Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: How old is the Cleveland Browns team now?
The history of the Cleveland Browns American football team began in 1944 when taxi-cab magnate Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride secured a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Paul Brown was the team's namesake and first coach. The Browns began play in 1946 in the AAFC. The Browns won each of the league's four championship games before the league dissolved in 1949. The team then moved to the more established National Football League (NFL), where it continued to dominate. Between 1950 and 1955, Cleveland reached the NFL championship game every year, winning three times.
On January 9, 1963, Art Modell sent a statement to the newswires: "Paul E. Brown, head coach and general manager, will no longer serve the team in those capacities", it said. Immediate reaction to the decision was muted due to a newspaper strike that kept the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland Press off the newsstands until April. A printing company executive, however, got together a group of sportswriters and published a 32-page magazine fielding players' views on the firing. Opinions were mixed; Modell came in for his share of criticism, but tackle and team captain Mike McCormack said he did not think the team could win under Brown. Nonetheless, it was a shocking end to the 17-year Cleveland career of a coach who was already a seminal figure in the city's sports history. Among many innovations, Brown was the first coach to call plays for his quarterback, give players IQ and personality tests and use game film to evaluate opponents. Even Jim Brown lauded his pioneering role in integrating the game:
Kosar, who wanted to play for Cleveland because his family lived in a suburb of nearby Youngstown, Ohio, signed a five-year contract worth nearly $6 million in 1985 and was immediately embraced by the Browns organization and the team's fans. "It's not an everyday occurrence that somebody "wants" to play in Cleveland", Modell said. "This has lent such an aura to Bernie." Kosar saw his first action in the fifth week of the 1985 season against the New England Patriots, when he substituted before halftime for Gary Danielson, a 34-year-old veteran who the Browns had acquired in the offseason from the Lions. Kosar fumbled his first-ever NFL snap, but rebounded and led the team to a 24–20 win. A mix of success and failure followed, but Kosar progressed a bit more each Sunday and led the team to an 8–8 record. Two young running backs, Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, complemented Kosar's aerial attack with more than 1,000 yards rushing each.
The season is recognized as perfect by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although the National Football League (NFL), which absorbed the Browns when the AAFC dissolved in 1949, does not recognize it. Ohio senator Sherrod Brown wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in 2008 asking the league to officially recognize AAFC team statistics, including the perfect season. The 2007 New England Patriots were vying to complete a 19–0 season at the time and join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to register a perfect record.
The 1926 American Football League season is the only season of the existence of the first American Football League. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, Ohio, but by the end of the season (December 14, 1926), only four teams were still in existence: three teams owned or subsidized by league founder C. C. Pyle and star Red Grange (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Chicago Bulls) and league champion Philadelphia Quakers. The initial lineup of teams included the traveling Wildcats and a charter member of the National Football League, the Rock Island Independents, which became a second traveling team after having poor attendance in its first three games.
The 2004 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 37th year in professional football and its 35th with the National Football League. The Bengals began to focus on the future, trading All-Pro running back Corey Dillon to the New England Patriots. That cleared the way for Rudi Johnson to start at running back. Carson Palmer was given the starting quarterback job. Palmer and the young Bengals would struggle early, losing five of their first seven games. As the season wore on, the Bengals began to hit their stride, as they climbed back to .500, at 6–6, before a sprained knee sent Palmer to the sidelines during a 35–28 road loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Patriots.
After Graham's potential replacements struggled during the 1955 training camp and preseason, Brown convinced Graham to come back and play one more year. He was offered a salary of $25,000 ($ today), making him the highest-paid player in the NFL. The Browns lost the opener against the Washington Redskins, but went on to a 9–2–1 regular-season record and another chance at a championship. Graham threw two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Browns beat the Rams 38–14. When Brown took Graham out of the game in the fourth quarter, the crowd in the Los Angeles Coliseum gave him a standing ovation. It was the final performance of a 10-year career in which Graham's team reached the championship each year and won seven. "Nothing would induce me to come back", he said later. He was the NFL's passing leader and Most Valuable Player in 1955. He also won the Hickok Belt, awarded to the best professional athlete of the year. Without Graham, the Browns floundered the following year and posted a 5–7 record, their first-ever losing season.
The Canadian Football League is the highest level of play in Canadian football. The league was organized in 1956 as a cooperative agreement between two regional leagues, the Big Four (which dated to 1907) and the WIFU (which was founded in 1936), and became independent from Football Canada in 1958. The league now consists of nine teams, all based in Canada. The Grey Cup is awarded annually to the champion every November and is the highest attended sporting event in the nation. The oldest extant teams, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts, trace their origins to the late 1860s and early 1870s, which ranks them amongst the oldest professional sports teams of any kind still in existence on the continent. The CFL attempted an expansion into the United States in cities that had no NFL team between 1993 and 1995, though the expansion teams all either folded or relocated to Canadian cities.
The 2018 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 49th season in the National Football League, their 51st overall and their 16th and final under head coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals failed to improve upon their 2017 campaign as they collapsed to a 6–10 finish (after a 4–1 start) to finish in 4th place in the AFC North. This marks the 3rd consecutive season the Bengals have failed to make the playoffs.
On September 6, Art Modell died in Baltimore at the age of 87. Although the Browns planned to have a moment of silence on their home opener for their former owner, his family asked the team not to, well aware of the less-than-friendly reaction it was likely to get. Weeden started the Browns' first game of the season. The 28-year-old rookie threw four interceptions in a 17–16 loss to Philadelphia in which the Browns' only touchdown was scored by the defense.
The 2017 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 48th in the National Football League, their 50th overall and their 15th under head coach Marvin Lewis. After starting 0–2, scoring only 9 points, and not scoring any touchdowns in their first two games, the Bengals fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese. Quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor was promoted to offensive coordinator to replace Zampese. The Bengals suffered back to back losing seasons for the first time since 2007–2008. However, the Bengals were able to knock off two teams contending for the playoffs at the end of their season, the Detroit Lions in Week 16, and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17.
The 2003 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 36th year in professional football and its 34th with the National Football League. The Bengals are now under first year Head Coach Marvin Lewis, who replaced Dick LeBeau who was fired following the 2002 season after the worst season in Bengals history. The Bengals had the first pick overall in the 2003 NFL Draft and drafted Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer with the first pick. After a slow start, the Bengals got hot winning at midseason, winning four straight games to stand at 7–5, entering a key Week 14 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens with a chance to win the division. However in the key showdown for first place the Bengals showed they were not quite ready for primetime as they were beaten 31–13. The Bengals would rebound to win their next game against the San Francisco 49ers, but at 8–6 the Bengals could not get that ninth win, losing their last two games to spoil an effort to earn their first winning season in 13 years, finishing at 8–8.
The American Football League stands as the only professional football league to successfully compete against the NFL. When the two leagues merged in 1970, all ten AFL franchises and their statistics became part of the new NFL. Every other professional league that had competed against the NFL before the AFL–NFL merger had folded completely: the three previous leagues named "American Football League" and the All-America Football Conference. From an earlier AFL (1936–1937), only the Cleveland Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams) joined the NFL and are currently operating, as are the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers from the AAFC. A third AAFC team, the Baltimore Colts (not related to the 1953–1983 Baltimore Colts or to the current Indianapolis Colts franchise), played only one year in the NFL, disbanding at the end of the 1950 season. The league resulting from the merger was a 26-team juggernaut (since expanded to 32) with television rights covering all of the Big Three television networks and teams in close proximity to almost all of the top 40 metropolitan areas, a fact that has precluded any other competing league from gaining traction since the merger; failed attempts to mimic the AFL's success included the World Football League (1974–75), United States Football League (1983–85), XFL (2001) and United Football League (2009–2012).
The Pittsburgh Steelers (6–2) have won the most Super Bowls with six championships, while the New England Patriots (5–5), the Dallas Cowboys (5–3), and the San Francisco 49ers (5–1) have five wins. New England has the most Super Bowl appearances with eleven, while the Buffalo Bills (0–4) have the most consecutive appearances with four (all losses) from 1990 to 1993. The Miami Dolphins (1971–1973) and New England Patriots (2016–2018) are the only other teams to have at least three consecutive appearances. The Denver Broncos (3–5) and Patriots have each lost a record five Super Bowls. The Minnesota Vikings (0–4) and the Bills have lost four. The record for consecutive wins is two and is shared by seven franchises: the Green Bay Packers (1966–1967), the Miami Dolphins (1972–1973), the Pittsburgh Steelers (1974–1975 and 1978–1979, the only team to accomplish this feat twice), the San Francisco 49ers (1988–1989), the Dallas Cowboys (1992–1993), the Denver Broncos (1997–1998), and the New England Patriots (2003–2004). Among those, Dallas (1992–1993; 1995) and New England (2001; 2003–2004) are the only teams to win three out of four consecutive Super Bowls. The 1972 Dolphins capped off the only perfect season in NFL history with their victory in Super Bowl VII. The only team with multiple Super Bowl appearances and no losses is the Baltimore Ravens, who in winning Super Bowl XLVII defeated and replaced the 49ers in that position. Four current NFL teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl, including franchise relocations and renaming: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans, though both the Browns (1950, 1954, 1955, 1964) and Lions (1935, 1952, 1953, 1957) had won NFL championship games prior to the creation of the Super Bowl.
KU football dates from 1890, and has played in the Orange Bowl three times: 1948, 1969, and 2008. They are currently coached by David Beaty, who was hired in 2014. In 2008, under the leadership of Mark Mangino, the #7 Jayhawks emerged victorious in their first BCS bowl game, the FedEx Orange Bowl, with a 24–21 victory over the #3 Virginia Tech Hokies. This capstone victory marked the end of the most successful season in school history, in which the Jayhawks went 12–1 (.923). The team plays at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which recently underwent a $31 million renovation to add the Anderson Family Football Complex, adding a football practice facility adjacent to the stadium complete with indoor partial practice field, weight room, and new locker room.
Issac Ramoun Booth (born May 23, 1971) is a former American professional football player who played three seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Booth was drafted by the Browns in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft and played cornerback for the Browns for the 1994 and 1995 seasons, earning one start in each of his first two seasons. After the 1995 season the original Cleveland Browns relocated to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Ravens. Booth played his final season with the Ravens playing in 11 games and earning a career high three starts. Booth retired from football after the 1996 season. During his brief career, Booth played in 36 games, earning five starts, 55 tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Due to relatively short seasons through most of college football history, the list of undefeated Division I football teams includes dozens of teams. The highest level of college football, the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (introduced as Division I-A in 1978), did not use a playoff to determine a champion prior to the introduction of the four-team College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014. The system replaced by the CFP relied on a combination of polls and computer rankings to choose two teams to play one title game in a system known as the Bowl Championship Series. Prior to 1992, no attempt was made to match up the top two teams in a championship game, further increasing the chances of multiple teams achieving a perfect season. The record for most wins in an undefeated FBS season is 15-0 accomplished in the 2018/19 season by Clemson Tigers Football Team. Following that the record is 14–0, accomplished in 2002 by Ohio State, twice in 2009 by Boise State and Alabama, in 2010 by Auburn, and in 2013 by Florida State.
A number of NFL teams and their broadcasting departments have teamed up with CBS Sports to produce games, and those teams includeNew York Jets (WCBS-TV New York), and Green Bay Packers (WGBA-TV Green Bay and co-flagship WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, NBC affiliates, though using NBC's graphics starting in 2012 rather than CBS's; the previous flagship had formerly been WFRV-TV, which was owned by CBS until 2007).
A number of NFL teams and their broadcasting departments have teamed up with CBS Sports to produce games; , these teams include the New York Jets (WCBS-TV in New York City) and Green Bay Packers (WGBA-TV in Green Bay and co-flagship WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee; since former CBS O&O WFRV-TV in Green Bay lost the local rights to the preseason games, Packers coverage on WGBA and WTMJ currently uses NBC's graphics package as both are affiliates of that network, although the telecasts continue to use a CBS technical and announcing team).
At 14 years old, Junior is the only child of Cleveland and Loretta Brown, stepson of Donna Tubbs, and the stepbrother of Roberta and Rallo Tubbs. Junior's most prominent character traits are his laziness, obesity, and low social intelligence (although there are occasional references to him being academically bright). He has obtained poor eyesight over the years and now wears glasses. Since his parents' divorce, Loretta gave custody of Cleveland Jr. back to Cleveland and forced him to move. Thus, the pair left for California. However, en route, they decided to live in Stoolbend, Virginia instead, where Cleveland married Donna Tubbs, and Rallo and Roberta became his step-siblings.
The regular season is 21 weeks long, with games beginning in mid-June and finishing by early November. The CFL's nine current teams are divided into two divisions: the East Division with four teams and the West Division, with five teams. Each team plays two games against each of the other eight teams, plus two divisional games with opponents rotating each season. With 18 regular season games being played, each team gets three bye weeks.
The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B. McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the league's four seasons and winning its championship in each. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers and the original Baltimore Colts. The Browns won a championship in their inaugural NFL season, as well as in the 1954, 1955, and 1964 seasons, and in a feat unequaled in any of the North American major professional sports, played in their league championship game in each of the Browns' first ten years of existence. From 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl during that period.
Modell said he would look outside the Browns organization for a new coach, a break from past hirings that drew from the team's own ranks. Peter Hadhazy, who Modell had hired as the Browns' first general manager, recommended a 45-year-old New Orleans Saints receivers coach named Sam Rutigliano. After an interview before Christmas in which Modell and Rutigliano spent hours talking and watching game film in Modell's basement, the owner named him head coach on December 27, 1977. An affable, charismatic man with an even temper, Rutigliano was a stark contrast to Gregg. Sipe immediately flourished under Rutigliano, racking up 21 touchdowns and 2,906 passing yards during the 1978 season, when the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule. His prime targets were Reggie Rucker, a veteran receiver the Browns signed in 1975, and Ozzie Newsome, a rookie tight end out of Alabama who the Browns drafted with a pick acquired in the Phipps trade. Cleveland won its first three games, but poor defense dashed the team's playoff chances and the Browns finished with an 8–8 record.
The Browns' perfect season and third championship victory came during a strong year for Cleveland sports teams. That April, the Cleveland Barons, the city's American Hockey League team, won the Calder Cup championship. The Cleveland Indians, the city's Major League Baseball club, set an all-time season attendance record and won the World Series. The Browns' success was also a major draw for fans: the team led professional football in attendance in 1948 with an average of 45,517 people per game, although that was still 10,000 lower than the year before. The distribution of talent and fortune among AAFC's teams was unbalanced, however, and while the Browns, the 49ers and the Dons were successes at the gate, teams including the Rockets and Colts languished financially. The NFL was also facing major financial trouble – nine of its ten teams lost money that year – and the two leagues' competition for talent led to talks about a merger. Discussions centered around how many AAFC teams the NFL would absorb; most owners favored four teams, but the talks broke down when powerful owners George Preston Marshall of the Washington Redskins and Tim Mara of the New York Giants intervened and suggested only Cleveland and San Francisco should be absorbed. The AAFC continued play in 1949, but was disbanded after that season. The Browns, 49ers and Colts were merged into the NFL starting in 1950.
The 2009 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 61st season as a professional sports franchise and its 57th season as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The team placed fourth in the AFC North with a record of 5–11, improving upon its 2008 record of 4–12. This season marked George Kokinis and Eric Mangini's first seasons as the team's general manager and head coach, respectively; however, Kokinis was fired on November 2 during the team's Week 9 bye week. The Browns played all of their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.