aftermath: Played 7 more seasons, all with the Rams, who moved to Los Angeles in 1946. Was a consensus 1st team All-Pro selection two more times, and was selected to the first two Pro Bowls. Led league in passing once, although after 1949 he split the quarterbacking with Norm Van Brocklin – an arrangement neither player liked but that proved highly effective. He also became an accomplished placekicker as well as punter, leading the NFL in field goals on three occasions and field goal percentage twice. A true all-purpose talent, Waterfield intercepted a total of 20 passes over the course of his first four seasons. His #7 was retired by the Rams and Waterfield was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1965.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/15/14]

Past Venue: Municipal Stadium

Cleveland, OH
aka Cleveland Stadium, Lakefront Stadium



Year opened: 1931
Capacity: 81,000

Names:
Cleveland Municipal Stadium, 1931-96

Pro football tenants:
Cleveland Indians (NFL), 1931
Cleveland Rams (AFL), 1936
Cleveland Rams (NFL), 1937, 39-41, 45
Cleveland Browns (AAFC/NFL), 1946-95

Postseason games hosted:
NFL Championship, Rams 15 Redskins 14, Dec. 16, 1945
AAFC Championship, Browns 14 Yankees 9, Dec. 22, 1946
AAFC Championship, Browns 49 Bills 7, Dec. 19, 1948
AAFC First Round playoff, Browns 31 Bills 21, Dec. 4, 1949
AAFC Championship, Browns 21 49ers 7, Dec. 11, 1949
NFL American Conf. playoff, Browns 8 Giants 3, Dec. 17, 1950
NFL Championship, Browns 30 Rams 28, Dec. 24, 1950
NFL Championship, Lions 17 Browns 7, Dec. 28, 1952
NFL Championship, Browns 56 Lions 10, Dec. 26, 1954
NFL Championship, Browns 27 Colts 0, Dec. 27, 1964
NFL Eastern Conf. playoff, Browns 31 Cowboys 20, Dec. 21, 1968
NFL Championship, Colts 34 Browns 0, Dec. 29, 1968
AFC Divisional playoff, Colts 20 Browns 3, Dec. 26, 1971
AFC Divisional playoff, Raiders 14 Browns 12, Jan. 4, 1981
AFC Divisional playoff, Browns 23 Jets 20, Jan. 3, 1987
AFC Championship, Broncos 23 Browns 20, Jan. 11, 1987
AFC Divisional playoff, Browns 38 Colts 21, Jan. 9, 1988
AFC Wild Card playoff, Oilers 24 Browns 23, Dec. 24, 1988
AFC Divisional playoff, Browns 34 Bills 30, Jan. 6, 1990
AFC Wild Card playoff, Browns 20 Patriots 13, Jan. 1, 1995

Other tenants of note:
Cleveland Indians (MLB – AL), 1932-33, 36-93
Cleveland Stokers (NASL), 1967-68

Notes: Hosted college football Great Lakes Bowl in 1947. Hosted annual Navy vs. Notre Dame college football game on 11 occasions from 1932 to ‘78. The stadium was occasionally used by Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University football teams. Hosted University of Illinois vs. Penn State in 1959 and four Ohio State football games. The end zone bleachers, which served as center field seating for baseball, became known as the “Dog Pound” during Browns games from the mid-1980s on. The first event held at the stadium was a World Heavyweight Championship boxing match in which Max Schmeling successfully defended his title against Young Stribling.

Some inaccurate, but commonly believed, “facts” about the origins of the stadium were that it was built as a WPA project (while publicly financed, it was completed before the existence of the WPA) and that it was constructed with hopes of luring the 1932 Olympics to Cleveland (the groundbreaking occurred after the games had been awarded to Los Angeles).

Fate: Demolished in 1996 and replaced by Cleveland Browns Stadium, which stands on same site. Pieces of the stadium were put in Lake Erie to create two artificial reefs.

1937: Hugo Bezdek Becomes Only MLB Manager to Coach NFL Team

The Cleveland Rams franchise that joined the National Football League in 1937 had been significantly transformed from the team that played in the second American Football League in 1936. Only four players were retained from the ’36 club, and the ownership and management had been completely overhauled. Homer Marshman headed the new ownership group, and as the new head coach they signed Hugo Bezdek to a three-year contract. When the Rams hosted the Detroit Lions at League Park in their season-opening game on September 10, Bezdek became the only person to have both managed a major league baseball club and coached a team in the NFL.

The 53-year-old Bezdek, who had been born in Prague of what was then part of Austria-Hungary, had played football at the University of Chicago before beginning his college coaching career at the University of Oregon. After a year, he moved on to the University of Arkansas where he was head coach for five seasons and inspired the nickname that the school’s athletic teams use to this day when, at a rally following an undefeated season, he referred to the team as “a wild band of razorback hogs”.

From Arkansas it was back to Oregon for Bezdek, and while there he also worked as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates of major league baseball’s National League. When Nixey Callahan was dismissed as the team’s manager during the 1917 season, Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss hired Bezdek. The new manager worked no miracles during the remainder of the ’17 season, as the Pirates finished at the bottom of the NL with a 51-103 record (30-59 under Bezdek). The results were better in 1918 (65-60) and ’19 (71-68), for an overall major league managing record of 166-187.

In the meantime, Bezdek had continued to coach football at Oregon before moving on to Penn State, where he was head coach and athletic director. Bezdek quit the Pirates when Penn State expanded his duties (he also coached the baseball team) and he stayed there as head football coach through 1929 and AD until 1937.

Bezdek had been a successful college coach, putting together winning records at every school – his tally as football coach at Penn State had been 65-30-11. Unfortunately for him, the move to the NFL did not work out so well.

Before a crowd of 24,800 on a drizzly Friday night, the Rams lost badly in the opener to the Lions by a score of 28-0. The Rams committed five turnovers, including a pass interception that was returned 45 yards for a touchdown by Detroit lineman Tom Hupke.

It was the beginning of a season in which Cleveland ended up at the bottom of the Western Division with an NFL-worst 1-11 record. After defeating the Eagles in their second game at Philadelphia by a score of 21-3, the Rams not only lost their remaining games but only scored in double figures one more time during the season (in a 35-10 loss to Green Bay).

The offense was conservative, to the annoyance of the team owners who wanted a more wide-open attack that would appeal to the fans, but Bezdek insisted that the team had to establish a consistent running game before it could pass effectively. The Rams ranked next-to-last in both rushing (930 yards) and passing (839), and were at the bottom in overall offense (1769). They also scored the fewest points, with a grand total of 75 for the year.

The owners pressured Bezdek to resign following the disappointing season, but he refused (the three-year contract was no doubt a consideration on both sides). As a result, life was made miserable for him in his second year, with the ownership interfering in personnel decisions and undermining his authority. After the club started off 0-3 in 1938, Bezdek was fired. His overall NFL coaching record was 1-13.

The pro stint effectively marked the end of Bezdek’s coaching career, although he did lead Delaware Valley College to a 2-5 record in 1949. Although an unsuccessful head coach in the pro ranks, his 127-58-16 tally as a college coach gained him election to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954, two years after his death.

As for the Rams, Art Lewis took over as head coach for the remainder of the ’38 season and went 4-4 for an overall 4-7 record. Dutch Clark, Hall of Fame tailback for the Lions who had played against Bezdek and the Rams in that first contest in 1937, became the head coach in 1939 and the team broke even at .500 (5-5-1).

1945: Jim Benton Catches 10 Passes for 303 Yards vs. Lions

End Jim Benton had been a solid receiver for the Cleveland Rams (and one season with the Chicago Bears) since coming into the league in 1938, when he led the league in yards per reception (19.9 on 21 catches). The Rams had not been a winning team, with a 5-5-1 record in 1939 their best since joining the NFL in 1937. But both Benton and the Rams rose to new heights in 1945.

By the time the Rams met up with the Detroit Lions on November 22 for a Thanksgiving showdown at Briggs Stadium, they were sporting a 7-1 record under the guidance of Head Coach Adam Walsh. The Lions were 6-2 and, with just one more week to play in the ten-game season, control of the Western Division was at stake.

Benton had caught 27 passes for 645 yards, resulting in a very healthy 23.9-yard average, with six touchdowns and three hundred-yard games. Coach Walsh had installed the T-formation, and the offense benefited from the arrival of rookie QB Bob Waterfield from UCLA to run it. The 6’3”, 200-pound Benton was his favorite target.

Earlier in the season, Green Bay’s Don Hutson had scored four TDs and accumulated 144 yards against the Lions, which had exposed a deficiency in their pass defense. The Rams took advantage. They broke out to a 21-7 lead in the first half and went on to win 28-21. Benton scored on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Waterfield in the second quarter and, when it was all done, had caught 10 passes for 303 yards.

The 303 yards not only set a new single-game pass receiving yardage record, but remained the NFL record for 40 years until broken by Stephone Paige of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1985 (Cloyce Box of the Lions came within a yard of the record in 1950). It was also the first occasion that any player had accumulated over 300 yards from scrimmage in an NFL game.

Benton accounted for virtually all of Cleveland’s passing yards – Waterfield in all completed 12 of 21 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns. A 17-yard throw to the other end, Steve Pritko, accounted for the second TD pass and most of the remaining yards that didn’t belong to Benton. The rookie quarterback’s showing was especially impressive because he was suffering from a painful rib injury and had been tightly wrapped up by the team’s trainer prior to the game.

With the win, the Rams clinched the West and won again in the season finale (with Benton chalking up his fifth hundred-yard receiving game of the year) to finish with a 9-1 record. They defeated the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship game, as Benton capped his outstanding year with 9 catches for 125 yards and a TD. Detroit remained the runner-up in the Western Division at 7-3.

It was typical throughout the season for the Rams to not throw often – they were actually the league’s top rushing team with 1714 yards – but they passed very effectively. Waterfield threw 171 passes, averaged 9.4 yards per attempt and tied for the lead in touchdown throws with 14.

Benton ended up catching 45 passes for 1067 yards (a 23.7-yard average) and eight touchdowns. The reception total put him two behind the league leader, Hutson; the yards led the NFL and made him the second pass receiver to reach the thousand-yard threshold in a season. The mark is all the more remarkable in that Benton played in just nine games, missing a contest against the Bears earlier in the season due to injury, so his per game average was a gaudy 118.6.

While Benton’s outstanding season came in the last year of World War II manpower shortages, he proved it was no fluke in 1946 by leading the league both in pass receptions (63) and yards (981). At this point he was now playing for the Los Angeles Rams; in spite of winning the championship, the team had lost some $50,000 and owner Dan Reeves moved the franchise to the West Coast.