Hall of Fame
In 34 seasons of coaching high school, college, service and professional football, Paul Brown has compiled a record of 361 victories, 133 defeats and 16 ties for a winning percentage of .725. He starred as a quarterback before graduating from Miami in 1930. Thirty years later he was the recipient of an honorary degree from the University.
Destined for the coaching profession, Brown began at Severn School, a preparatory school for the Naval Academy near Annapolis. After one year he returned to his old high school in Massillon, where he built a football legend in nine years by winning 80 games, losing eight and tying one. Brown moved on to Ohio State for three years and guided the Buckeyes to the national collegiate championship and won Coach of the Year honors in 1942. The next two years were spent coaching the Great Lakes Naval Training Center team before entering professional football.
In 1945 he assembled the Cleveland Browns, who played for the world championship every year for the first 10 years of its existence. During his four years in the old All America Conference and 25 years in the National Football League, his teams compiled a record of 213-104-9. In addition to winning the All America Conference title all four years, his teams won seven divisional crowns and three NFL championships. The Professional Football Hall of Fame inducted Brown in 1967. Brown became head coach and part owner when he also founded the Cincinnati Bengals in 1967.
After 1975 Brown moved into the general manager's role on a fulltime basis. With the guidance of Paul Brown, the Bengals appeared in three playoffs and two American Football Conference Central Division Championships. Brown was named National Football League Executive of the Year in 1981.
