Dawgs By Nature
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie is one of those players who was steady, received a ton of accolades, was a leader of men, yet is not quite Pro Football Hall of Fame material.
Brodie was also with a single team for 17 years. He passed away from a stroke on Friday at the age of 90.
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The 49ers organization issued a statement from 49ers co-chairman John York:
“The 49ers family is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the franchise’s all-time great players, John Brodie,” 49ers co-chairman John York said. “As a kid, my 49ers fandom began by watching John play quarterback on television. He displayed an incredible commitment toward his teammates and his support of the organization never wavered after his playing days.
John became a dear friend of mine, and he will always be remembered as an important part of 49ers history. We express our deepest condolences to his wife, Sue, and the entire Brodie family.”
The talented QB has been enshrined into the Niners Hall of Fame, had his #12 jersey retired, was the league MVP in 1970, named First and Second Team All-Pro twice, voted to two Pro Bowls, selected NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1965), was the NFL passing TD leader twice (1965, 1970), Three Time NFL Passing Yards Leader, and became the NFL completion percentage leader in 1958 and 1965.
Brodie started 201 games and played in 158, had 2,469 completions on 4,491 attempts for 31,548 yards with 214 TDs to cohabitate with his 224 interceptions, 55.0% completion percentage, sacked 207 times, with a career 72.3 QB rating.
Again spent his entire 17-year career with San Francisco, a team record. Brodie was the guy everyone depended on, and he was a great leader.
So, what does this have to do with the Cleveland Browns?
Brodie was the first domino to the Browns getting FB Jim Brown.
Cleveland head coach Paul Brown was one of the first men to realize that the offense could live and die without an extremely talented quarterback. Coach Brown was a former QB himself in high school, and knew then how the offense would revolve around this one position.
The Browns began in 1946 and had Otto Graham as their quarterback from the start. Graham was an amazing specimen who could throw long with little effort, was a good runner, and was very intelligent. From 1946 to 1955, the Browns were in every league championship game, winning seven. That’s 10 straight title game appearances, a pro football record.
Cleveland slammed the Detroit Lions 56-10 in the 1954 NFL Championship Game to capture their sixth pro football crown. Graham had business dealings that he started a few years earlier, and felt like it was time to hang up his cleats after winning the 1954 title and go out a winner.
He had been voted league MVP five times and been named First and Second Team All-Pro six different...
