RIP Frank Ryan

[TheSportsPredictor]

Tough season for Browns legends.

 

[micropolitan guy]

One of my favorites. We got the Browns on CBS every Sunday when I was a kid and the announcers (Warren Lahr and Ken Coleman?) always made sure to say that Ryan was a math wizard from Rice University and that DE Bill Glass had a divinity degree from Baylor.

Single-bar facemask, throwing to Gary Collins, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Classic photo.

 

[wicked]

Christ, no one reads anything anymore.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

When I was a kid, my local mall had one of those memorabilia sales. One booth was selling old Sports Illustrateds, and I bought this one, with Frank Ryan on the cover. There's a long feature on him inside by Jack Olsen.

Quite interesting, and he seems like he was pretty controversial for that time. RIP

https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/09/27/42814#&gid=ci0258bea1c002278a&pid=42814---078---image

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

If you've never seen him play, this clip will fill you in. It's from the '68 NFL Championship. Cleveland was getting blown out at home by the Colts, so Ryan came in after replacing Bill Nelsen. Love the single-bar facemask and the weather at Municipal Stadium. Crowd gives him a good hand, even though Jack Buck said that he was booed at the start of the season before being replaced by Nelsen.

 

[misterbc]

One of my favorites. We got the Browns on CBS every Sunday when I was a kid and the announcers (Warren Lahr and Ken Coleman?) always made sure to say that Ryan was a math wizard from Rice University and that DE Bill Glass had a divinity degree from Baylor.

Single-bar facemask, throwing to Gary Collins, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Classic photo.

Also, don't forget OL Dick Shafrath running to the end zone and congratulating whomever scored a TD. Like clockwork, and usually the announcers mentioned it. He once rowed across Lake Erie without stopping and was a US Senator.
The Browns were a fairly regular feature team on NFL broadcasts in Canada during Ryan's tenure. One of the best sports book ever, and a real eye opener, was Bernie Parrish's "They Call it a Game". I had a beat up paperback copy for 45 years or so and finally threw it out during a library downsizing. Revolutionary for its time.
RIP Frank.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

If you've never seen him play, this clip will fill you in. It's from the '68 NFL Championship. Cleveland was getting blown out at home by the Colts, so Ryan came in after replacing Bill Nelsen. Love the single-bar facemask and the weather at Municipal Stadium. Crowd gives him a good hand, even though Jack Buck said that he was booed at the start of the season before being replaced by Nelsen.

The kids running in the end zone to pick up the live kickoff was funny.

Such a bygone era.

 

[Hermes]

The one good thing from the pandemic was so many past games being posted in full on Youtube.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Those helmets couldn't have protected anyone from anything. Essentially a plastic shell.