The 1954 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fifth season with the National Football League. The Browns' defense became the first defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest rushing yards allowed, fewest passing yards allowed, and fewest total yards allowed.The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007,
The Browns were 9–3 in the regular season and won the Eastern Conference. They hosted the NFL Championship Game, and met the two-time defending champion Detroit Lions for the third straight year. This year's result was different, as the Browns won with a 56–10 blowout.
The teams had met on the same field the previous week, in a meaningless game won 14–10 by the Lions. Both teams had already clinched their respective conference titles; it was postponed from early October due to the World Series. After the win, Detroit was a slight favorite for the title game.
Offseason Defensive Back Don Paul arrived via a trade with the Washington Redskins, who acquired him from the Chicago Cardinals. Upon his arrival in Washington, he fell in disfavor with George Preston Marshall of the Redskins.The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.308, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007,
In January 1954, assistant coach Weeb Ewbank departed to become head coach of the Baltimore Colts.The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.310, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007,
NFL draft The 1954 NFL draft was one of the biggest busts in the team's history. With the first overall pick in the draft, the Browns selected quarterback Bobby Garrett out of Stanford University. The plan was that he would be the heir to Otto Graham. Garrett suffered from a stuttering problem which hindered his performance in the huddle. Eventually, Garrett was traded to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Babe Parilli, although Parilli would not play for the Browns until 1956. Later in the first round, the club selected John Bauer, who never played for the Browns and only played in two NFL games in his career.
Roster 1954 Cleveland Browns roster Quarterbacks 14 Otto Graham16 George Ratterman
Running backs 38 Maurice Bassett44 Chet Hanulak 40 Dub Jones 32 Fred Morrison 26 Ray Renfro 46 Billy Reynolds
Receivers
88 Pete Brewster 84 Horace Gillom (P, DE) 86 Dante Lavelli Offensive linemen 60 Harold Bradley G 62 Herschel Forester G 52 Frank Gatski C 64 Abe Gibron G (C)76 Lou Groza T (K) 65 Chuck Noll G 78 John Sandusky T
Defensive linemen
83 Doug Atkins DE70 Don Colo DT80 Len Ford DE79 Bob Gain DT (T)72 John Kissell DT 82 Carlton Massey DE 74 Mike McCormack MG Linebackers 54 Tony Adamle 50 Tom Catlin (C)34 Walt Michaels
Defensive backs
15 Ken Gorgal S 42 Tommy James S 22 Ken Konz S 24 Warren Lahr CB (RB)20 Don Paul CB Reserve lists -- Gene Filipski RB (Military) 79 Don King DT (IR) -- Babe Parilli QB (Military) --Joe Skibinski G (Military)
rookies in italics
Exhibition schedule Week Date Opponent Result Attendance 1 August 21 at Green Bay Packers W 14–13 15,747 2 August 27 at Los Angeles Rams L 38–10 58,567 3 September 5 at San Francisco 49ers L 21–38 46,877 4 September 10 vs. Detroit Lions at Dallas L 31–56 42,000 5 September 18 Chicago Bears L 7–35 17,631
Regular season
Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 26 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–28 0–1 Connie Mack Stadium 26,546 Recap — October 3Postponement to December 19; (World Series) 2 October 10 Chicago Cardinals W 31–7 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 24,101 Recap 3 October 17 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 27–55 1–2 Forbes Field 33,262 Recap 4 October 24 at Chicago Cardinals W 35–3 2–2 Comiskey Park 23,823 Recap 5 October 31 New York Giants W 24–14 3–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 30,448 Recap 6 November 7 Washington Redskins W 62–3 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 25,158 Recap 7 November 14 at Chicago Bears W 39–10 5–2 Wrigley Field 48,773 Recap 8 November 21 Philadelphia Eagles W 6–0 6–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 41,537 Recap 9 November 28 at New York Giants W 16–7 7–2 Polo Grounds 45,936 Recap 10 December 5 at Washington Redskins W 34–14 8–2 Griffith Stadium 21,761 Recap 11 December 12 Pittsburgh Steelers W 42–7 9–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 28,064 Recap 12 December 19 Detroit Lions L 10–14 9–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 34,168 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Standings
NFL Championship Game
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Championship December 26 Detroit Lions W 56–10 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 43,827 Recap
References
External links 1954 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (profootballreference.com) 1954 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1954 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com