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Art (Mickey) McBride
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Mickey McBride was a successful business man, even before he founded the Browns. Back in the 30's and 40's, he owned the only taxi cab company in the city of Cleveland. McBride saw the potential of professional football, and in the winter of 1941, he saw an opportunity to exploit that potential. |
| That was the time that Arch Ward, who invented the baseball all-star game and college football all-star game, was forming a new football league to compete with the NFL. Ward had ultimately envisioned a championship game between the winner of the NFL and his new league, the All American Football Conference (AAFC). |
| McBride travelled to Chicago, where Ward was a writer for the Chicago Tribune, in order to secure a franchise for his city, Cleveland. Ward only needed to review McBride's financial situation before granting Mickey a team. McBride hired coach Paul Brown, although Notre Dame coach Frank Lahey was his first choice, and proceeded to be a true "Hands Off" owner. McBride let Brown build the team, including the coaching staff and players, and obviously the rest is history. |
| To read more about the building of the Browns, click HERE. |
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