The Pro-Football Hall of Fame features almost 20 players from the Cleveland Browns, making them the team with the 4th largest number of members chosen. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, The Browns are a professional football team founded in 1946 by then-owner Arthur McBride. 2006 was the team?s 60th anniversary.

Originally, the Brown's were almost called ?Panthers?-- a name determined through a fan contest. But that team's coach, Paul Brown, vetoed ?Panthers? as the name because a semi-pro team had the name. In honor of Coach Brown, a second contest decided that this team should be called the "Browns." However, Paul Brown is said to have been uncomfortable with having his team named after him, and publicly claimed that it was an homage to Joe Louis-- a boxing champion nick-named "The Brown Bomber."

Right from the beginning, the City of Cleveland supported this football team which represented their city. This was no doubt encouraged by the Browns winning 4 consecutive All-American Football Conference Championships, 1946-1949. These wins were followed by yet another in 1950 with their first National Football League Championship, making a five year winning streak. The Cleveland Browns were clearly off to a good start. But unfortunately for them, and their fans, it was only temporary.

Except for the brief suspension of operations between 1996 and 1998, the Browns have been regular participants in the NFL. Although team ownership was transferred to Art Modell in 1961, The Browns remained essentially unchanged, until Modell replaced head coach Brown with Blanton Collier the next year.

After another Championship season in 1964, the success of The Browns came to an end.

Over the years, the Cleveland Browns would occasionally get a new coach, in attempts to produce more wins. Bill Belichick was made head coach in 1991, whose unusual decisions may have contributed to the team's continued decline in performance and eventual downfall in '96. Additionally, team owner Modell made plans in 1995 to relocate the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore for the '96 season. A great many Brown's fans were outraged, and opposed the move-- even to the point of inspiring over 100 lawsuits against it. Under the leadership of Mayor Mike White, a legal settlement was arranged with the City of Cleveland to keep the Browns in their city. Because of the dispute, in 1996 the Cleveland Browns were deactivated or suspended by the NFL for three years. By a ballot vote that Modell requested, a new stadium would be built, and the Browns could resume playing in 1999--- but with new players. Despite this kind of tumultuous history, and the point that the Browns have never played in the Superbowl, fan loyalty for the Cleveland Browns has remained generally strong and consistent.

Currently, Phil Savage manages the Browns with owner Randy Lenner, while Romeo Crennel acts as head coach. The helmet worn by the Browns players is distinctive in that not only is it not brown, but their helmets are the only ones in the NFL that have no logo-- just a simple orange surface and a white stripe down the center with a thin brown line on each side. Until 1952, the color was white; but the rest of their uniform has been variations on the same color theme throughout their existence. Appropriately, their jerseys are primarily brown.