What do you think?
Rate this book
Tales from the Cleveland Browns Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest Browns Stories Ever Told
Ohio coaching legend Paul Brown said he wanted to create "the New York Yankees of pro football" when he assembled the Cleveland Browns from scratch in 1946. Despite his ambition, not even the future Hall of Fame coach could have foreseen ten league championship appearances and seven titles in the team's first ten years. Since their first game, the Cleveland Browns have come to symbolize power, excellence, and gridiron dominance. Now fans of one of the NFL’s most storied teams will recapture all the excitement and glory of Browns football in this newly revised edition of Tales from the Cleveland Browns Sideline.
Cleveland native and veteran football writer Tony Grossi recalls the personalities that sowed one of the NFL's proudest traditions and the characters who have continued to grow it. Fans will discover the unlikely origin of the Marion Motley trap play, the scout's inside story behind "the mad dog in the meat market,” the insult that launched Brian Sipe's rise from a thirteenth-round draft pick to the league's Most Valuable Player, and so much more. From Jim Brown to Bernie Kosar and up through the modern era, this book captures the colorful characters who wore the plain white uniforms and blank orange helmets like never before.
Cleveland native and veteran football writer Tony Grossi recalls the personalities that sowed one of the NFL's proudest traditions and the characters who have continued to grow it. Fans will discover the unlikely origin of the Marion Motley trap play, the scout's inside story behind "the mad dog in the meat market,” the insult that launched Brian Sipe's rise from a thirteenth-round draft pick to the league's Most Valuable Player, and so much more. From Jim Brown to Bernie Kosar and up through the modern era, this book captures the colorful characters who wore the plain white uniforms and blank orange helmets like never before.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2004
6 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 12, 2024
I read and listen to Tony Grossi, the Browns beat writer for ESPN Cleveland, almost daily during the Browns season. The stories he tells of the Browns heyday — combined with my 60-something-year-old dad’s love of the team — leads to a lot of mentions of guys I’ve never seen play.
This collection of stories is great for connecting these much-heard figures — including those front-and-center like Bernie Kosar, Jim Brown, Paul Brown, and Art Modell — with all the context needed to understand what they meant to a city and a fan base.
I had heard of so many of these guys, but didn’t know much beyond their name or the position. In two-to-three page sections on each player, organized by decades starting in the 1940s and ending in the expansion era, Grossi delivers some memorable games or stories that ground these players in Browns history.
We get a collection of fantastic QBs, starting with the legendary Otto Graham, who led the Browns to 10 consecutive league championship games, the mathematical Frank Ryan, who outplayed Johnny Unitas in the Browns last championship, the blue-collar, charismatic Brian Sipe, who won the 1980 MVP and also was central to the heartbreak that was Red Right 88, and the home-grown U of Miami star Bernie Kosar, who worked the system to be drafted by the Browns and then led the team to five consecutive playoff berths in the 1980s, including three AFC championship games.
I also learned of big names in the backfield like Leroy Kelly replacing Jim Brown as the Browns feature back, of Marion Motley setting the tradition of big fullbacks for what became a run-heavy history, of the dual threats of the hard-working Earnest Byner and the bruising Kevin Mack.
And of receiving threats like Dante “Gluefingers” Lavelli; the ornery, angry Gary Collins, who had three touchdowns in the 1964 championship game; Ohio State’s Paul Warfield, who became the most explosive and graceful receiver in Browns history, before he was unceremoniously traded to Miami for a draft pick; and the trio of Reggie Langhorne, Webster Slaughter, and Brian Brennan, who became formidable weapons for Kosar in the ‘80s.
Though a collection of individual stories on individual players, Grossi does a good job at grounding each story in a larger narrative about the Browns, whether it was the winning ways established by Paul Brown at the beginning, the controversial (and mostly dumb) decisions of Art Modell, or the fantastic but heartbreaking runs during the 1980s.
A perfect read in the leadup to the third playoff appearance this weekend of the expansion-era Cleveland Browns.
This collection of stories is great for connecting these much-heard figures — including those front-and-center like Bernie Kosar, Jim Brown, Paul Brown, and Art Modell — with all the context needed to understand what they meant to a city and a fan base.
I had heard of so many of these guys, but didn’t know much beyond their name or the position. In two-to-three page sections on each player, organized by decades starting in the 1940s and ending in the expansion era, Grossi delivers some memorable games or stories that ground these players in Browns history.
We get a collection of fantastic QBs, starting with the legendary Otto Graham, who led the Browns to 10 consecutive league championship games, the mathematical Frank Ryan, who outplayed Johnny Unitas in the Browns last championship, the blue-collar, charismatic Brian Sipe, who won the 1980 MVP and also was central to the heartbreak that was Red Right 88, and the home-grown U of Miami star Bernie Kosar, who worked the system to be drafted by the Browns and then led the team to five consecutive playoff berths in the 1980s, including three AFC championship games.
I also learned of big names in the backfield like Leroy Kelly replacing Jim Brown as the Browns feature back, of Marion Motley setting the tradition of big fullbacks for what became a run-heavy history, of the dual threats of the hard-working Earnest Byner and the bruising Kevin Mack.
And of receiving threats like Dante “Gluefingers” Lavelli; the ornery, angry Gary Collins, who had three touchdowns in the 1964 championship game; Ohio State’s Paul Warfield, who became the most explosive and graceful receiver in Browns history, before he was unceremoniously traded to Miami for a draft pick; and the trio of Reggie Langhorne, Webster Slaughter, and Brian Brennan, who became formidable weapons for Kosar in the ‘80s.
Though a collection of individual stories on individual players, Grossi does a good job at grounding each story in a larger narrative about the Browns, whether it was the winning ways established by Paul Brown at the beginning, the controversial (and mostly dumb) decisions of Art Modell, or the fantastic but heartbreaking runs during the 1980s.
A perfect read in the leadup to the third playoff appearance this weekend of the expansion-era Cleveland Browns.
September 10, 2016
I've got ambivalent feelings toward Tony Grossi. One one hand, he's often a bit too gloomy for my tastes (sure, covering the Browns can get aggravating, but football's only a game in the end, so why not look on the bright side?), and I tend to disagree with his insistence on the need to draft a "franchise QB" above all else (you need to have a team around the QB for him to be able to win). But, on the other hand, I respect him as the long-time voice of Cleveland fans within the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee (repeatedly reminding voters to think twice before electing Art Modell to the Hall), and I read almost every column he writes.
I'm also ambivalent toward Tales from the Cleveland Browns Sideline. There's not a lot of depth to the profiles, especially the ones featuring Browns active before Grossi began covering the team. The book's organization also feels disjointed at times. Stories about Red Right 88 or Bernie Kosar joining the team constantly reappear, sprinkled in among other unconnected anecdotes. Rather than approach this on an individual-by-individual basis, I wonder if the book would work better on a subject-by-subject basis (i.e., Acquiring Kosar, the Drive, the Fumble, the Move, etc.).
But, with that said, the latter half of the book (which spans the time Grossi did cover the team), is generally more insightful, and I enjoyed being reminded of fun moments featuring players whose careers I watched over the past 20 years or so. How can a fan of the "new Browns" not love a chapter on Ben Gay, after all?
The book's publication date means that it unfortunately concludes with Mike Holmgren. I ended up skipping ahead to Holmgren and saving Joe Thomas's profile for last, as is appropriate. Ultimately, the book leaves me wistful thinking about what might have been if Al Lerner hadn't passed away when he did and left the team in the hands of his son, Randy, whom history has shown wasn't quite cut out for the job (through no fault of his own). Still, the book's a worthwhile one for Browns fans looking to take a casual, somewhat terse stroll down Lou Groza Boulevard.
I'm also ambivalent toward Tales from the Cleveland Browns Sideline. There's not a lot of depth to the profiles, especially the ones featuring Browns active before Grossi began covering the team. The book's organization also feels disjointed at times. Stories about Red Right 88 or Bernie Kosar joining the team constantly reappear, sprinkled in among other unconnected anecdotes. Rather than approach this on an individual-by-individual basis, I wonder if the book would work better on a subject-by-subject basis (i.e., Acquiring Kosar, the Drive, the Fumble, the Move, etc.).
But, with that said, the latter half of the book (which spans the time Grossi did cover the team), is generally more insightful, and I enjoyed being reminded of fun moments featuring players whose careers I watched over the past 20 years or so. How can a fan of the "new Browns" not love a chapter on Ben Gay, after all?
The book's publication date means that it unfortunately concludes with Mike Holmgren. I ended up skipping ahead to Holmgren and saving Joe Thomas's profile for last, as is appropriate. Ultimately, the book leaves me wistful thinking about what might have been if Al Lerner hadn't passed away when he did and left the team in the hands of his son, Randy, whom history has shown wasn't quite cut out for the job (through no fault of his own). Still, the book's a worthwhile one for Browns fans looking to take a casual, somewhat terse stroll down Lou Groza Boulevard.
February 2, 2025
There are a lot of decent stories in this book. Considering most players don't last more than a year or two with any given team, it's hard to REALLY tell their stories without just being a legend of Hall of Fame worthy players, whose stories have already been told time and time again.
Grossi does a pretty good job at shining the light on early Browns players and highlighting just how different the league was back in the days of Paul Brown and Otto Graham. Imagine the best player on the planet spurning the tail end of his career becauses he'd rather be an actor in 2025? It's almost impossible to believe, but the NFL was just a different beast when Jim Brown was around.
I think the chapters of the '80s were the best insights for me, not only because Grossi spent the most time on them, but because those truly were the glory years of the Browns in my lifetime, being born in the '80s myself. Obviously, everybody knows Red Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble, but some of the profiles within this book really bring things to life. Unfortunately, you can feel the turn of scorn in the '90s chapter, although the Eric Turner profile was one of my favorites in the entire book.
And then you hit the last chapter. Do we really need to talk about Spurgeon Wynn, while glossing over the higher-profile tales of Kellen Winslow Jr and Romeo Crennel? Can you really talk about Chris Palmer and entirely skip Butch Davis' teams? Not a single mention of 2007, arguably the craziest season the new Browns experienced (in the time frame of this book)? I'm not saying I need a deep dive into the lives of Leigh Bodden and Frisman Jackson, but Braylon Edwards and D'Qwell Jackson were major names in the mid-2000s that aren't even hinted at.
It just feels a little strange, but in the era of constant social media updates, I think Grossi has been reviled for his attitude towards the team in the last two decades. All of us understand how things are now, we all suffer together, and there are just as many good stories that would fit into "A Collection of the "Greatest Browns Stories".
Good reading to you.
Grossi does a pretty good job at shining the light on early Browns players and highlighting just how different the league was back in the days of Paul Brown and Otto Graham. Imagine the best player on the planet spurning the tail end of his career becauses he'd rather be an actor in 2025? It's almost impossible to believe, but the NFL was just a different beast when Jim Brown was around.
I think the chapters of the '80s were the best insights for me, not only because Grossi spent the most time on them, but because those truly were the glory years of the Browns in my lifetime, being born in the '80s myself. Obviously, everybody knows Red Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble, but some of the profiles within this book really bring things to life. Unfortunately, you can feel the turn of scorn in the '90s chapter, although the Eric Turner profile was one of my favorites in the entire book.
And then you hit the last chapter. Do we really need to talk about Spurgeon Wynn, while glossing over the higher-profile tales of Kellen Winslow Jr and Romeo Crennel? Can you really talk about Chris Palmer and entirely skip Butch Davis' teams? Not a single mention of 2007, arguably the craziest season the new Browns experienced (in the time frame of this book)? I'm not saying I need a deep dive into the lives of Leigh Bodden and Frisman Jackson, but Braylon Edwards and D'Qwell Jackson were major names in the mid-2000s that aren't even hinted at.
It just feels a little strange, but in the era of constant social media updates, I think Grossi has been reviled for his attitude towards the team in the last two decades. All of us understand how things are now, we all suffer together, and there are just as many good stories that would fit into "A Collection of the "Greatest Browns Stories".
Good reading to you.
December 4, 2019
Hard to believe how far the Browns organization has fallen over the 60 or so years it’s been a team. Football used to be fun in Cleveland and I wish it was fun again. This book more so is filled with facts about players than it is about stories, overall I enjoyed it and I honesty never really knew that the Eric Turner was a player, let alone a player for the Browns, let alone an active player that randomly died of stomach cancer.
April 9, 2021
This is far from best written thing I've ever read but as a life long Browns fan who too young to see the glory days of the late 80s I love hearing the old stories.
November 3, 2025
Formulaic, as with the others in this series. This one was a little worse in that it was not really “tales from the sidelines” but a collection of player profiles. It was okay and enjoyed more if you are a big time Browns fan.
October 4, 2015
Nothing new. Same old same old.
February 18, 2016
Good stories for Browns fans, although he didn't go into a lot of detail and I felt he glossed over some of the less reputable people he discussed rather than actually discuss the infamy.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews