Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The team began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) by businessman Arthur B "Mickey" McBride.

The story of their naming is pretty unique. Owner McBride selected Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as vice president, general manager and head coach. The franchise held a typical team naming contest in 1945 and the popular choice was "Browns" in recognition of Paul Brown. He was already an established and popular figure in Ohio sports.

Brown objected to the name and the team selected from the contest entries the name "Panthers". But it turned out that the name Cleveland Panthers was already owned by an earlier failed football team. So, Brown agreed to the use of his name.

Brown was known in those early days for having the most intense recruiting network in pro football. He used his ties to the Buckeyes and the Navy (where he had coached a base football team during World War II) to assemble a powerful team.