36 Facts About Paul Brown

1. Paul Brown can be an acting professional, known for The Honkers.

2. Paul Brown had the Bengals in the playoffs by their third season, their first after the NFL merger, and took them to two more postseasons before he retired after the 1975 season.

3. Paul Brown was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, but his career was not finished.

4. Paul Brown opened up the field, spreading his receivers and utilizing the whole field.

5. Paul Brown was once quoted in the Washington Post as saying that, "The history of all successful teams shows authority concentrated in the coach.

6. Paul Brown coached Cleveland to championships the next three seasons, as well.

7. Paul Brown would hire Bill Willis of Kentucky State College as an assistant coach, one of the few African Americans participating in a major college program.

8. Paul Brown moved on to take the head coaching position with Ohio State University.

9. Paul Brown was born on September 7, 1908, in Norwalk, Ohio, a small town north of Canton.

10. Paul Brown was the first head coach of the Cleveland Browns football team.

11. Paul Brown chose the name Bengals to memorialize the teams of the same name that had represented Cincinnati in the past.

12. Paul Brown coached at OSU from 1941 to 1945, attaining a record of eighteen victories, eight losses, and one tie.

13. Paul Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

14. In 1968 Paul Brown became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the AFL, leading them to two first place finishes after they, too, joined the NFL in 1970.

15. Paul Brown led the Cleveland team to the championship game in his first six seasons in the NFL capturing the 1954 and 1955 championships.

16. Paul Brown coached winning teams in high school, college, armed forces, and professional football.

17. Paul Brown retired in 1975, but he stayed on as team president of the Bengals until he died in 1991.

18. Paul Brown was invited to become coach of the Cleveland franchise, which he accepted.

19. Paul Brown coached Massillon until 1941 when he was offered the position of coach at Ohio State University.

20. In 1930, Paul Brown was hired by a private school, Severn Prep School, based in Maryland, as their coach.

21. Paul Brown considered studying history on a Rhodes Scholarship, but instead moved into his career, and started his first job.

22. Paul Brown was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

23. Paul Brown kept holding out hope and finally got cleared to return to practice Monday.

24. Paul Brown said she is grateful to the community for trusting the economic development leaders in Grand Junction to make the area a destination for tourists.

25. Paul Brown was a methodical and disciplined coach who tolerated no deviation from his system.

26. Paul Brown was elected in 1967 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

27. Paul Brown was succeeded by his son Mike as Bengals' team president.

28. Paul Brown called his new franchise the Bengals because Cincinnati had a team of that name in the 1930s and he thought it would provide a link to the past.

29. At that time, Paul Brown was the only coach who insisted on calling every offensive play.

30. Paul Brown blamed the struggles on quarterback Milt Plum, whom the team had drafted in 1957, saying the Browns had "lost faith in Plum's ability to play under stress.

31. On February 8, 1945, Paul Brown accepted the job, saying he was sad to leave Ohio State, but he "couldn't turn down this deal in fairness to my family.

32. Paul Brown had little time to institute his system, and instead adopted Hinkle's offensive scheme, borrowed from the Chicago Bears.

33. Paul Brown was classified 1-A in 1944 and commissioned as a lieutenant in the US Navy.

34. Paul Brown was fourth in balloting for national Coach of the Year.

35. Paul Brown is credited with a number of American football innovations.

36. Paul Brown began his coaching career at Severn School in 1931 before becoming the head football coach at Massillon Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio, where he grew up.