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Ohio inventions and firsts · Company innovation · 1946

Paul Brown's football innovations

Paul Brown, who founded the Cleveland Browns in 1946, is credited with systematic film study, playbooks and testing, a full-time coaching staff, the taxi (practice) squad, the draw play and early face-mask development.

At a glance

Year
1946
By
Paul Brown
Company
Cleveland Browns
Place
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County

The story

In the early 1940s most football coaches ran their teams by instinct. Paul Brown, born in 1908, thought a team could be built like any organization: with study, staff and tests. He coached at Massillon Washington High School in Ohio, where his teams went 80-8-2 and won four national championships between 1935 and 1940.

He moved on to Ohio State in 1941. His 1942 team won the school's first national championship, finishing atop the AP Poll. After three seasons there, with an 18-8-1 record, he joined the new Cleveland Browns in 1945.

The sources credit Brown with being the first coach to use game film to scout opponents, hire a full-time staff of assistants, and test players on their playbooks. Other inventions credited to him include the practice squad, the draw play and the modern face mask. These first claims are the source's own and are often contested.

The Browns won all four titles of the All-America Football Conference (1946 to 1949), and then three NFL titles in 1950, 1954 and 1955. Brown co-founded the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968 and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

Timeline

  • 1935-1940: Brown's Massillon teams win four national championships and go 80-8-2. (Massillon, OH) source
  • 1942: His Ohio State team wins the school's first national championship. (Columbus, OH) source
  • 1946-1949: The Cleveland Browns win all four AAFC championships. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1950: The Browns win the NFL title, followed by 1954 and 1955. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1967: Brown is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Canton, OH) source
  • 1968: Brown co-founds the Cincinnati Bengals. (Cincinnati, OH) source

What it changed

  • Four AAFC titles in four years and three NFL titles.
  • Practices credited to him include film study, full-time assistants and playbook tests.

Why it matters

Shaped modern coaching.

Who gets the credit is disputed

The Ohio claim. Paul Brown, who founded the Cleveland Browns in 1946, is credited with film study, playbooks, a full-time coaching staff, the taxi squad and early face-mask work.

The other claims. Each claim to be first for a coaching innovation is the source's own and is commonly contested.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.