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1953 Cleveland Browns season

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1953 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWTAM
Results
Record11–1
Division place1st Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship
(at Lions) 16–17
Pro BowlersRay Renfro, F
Tommy James, DB
Chick Jagade, FB
Warren Lahr, CB
Lou Groza, LT
Otto Graham, QB
Len Ford, DE
Abe Gibron, G
Dante Lavelli, E
AP All-Pros
8

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]

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

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 23 at San Francisco 49ers W 20–7 1–0 Kezar Stadium 36,273
2 August 28 at Los Angeles Rams L 9–27 1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 21,440
3 September 4 at Detroit Lions T 24–24 1–1–1 Briggs Stadium 39,985
4 September 7 vs. Baltimore Colts W 23–21 2–1–1 Rubber Bowl 20,000
5 September 11 at Chicago Bears W 20–14 3–1–1 Wrigley Field 36,796
6 September 19 Green Bay Packers W 21–13 4–1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 22,336

Regular season

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Main article: 1953 NFL season

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources
1 September 27 at Green Bay Packers W 27–0 1–0 Milwaukee County Stadium 22,604 [4]
2 October 4 at Chicago Cardinals W 27–7 2–0 Comiskey Park 24,374 [5]
3 October 10 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–13 3–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 45,802 [6][7]
4 October 18 at Washington Redskins W 30–14 4–0 Griffith Stadium 33,963 [8]
5 October 25 at New York Giants W 7–0 5–0 Polo Grounds 30,773 [9]
6 November 1 Washington Redskins W 27–3 6–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 47,845 [10]
7 November 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–16 7–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 35,592 [11]
8 November 15 San Francisco 49ers W 23–21 8–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,698 [12]
9 November 22 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–16 9–0 Forbes Field 32,904 [13]
10 November 29 Chicago Cardinals W 27–16 10–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 24,499 [14]
11 December 6 New York Giants W 62–14 11–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 40,235 [15]
12 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–42 11–1 Connie Mack Stadium 38,654 [16]

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1 at Milwaukee

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 11 1 0 .917 9–1 348 162 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 7 4 1 .636 6–3–1 352 215 W1
Washington Redskins 6 5 1 .545 6–3–1 208 215 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 6 0 .500 5–5 211 263 W2
New York Giants 3 9 0 .250 3–7 179 277 L2
Chicago Cardinals 1 10 1 .091 0–10 190 337 W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Championship Game

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Main article: 1953 NFL Championship Game
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources
Championship December 27 at Detroit Lions L 16–17 0–1 Briggs Stadium 54,577 [18]
Source:[2][3]

Awards and records

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References

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  1. ^ "Eagles upset Cleveland, 42-27". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 14, 1953. p. 24.
  2. ^ a b Sell, Jack (December 28, 1953). "Lions retain NFL title; edge Browns, 17-16". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12.
  3. ^ a b "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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