Signed 1953 Browns vs. Cardinals program pick up for LCS
 

I posted this under foot all hobby talks, but I thought I was a better fit here. I picked this up from my LCS. It's a 1953 Browns/Cardinals program signed by 28 Clevelend Browns players. The signatures are as follows:

Dub Jones
Otto Graham
Horace Gillom
Ken Carpenter
Ken Gorgal
Chuck Noll (rookie year)
Ray Renfro
Tommy James
George Young
Dante Lavelli
Abe Gibron
Len Ford
Don Colo
Marion Motley
Lou Groza
Frank Gatski
Bill Willis
Kenney Konz
Bill Reynolds
Lin Houston
Gene Donaldson
Doug Atkins
George Ratterman
Don Steinbrunner
Sherman Howard
Chick Jagrade
Warren Lahr
Derrell Palmer

I am not a Browns fan, but I am a sucker for unique items, and this is pretty cool.[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20250314/aab0aaa71b7c996e8fd93ef97bfabac8.jpg[/IMG]

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Sweet!

Back when signatures were legible. :)!

Great item! This was win number 10 of the Browns 11 straight to start that season. Lost to the Eagles in the last regular season game, closest to a perfect regular season until the 1972 Dolphins actually had one. Then the Browns lost to the Lions in the Championship Game 17-16.

Cool piece of memorabilia, and nice to see Bill Willis on there.

Broke the color barrier (along with Marion Motley) in football a few months before Jackie did it in baseball.

Here's my signed 8x10. He doesn't have any cards in the Bowman sets, unfortunately.

[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54412627416_5699684a75_z.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=Mahomie;19858031]Cool piece of memorabilia, and nice to see Bill Willis on there.

Broke the color barrier (along with Marion Motley) in football a few months before Jackie did it in baseball.

Here's my signed 8x10. He doesn't have any cards in the Bowman sets, unfortunately.

[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54412627416_5699684a75_z.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]

I believe Kenny Washington signed the first NFL contract but none the less great history

[QUOTE=hanes1111;19861171]I believe Kenny Washington signed the first NFL contract but none the less great history[/QUOTE]

Its not as "clear" in the NFL as it is in the MLB - Washington signed the first contract, but Bump and Motley actually played in a game first

Nice piece. What did it set you back?
Those browns teams are full of HOFers


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[QUOTE=Mahomie;19858031]Cool piece of memorabilia, and nice to see Bill Willis on there.

Broke the color barrier (along with Marion Motley) in football a few months before Jackie did it in baseball.
[/QUOTE]

Not entirely correct. Kenny Washington was the first professional African American footballer.

[QUOTE=smanzari;19861214]Its not as "clear" in the NFL as it is in the MLB - Washington signed the first contract, but Bump and Motley actually played in a game first[/QUOTE]

This is my understanding, as well. Also, the "Forgotten Four" (Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley and Bill Willis) were involved with reintegration.

There were guys like Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall who played in the NFL during the 1920's.

The league informally banned black players in 1933, and the ban lasted 13 years until the reintegration in 1946.

This is just my basic knowledge on the subject - I'm sure there are some historians on here who know a lot more.