My Favorite Browns: From My Childhood

It's time for another edition of "My Favorite Browns." This week, I'm highlighting some of the heroes from my childhood.

One of my favorite memories as a kid was the time I got to stay up late for Monday Night Football. The Browns were playing the Bears and it was a thrilling game, to say the least. The Browns were dominant that night, handily winning 27-7. The decisive play occurred when Bernie Kosar threw a 97-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Webster Slaughter. It stood as the longest pass play in Browns history for 15 years.

The crowd of 78,722 at Cleveland Stadium was so loud and raucous that they disrupted the Bears from successfully calling out their signals. That led Chicago head coach Mike Ditka to publicly chastise his team’s fans afterward, saying he wished they were as good as those in Cleveland. 

Here's my favorite Browns from my childhood.

Clay Matthews

Back in the 80s, who didn't like Clay Matthews? He was intense, he was tough and he was an iron workhorse of a linebacker.

Drafted in the first round in 1978, Matthews was a four time Pro Bowler for the Browns and ended up playing an incredible 19 seasons in the NFL.

Make fun of mullets all you want, but Matthews was one bad-ass dude. Opposing offenses feared him and his teammates and he was a cornerstone of some great Browns defenses for years.

Mathews recorded 1,430 tackles in his 16 seasons in Cleveland.

Ozzie Newsome

"The Wizard of Oz" was the 23rd pick in the 1978 Draft for the  Browns. He was named the Browns' Offensive Player of the Year his rookie year, the first time in 25 years that a rookie had received that honor.

Newsome earned All-Pro honors the following year, 1979, and again in 1984. Newsome went to the Pro Bowl in 1981, 1984 and 1985.

Newsome also caught at least one pass in 150 consecutive games, which was the second longest streak in the NFL when he retired. Given his records in Cleveland, his current job is almost forgivable.

Michael Dean Perry

MDP was a beast on the defensive line. While not as "famous" as his brother "the Refrigerator," Michael Dean Perry was a dominant force in the NFL.

Perry was a six-time Pro Bowler during his career and was always exciting to watch.

And, let's not for get the McDonald's "MDP" sandwich, available only in the Cleveland area. The sandwich at the time was larger than any offering made by McDonald's. It consisted of mostly the same ingredients as Big Mac, but it boasted three meat patties instead of the usual two and was topped with bacon.

Hanford Dixon

Hanford Dixon is a particular childhood favorite of mine for two reasons: Though I was a lineman, I was given No. 29 in 5th grade football, which was Dixon's number. Also, I remember getting his autograph (and a dawg bone cookie) when he made an appearance at Kiedrowski's Bakery.

Dixon is also credited with naming the "Dawg Pound," which was inspired by his barking to teammates, especially fellow cornerback Frank Minnifield.

The former 3-time Pro Bowler still lives in the area and provides color commentary on the Browns.

Eric Metcalf

A multi-talented player, Metcalf excelled at offense and as a returner on special teams — basically, Metcalf puts Josh Cribbs to shame.

In his second NFL season, he led the league in kickoff return yards (1,052) and return touchdowns (two). He also led the NFL in punt return touchdowns in four different seasons (1993–1995, 1997).

Overall, Metcalf finished his career with 2,392 rushing yards, 541 receptions for 5,572 yards, 3,453 punt return yards, and 5,813 yards returning kickoffs. He is the only player ever to have 7,000+ yards on offense and 7,000+ yards on kickoff/punt returns

Kevin Mack

Mack was selected by the Browns  in the first round of the 1984 Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players.

During his rookie season with the Browns in 1985, he rushed for 1,104 yards and 7 touchdowns. In 1985 Mack rushed for 1,104 yards and Earnest Byner rushed for 1,002 yards becoming just the third pair of teammates to run for more than 1,000 yards for the same team in the same season.

He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 1985 and 1987. And, let's not forget how awesome he was in Tecmo Bowl on Nintendo.

Mike Pagel

I always liked Mike Pagel (perhaps because I was never a big fan of Kosar, believe it or not), and I must include him if for no other reason than his autographed photo (made out to me) adorns my office wall.

Yes, Pagel still lives and works in Cleveland (as many former players do) and he can often be spotted downtown.

He was traded to the Browns for the 1986 season and served for the next five years there strictly as a backup. In 1988 he took over for an injured Bernie Kosar and Don Strock and played well in a playoff loss to the Houston Oilers.


Go Browns!