A trip to Cleveland once filled the Steelers with trepidation



… and the rivalry ended when Art Modell created the Ravens 

For the Pittsburgh Steeler fans whose primary recollection starts in the 21st Century, the once-intense rivalry with the Cleveland Browns has been a joke, not a rivalry at all.

Since 2000, the Steelers have won 28 games and the Browns just five. Much of that can be attributed to Art Modell's move in 1996, but more of that later.

Browns' early dominance

The early years of the rivalry were thoroughly dominated by the Browns. Starting in 1950, the Browns won 31 games and the Steelers just nine in the 1950s and 60s.

The Browns were powerful in those years, winning NFL championships in 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964. They were also runners-up on seven occasions.

The names that still resonate with Browns' fans are running back Jimmy Brown, the NFL Hall of Famer whom many believe was the best running back in NFL history. It also included quarterback Otto Graham, an NFL Hall of Famer who was named NFL Player of the Year on three occasions in the 50s. Graham had played for the Browns for four years in the All American Football Conference before becoming a member of the NFL in 1950.

They also featured kicker Lou (The Toe) Groza, another Hall of Famer who was the NFL career points leader when he retired in 1967. He also played offensive tackle for the Browns.

"The Chief" a woeful owner

While Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. -- "The Chief" -- is generally viewed in heroic terms today, such was not the case from 1933 until the 1970s. The Chief looked upon the team as a diversion, a bit of fun, something that was not really a money-maker for his family, like the racetracks and gambling were.

Consequently, the Steelers literally stunk through those years. One of the classic mistakes that epitomized how horrible their judgment was included the cutting of future Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas in 1955. The Steeler coach at the time did not believe that Unitas was smart enough to play in the NFL.

Unitas eventually won the NFL MVP award four times as he threw for more than 40,000 yards at a time when the running game was still dominant. The Colts won three NFL championships and one Super Bowl with Unitas.

In short, the Steelers were pretty bad in those years.

Buddy Parker

Rooney finally brought in Buddy Parker, who was formerly successful with the Detroit Lions, in 1957. The team improved marginally as he traded away number one draft picks for washed up former stars like Bobby Layne.

By the mid-60s. the Steelers were once again woeful, and Rooney decided to turn the team over to his son, Dan.

1970s and 80s

The Steelers dominated the series in the 1970s, obviously winning 15 and losing just five to the Browns in that era.

The Browns rebounded to take a 12-8 lead again in the 1980s, but that was the end. In 1995, Art Modell, rebuffed by Cleveland in building a new stadium, decided to move the team to Baltimore, where they became known as Edgar Allan Poe's Ravens. Okay, they dropped the Poe part.

The NFL eventually agreed to restore the Browns by 1999, but the franchise as it had been known was destroyed.

Thus, the Steeler dominance since that time.

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