Growing up in the 60’s, the Cleveland Browns were the arguably the hallmark franchise of the National Football League.
My father would point out with pride that the Browns were the winningest team in NFL history in the late 1960’s. Cleveland played in the championship games in 1964, 1965, 1968, and 1969. Wins in the last two games would have put the Browns in the Super Bowl.
At that point, the city of Cleveland loved Art Modell. He owned the Browns! The Indians weren’t too far removed from their winning days of the 50’s, but they weren’t contenders either.
The Cavaliers did not exist.
The Art Modell that owned the Browns during from 1970 until he ripped the hearts out of the city was a little different.
This is how we remembered Art Modell as he died early Thursday morning.
His obsession with winning a Super Bowl caused him to meddle with personnel moves, and he fell in love with anyone who gave him a glimpse of hope, and turned on them quickly when that hope started to vanquish.
Sam Rutigliano was an unknown at the time, and in his third year as coach, 1980, led the Browns to the playoffs, the ill-fated “Red Right 88” game. He immediately received a new contract.
In 1984, without Brian Sipe, who left for the USFL, the Browns got off to a 1-7 start and Rutigliano was fired.
Modell brought in Ernie Accorsi as GM, and he was very aggressive. Raiding the crumbling USFL for talent such as Kevin Mack and Frank Minniefield, working some magic to get the rights to Bernie Kosar, and building the foundation for a team that went to three AFC title games in four years.
However, Modell liked his coach, Marty Schottenheimer, and when the coach wanted more power, including the draft, the owner gave it to him and forced Accorsi out.
Schottenheimer was gone after the second title game loss, but not before he got rid of LB Chip Banks, and drafted the “mad dog in a meat market” in Mike Junkin.
Sometimes Modell tried to fancy himself as a “football man” and make personnel decisions that he wasn’t qualified for. He needed a QB to replace Bill Nelsen in the late 60’s and fell in love with Mike Phipps, trading Hall of Famer Paul Warfield to get him.
He did the same thing for Bill Belichick in the 90’s when he wanted a wide receiver and spent big money, cash he didn’t have, to get Andre Rison, who turned into a bust.
Owning an NFL franchise is basically a license to print money, but it wasn’t that way for Modell, who had major financial problems.
That’s what led him to move the team to Baltimore. He was broke, but couldn’t see himself clear of selling the franchise, which was always supported by the fans, to someone who would keep it in Cleveland.
The other NFL owners came out in support of Modell’s place in the Hall of Fame because his work on the television committee and his move to Baltimore (and the many new stadium deals it spawned) put a lot of money in their pockets.
That doesn’t mean he should be enshrined in Canton. As owner of the Browns, he came up short. The team had many more droughts from 1970-1994 than it had successes.
His heart was in the right place in those days, but he couldn’t let the right people run the team. Heck, he even fired Belichick after they got to Baltimore.
No one can blame the people of this city for their opinion of Art Modell. He hurt Cleveland badly, and he could have done it differently and had an entirely different legacy.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 