Art Modell

Art Modell bought the franchise in 1961 from Dave Jones. Modell, a native New Yorker, was a successful business man who built his fortune through his advertisement firm. Modell paid a reported $4M for the team (To read more about the purchase, click HERE).

Modell, famous for firing coach and founder Paul Brown, won his first and only Cleveland championship just 2 years later, in 1964. In 1975, Modell took over management of the great Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and ran it for the city until 1995.

Modell did much good for the community, the stadium, and the team during his Browns tenure. He became friends with Lou Groza, a friendship that would last until The Toe's passing. Modell even convinced Groza to unretire in 1960, and Groza ended up playing seven more years with the Browns.

The 70's and 80's did not bring the same good fortune to Modell. He was sued 3 times, his team endured it's worst losing time period, and his health began to fail. Modell lost the faith of the mayor of Cleveland and the local business community. He was labled as a liar, and a villian. The 1990's brought all of this to a head. The Indians stopped paying rent to Modell for the stadium, and the City of Cleveland basically told him that a new or renevated stadium for the Browns was out of the question. Modell found an out, and in late 1994, he announced that he would move the team to Baltimore.

Modell is now hated by most Cleveland fans, and for good reason. He moved their beloved team to another city, and though not many people know the whole story, it wouldn't matter to them anyway (Click HERE to read about the Baltimore move).

To the disdain of Cleveland fans everywhere, Baltimore won Art Modell his first Super Bowl in 2000.