Remember the older Bengals? (Cincinnati, Wilmington: house, backyard, retired)

[kjbrill]

Here comes another terrific name for the Bengals, both as a player and a coach - Bruce Coslet. The longer this goes the more names come up. We may not have the Super Bowl wins to show for it, but Cincinnati has had some tremendous players.

One of the more tragic recent events was the death of Chris Henry. Here is a link to a recent report I found, haven't decided whether it is credable, indicating he may have suffered brain damage before he died. I am enough of a doubting Thomas to feel there any many making their living accusing professional sports of being callous to the dangers to their players. But still, decide for yourself.

Researchers: Chris Henry had brain damage at the time of his death - ESPN

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Art Modell was as egotistical as they come. When he moved the Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens I thought well Cleveland you got what you deserved.

Hey, Cleveland didn't ask for any of Modell's bullcrap! Nor did Cleveland fire Paul Brown.

[23145tp]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Here comes another terrific name for the Bengals, both as a player and a coach - Bruce Coslet. The longer this goes the more names come up. We may not have the Super Bowl wins to show for it, but Cincinnati has had some tremendous players.

One of the more tragic recent events was the death of Chris Henry. Here is a link to a recent report I found, haven't decided whether it is credable, indicating he may have suffered brain damage before he died. I am enough of a doubting Thomas to feel there any many making their living accusing professional sports of being callous to the dangers to their players. But still, decide for yourself.

Researchers: Chris Henry had brain damage at the time of his death - ESPN

Kjbrill: thought of another very good/smart player that Paul Brown "discovered" and that would have been Tommy Casanova, DB fro LSU. I believe he played 5-8 years (early to mid 70's) and then "retired" to enter LSU med school and became a very sucessful doctor in Louisiana. Much like Mike Reid who I found out still lives in Memphis and is still writing and producing music......

[23145tp]

Kjbrill: I think that this proves beyond a reasonable doubt that head injuries are in all major sports including soccer are very common. A friend of mind played football from grade school through professional football--he is 57yrs old and cannot speak clearly nor put simple sentences together anymore, he has constant headaches and some slurred speech and has "small" seizures from time to time. IMO it's just not worth it.

[no1brownsfan]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Art Modell was as egotistical as they come. When he moved the Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens I thought well Cleveland you got what you deserved.

Why? Cleveland has always supported the Browns, and is a football town first.

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Hey, Cleveland didn't ask for any of Modell's bullcrap! Nor did Cleveland fire Paul Brown.

Very true. My father-in-law became a Bengals fan when Paul Brown formed the Bengals. He still rooted for the Browns, just not when they played the Bengals. It was before my time, as I wasn't born yet, but I root for my city first. Would I have been mad? Sure, but again, I'm a homer.


And to answer the OP as a Browns fan I certainly do remember some of those old Bengals. Some great games in the 80s between the Browns and Bengals. It truly was "The Battle of Ohio."

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Hey, Cleveland didn't ask for any of Modell's bullcrap! Nor did Cleveland fire Paul Brown.

True, Cleveland has been a solid football town. But someone should have seen what was coming before Modell skipped town with the whole team. These modern teams playing in public funded stadiums just do not have enough financial ties to keep them where they are at.

[tntnb]

Don't believe I saw mention of punter/wide receiver (yes!) -- and Harvard grad -- Pat McInally. He took an incredibly hard hit in a game against the Browns in the early 80s. I believe it knocked him out -- but he later came back into the game and caught a TD pass, if I remember correctly...

[abr7rmj]

I was at the final original Browns game at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. They played the Bengals but the game itself was an afterthought. As the fourth quarter started, people started ripping their seats up and tearing down anything they could to go home with a piece of the stadium. The police didn't do a thing to stop it as it's hard to stop 80,000 angry people.

I'm a Bengals fan but I still have the old iron seat divider from my seat that game. I had the whole seat but over the years gave away bits and pieces to friends from Cleveland. I'm not parting with the one piece I have left.

[no1brownsfan]

Originally Posted by abr7rmj

I was at the final original Browns game at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. They played the Bengals but the game itself was an afterthought. As the fourth quarter started, people started ripping their seats up and tearing down anything they could to go home with a piece of the stadium. The police didn't do a thing to stop it as it's hard to stop 80,000 angry people.

I'm a Bengals fan but I still have the old iron seat divider from my seat that game. I had the whole seat but over the years gave away bits and pieces to friends from Cleveland. I'm not parting with the one piece I have left.

I was at that game as well. I too have a seat. You're right about the cops not doing anything. I do miss that old stadium. It was wild, gritty, had a lot of nostalgia, and was no place for a fan of the visiting team. Especially the Dawg Pound! I do like the new Cleveland Browns Stadium, but would have loved to have seen the old one renovated in similar fashion to what they did to Soldier Field in Chicago.

Speaking of the Dawg Pound, I have to say, it is somewhat neutered. Remember that shoot out with the Browns and Bengals in 2007 where Ocho Cinco jumped into the Dawg Pound, and they practically welcomed him to jump in? And then he ends up doing it! I have to say had it been the old place, they'd probably still be trying to find him! It definitely wasn't a place for the faint hearted, whether you are a Browns fan OR an opposing fan.

[abr7rmj]

You can actually still visit old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, but you'll need a scuba tank to get there:


Diving the Cleveland Stadium Reef - YouTube