The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Team unveils statue of Otto Graham
A statue bearing the likeness of Otto Graham, was unveiled outside the southwest corner of FirstEnergy Stadium with 36members of the Graham family and numerous Browns alumni and fans looking on.
The Browns honored the glorious past on Sept. 7, and the timing to stage the celebration one day before they hope to begin a new era of success was no coincidence.
A statue bearing the likeness of Otto Graham, the winningest quarterback in Browns history, was unveiled outside the southwest corner of FirstEnergy Stadium with 36 members of the Graham family and numerous Browns alumni and fans looking on.
Speeches by Andy Baskin ofWKRK-FM92.3, Browns Executive Vice President JWJohnson and Graham’s grandson, Ryan Van Name, were equal parts praise for Graham and a pep talk to excite fans for the 2019 season, which begins at 1 p.m. Sept. 8 with a home game against the Titans.
Graham’s widow, Beverly Graham, was part of the festivities. Beverly and Otto Graham were married in 1945. Otto passed away in 2003. Beverly lives in the same home in Sarasota, Fla., where she and the Browns legend retired to when Graham’s days as a coach of the CoastGuard Bears ended in 1975.
The Browns envision the statue standing forever.
“It’s a little frightening thinking about that far in the future when you’re 95 years old,” Beverly Graham said. “It’s such an honor. I know it never would have entered Otto’s mind ever that something like this would be done. He is in heaven looking down upon us today, and he is amazed.”
Graham played for the Browns for 10 years. His teams won the All America Football Conference championship each year from 1946-49. The AAFC folded and the Browns were taken in by the NFL in 1950. The Browns won the NFL title in 1950 and twomore times with Graham at quarterback.
“My grandfather loved
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(Cleveland),” said Van Name, who lives in Philadelphia. “He loved playing for the city. The first time I saw him cry was in 1996 when the Browns moved to that other city (Baltimore). He was my role model. The first time you see your role model cry in front of you, it stays with you. That has stuck with me ever since.”
Cleveland was without pro football only three years— 1996 through 1998. Fans put relentless pressure on the NFL after Art Modell announced on Nov. 6, 1995, he was moving the Browns to Baltimore in
1996.
In February 1996, less than four months after Modell shocked the football world, the league made the unprecedented promise the NFL would be back in Cleveland no later than 1999. At that time, the league would not commit to an expansion team.
Fans did not want a relocated team. They did not want an owner betray another fan base the way Modell betrayed them. The league announced in March 1998 Cleveland would get an expansion team.
After 20 years with 2002 (9-7) and 2007 (10-6) as the Browns’ only winning seasons since 1999, the expectation is things are about to get better for Graham’s former team.
“He loved this city,” Van Name said.
“The backbone and resilience this city has shown over the past decades cannot be rivaled. People always talk about having the best fans in the league. Here, I can honestly say, you are the best fans in the league.”
As if on cue, fans in the audience started barking.