1951 Cleveland Browns season

1951 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	11–1–0
Division place	1st NFL American
Playoff finish	Lost NFL Championship

The 1951 Cleveland Browns season was the team's second season with the National Football League. Dub Jones set an NFL record with six touchdowns in one game versus the Chicago Bears.^[1]

Offseason and roster moves

Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1950, its first year in the league after four seasons in the defunct All-America Football Conference. Head coach Paul Brown made a number of roster moves in the offseason, including bringing in fullback Chick Jagade, end Bob Oristaglio and defensive backs Don Shula and Carl Taseff.

NFL draft selections

1951 Cleveland Browns draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	14	Ken Konz *	Halfback	LSU	Career delayed by service in the Korean War Pro Bowl (1955) [2]
2	18	Bucky Curtis	End	Vanderbilt
3	38	Jerry Helluin	Tackle	Tulane	Career delayed by service in the Korean War
4	39	Bob Oristaglio	End	Pennsylvania
4	41	Bob Smith	Halfback	Texas A&M
4	50	Art Donovan * ^†	Tackle	Boston College	5× Pro Bowl (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957) [3] Hall of Fame class of 1968
5	62	Ace Loomis	Halfback	Wisconsin-La Crosse
6	74	Dan Rogas	Guard	Tulane
7	82	Irv Holdash	Center	North Carolina
7	86	Walt Michaels *	Halfback	Washington and Lee	5× Pro Bowl (1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959) [4]
8	88	Art Spinney *	End	Boston College	2× Pro Bowl (1959, 1960) [5]
8	98	Max Clark	Halfback	Houston
9	105	Burl Toler	Guard	San Francisco
9	110	Don Shula ^†	Halfback	John Carroll	Hall of Fame class of 1997
10	123	Chet Gierula	Guard	Maryland
11	135	Bernie Curtis	Halfback	Syracuse
12	142	Milan Sellers	Halfback	Florida State
12	147	Stew Kirtley	End	Morehead State
13	159	Bob Voskuhl	Center	Georgetown (KY)
14	171	Rudy Cernoch	Tackle	Northwestern
15	183	Joe Skibinski	Guard	Purdue
16	195	Ed Pasky	Halfback	South Carolina
17	207	Leroy Ka-Ne	Halfback	Dayton
18	219	Rube DeRoin	Center	Oklahoma State
19	231	Ray Solari	Guard	California
20	243	Jack Crocher	Halfback	Tulsa
21	255	Ray Stone	End	Texas
22	267	Carl Taseff	Cornerback	John Carroll
23	279	Johnny Champion	Halfback	Southern Methodist
24	291	Wayne Benner	Halfback	Florida State
25	303	John Knispel	Tackle	Wisconsin–La Crosse
26	315	Fred Williams *	Tackle	Arkansas	4× Pro Bowl (1952, 1953, 1958, 1959) [6]
27	327	Jack Jones	Halfback	Livingston
28	339	Roger Thrift	Halfback	East Carolina
29	351	Bill Driver	Halfback	Florida State
30	362	Sisto Averno	Guard	Muhlenberg
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster and coaching staff

1951 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks  60 Otto Graham 62 Cliff Lewis Halfbacks 90 Rex Bumgardner 84 Ken Carpenter 82 Tommy James 86 Dub Jones 80 Warren Lahr 94 Don Phelps 96 Don Shula 98 Carl Taseff		Fullbacks  74 Tony Adamle 70 Emerson Cole 72 Chick Jagade 76 Marion Motley Ends 53 Len Ford 59 Horace Gillom 56 Dante Lavelli 50 Bob Oristaglio 58 Mac Speedie 52 George Young		Guards  35 Alex Agase 38 Bob Gaudio 34 Abe Gibron 32 Lin Houston 30 Bill Willis Tackles 48 Chubby Grigg 46 Lou Groza 45 John Kissell 42 Derrell Palmer 44 Lou Rymkus 49 John Sandusky Centers 22 Frank Gatski 20 Hal Herring 24 Tommy Thompson				Head Coach  Paul Brown Assistants Blanton Collier (Backfield) Weeb Ewbank (Tackles) Fritz Heisler (Guards) Tim Temerario (Ends) Rookies in italics (2) 34 Active, 0 Inactive
NFL American Conference CHC CLE NYG PHI PIT WAS National Conference BAL CHI DET GB LAR NYY SFO

Exhibition schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 17, 1951	vs College All-Stars at Chicago	W 38–7	92,180
2	August 25, 1951	vs. New York Yanks at Akron	W 34–7	25,820
3	September 4, 1951	at Detroit Lions	L 20–21	35,165
4	September 9, 1951	at Chicago Bears	W 32–21	67,342
5	September 14, 1951	Los Angeles Rams	W 7–6	38,851

Regular season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 30, 1951	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–10	52,219
2	October 7, 1951	at Los Angeles Rams	W 38–23	67,186
3	October 14, 1951	Washington Redskins	W 45–0	33,968
4	October 21, 1951	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–0	32,409
5	October 28, 1951	New York Giants	W 14–13	56,947
6	November 4, 1951	at Chicago Cardinals	W 34–17	19,742
7	November 11, 1951	Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	36,571
8	November 18, 1951	at New York Giants	W 10–0	52,215
9	November 25, 1951	Chicago Bears	W 42–21	40,969
10	December 2, 1951	Chicago Cardinals	W 49–28	30,550
11	December 9, 1951	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 28–0	24,229
12	December 16, 1951	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–9	16,263

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Championship	December 23, 1951	at Los Angeles Rams	L 24–17	57,540

Standings

NFL American Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	11	1	0	.917	9–0	331	152	W11
New York Giants	9	2	1	.818	7–2–1	254	161	W4
Washington Redskins	5	7	0	.417	4–5	183	296	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	4	7	1	.364	3–5–1	183	235	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	4	8	0	.333	3–6	234	264	L2
Chicago Cardinals	3	9	0	.250	0–8	210	287	W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and records

• Otto Graham, NFL MVP

References

1. The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.226, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6
2. "Ken Konz career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
3. "Art Donovan career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
4. "Walt Michaels career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
5. "Art Spinney career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
6. "Fred Williams career stats". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.