Dawgs By Nature
Every Cleveland Browns fan has a favorite player. Actually, every follower of the team has two favorite players: one current, and one from the past.
Of course, many fans have many favorite players. Which is fine and dandy. But those two are the ones remembered most.
RELATED: BERNIE KOSAR HEALTH UPDATE
Then there are the retired ones who are followed the most, who are perched on the upper tier. Guys such as Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar, Leroy Kelly, Gene Hickerson, Otto Graham, Clay Matthews, Brian Sipe, Joe Thomas, Lou Groza, and Ozzie Newsome.
If the “Browns Mount Rushmore” has room, that would have to be the 10. These can be referred to as the “Cleveland Beloved.” No matter who you discuss with, their favorite Browns players are such-and-such, plus these 10. And at some point, one will be picked off once Myles Garrett hangs up his cleats.
Kosar has been battling liver failure. He has been on a donor list for several years, and the past two weekends he thought he was about to have his long-awaited transplant.
He got the news on Saturday that a new donor organ had arrived, and he is set to have his transplant surgery on Monday, very early:
We’ve also learned a bit about the donor and his family:
Kosar grew up in Ohio and was a lifelong Browns fan. The quarterback was drafted in the first round of the 1985 NFL Supplemental Draft out of the University of Miami. He played nine years with Cleveland and was part of five playoff years that included three AFC Championship Game appearances. Kosar played for four head coaches: Marty Schottenheimer, Bud Carson, Jim Shofner, and Bill Belichick.
His NFL career lasted 12 years, which included winning one Super Bowl while with the Dallas Cowboys in that Jimmy Johnson/Emmitt Smith/Troy Aikman heyday. He threw for 23,301 career yards with 124 touchdowns and 87 interceptions with a career 59.3% completion average.
His best season was in 1987 with the Browns. Kosar passed for 3,033 yards with a career-high 22 touchdowns against just nine interceptions, a 62.0% completion average, sacked 22 times, 140 first down conversions, and played in just eight games. He was named to the Pro Bowl that season.
Kosar’s highest numbers were 3,854 passing yards (1986), 68.5% completion average (1995), 172 first down conversions (1986), and a 95.4 QB rating (1987).
He was inducted into the Browns Legends Program in their maiden class of 2001.
That was then. What is happening with Kosar now is a grave issue. In 2024, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Basically, cirrhosis of the liver is the fancy term for chronic liver failure. This is the most serious situation currently. The disease is a slow-moving ailment and develops over years. It is detected with blood tests, a biopsy of the liver, and through medical imaging. The most common symptoms are pain in the right upper region of the abdomen.
The liver plays...
