North Canton author spotlights Browns' 'forgotten decade'

Memories come streaming back when you read North Canton writer Roger Gordon's new book, "The Forgotten Decade: Compelling Stories of the 1970s Cleveland Browns."

Readers see Coach Sam Rutigliano and the "Kardiac Kids" strolling the sidelines and heading out onto the field, led by Brian Sipe, whom Gordon calls the "Kardiac Kingpin."

They hear Gib Shanley, "the voice of the Browns," who was "synonymous with Cleveland Browns football" in the 1970s in "the same way Santa Claus is synonymous with Christmas."

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And they feel the excitement of the growing rivalry between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals -- a competition born the moment Browns owner Art Modell fired the beloved coach Paul Brown, fostered by the latter legend's founding of another pro team in the Queen City, and brought to a head when the Browns and the Bengals both were put in the same AFC Division following the merger of the National Football League and the American Football League in 1970.

The readers of "The Forgotten Decade" will remember – and young readers will become acquainted with – talented players who performed great feats on the football field despite playing for a team that barely recorded a .500 record through the entirety of the 1970s.

"Most people would say 'Why write a book about a team that was so mediocre?'" said the author. "But I just thought there were a lot of compelling stories to tell about the 1970s Browns."

Author familiar with Browns

Gordon, who for eight years wrote for the magazine “Bernie's Insiders/The Orange and Brown Report," has written a dozen books about sports, including a handful of other books about the Browns. Included among the Browns books are "Cleveland Browns A-Z"; "Blanton's Browns: The Great 1965-1969 Cleveland Browns"; "The Cleveland Browns All-Time Stars"; "Cleveland Browns Facts & Trivia"; and "So You Think You're A Cleveland Browns Fan?"

Among his other books are "The Miracle of Richfield: The Story of the 1975-76 Cleveland Cavaliers" and "Tales from the Cleveland Cavaliers Locker Room: The Rookie Season of LeBron James."

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"This was a book that needed to be written," said Gordon, who in the preface to his book notes that the 1940s in Browns history are remembered because of the team's domination of the All-American Football Conference, the 1950s for the Browns' seven NFL title game appearances, the 1960s for Cleveland's last NFL championship in 1964 -- and three other title game appearances – and the 1980s for both the Kardiac Kids and the five-year playoff runs of Bernie Kosar's Browns.

"What about the 1970s?" he asks.

"The 'disco decade' kind of got lost in the shuffle," he wrote. "Despite the Browns' lack of success from 1970 to 1979, however, the team produced a number of intriguing tales."

The Cleveland Browns during that entire decade "were, for the most part, an average team," publisher's information on the back cover of the book admits.

"Their 72-70-2 overall record during that period proves that. They qualified for the postseason just twice and had no playoff wins. The low point came in 1974 and 1975 when they posted 4-10 and 3-11 records, respectively.

"The 1970s Browns, however, still managed to draw the attention of their fans. ... 'The Forgotten Decade' is a collection of tales from the 1970s that will bring back memories -- good and bad -- for longtime Browns fans."

Memorable players among the best

The names of many Browns players and coaches in the 1970s indeed are memorable. Forrest Gregg. Sam Rutigliano. Jerry Sherk. Clay Matthews. Ozzie Newsome. Greg Pruitt. Doug Dieken. Reggie Rucker. Brian Sipe. Don Cockcroft. Thom Darden. Dick Ambrose. Joe "Turkey" Jones.

Gordon interviewed a many of those players, along with a host of other former Browns, while he worked with the Bernie's Insiders/The Orange and Brown Report. Quotes from many of those interviews are sprinkled among the 23 chapters of "The Forgotten Decade." More recent interviews add new and indightful observations.

"Sam (Rutigliano) was a fun guy to play for," said Doug Dieken.

"(Ozzie Newsome) dropped one pass in the six-and-a-half years I was with him," said Rutigliano.

"Watching the game films, my teammates and myself would get so excited from watching Greg (Pruitt) run that we would just start yelling," recalled teammate Jerry Sherk. "He would do things that were just so unbelievable. ... He was really one of the most exciting, dynamic and prolific runners of that era."

Also remembered by Gordon are such moments as the doubleheader games that once were held in the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Sherk nearly dying from a staph infection, the draft that netted the Browns both Clay Matthews and Ozzie Newsome, Dieken evolving from player to broadcaster, and the continuing rivalry between the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Gordon's favorite recollection is how then-backup linebacker Billy Andrews became a Cleveland hero by making a diving interception of a pass then running it back for a touchdown with seconds left in the game and preserving a victory for the Browns against the Joe Namath's Jets in the first Monday Night Football broadcast.

"He made the play of the game and that changed his life," explained Gordon. "As soon as he made that interception, his coaches changed their minds about him being too small and he became a starter for the rest of his career."

Author will appear in area

“The Forgotten Decade" is available by ordering through bookstores and online booksellers. Gordon also will have copies available at appearances he will make at 11 a.m. Oct. 12 at Navarre Civic Center and 1 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Tap Wall at Buehler's Fresh Foods store in Jackson Township.

The author's Stark County stops likely will draw enthusiastic attendance by sports book readers, just as home games continued to attract a multitude of Browns fans even during the team's mediocre years.

"The Browns were not exactly a Super Bowl team (in the 1970s)," said Gordon. "But they still were pretty popular. They drew some big crowds and they had some good players. They just didn't have enough good players."

The best of the players from the 1960s were retiring, Gordon noted. The prospects from the NFL player drafts in the 1970s still were developing. It was a rebuilding period for the Browns program, yet it nevertheless produced memories, the author decided from his research.

The moments revived within the pages of "The Forgotten Decades" could be interesting for fans of any age, he said.

"Longtime Browns fans will be able to relive the games, players and coaches and maybe even learn some new things," said Gordon. "Younger Browns fans will be able to find out what the 1970s Cleveland Browns were all about."

Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com. On Twitter: @gbrownREP.

Years to forget

In his preface to "The Forgotten Decade: Compelling Stories of the 1970s Cleveland Browns,” North Canton author Roger Gordon explains why decades of Browns history before and after the "forgotten" years are more memorable.

Here we consider a period in Browns history you may want to forget.

Gordon notes that the nearly three decades since Browns owner Art Model picked up and moved his team to Baltimore and the slightly more than 25 years since the Browns returned to Cleveland with their name and colors intact as an expansion team have not been fondly remembered.

"The team has not enjoyed much success since the 1990s," he wrote. "But that time period is recent enough that most Browns fans unfortunately can recall those mostly turbulent times."

Not to add salt to festering wounds – the 2024 Browns were 1-2 at this writing – but here is a summation of the "new" Browns from their return in 1999 through the 2023 season.

138-264-1 – Browns record

4 – Number of winning seasons

3 – Number of playoff appearances

12 – Number of head coaches

8 – Number of general managers

22 – Number of starting quarterbacks

38 – Number of quarterbacks used

One constant in the recent history of the revived Browns was the longtime voice of the Browns, Jim Donovan. The team's radio play-by-play announcer retired before the start of the 2024-2025 season, brought about by his need to fight his returning leukemia.

"Donovan has been the only full-time broadcaster the Browns have had since they returned to the NFL in 1999," wrote Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal in a story published Sept. 1 in The Canton Repository.

Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam issued a statement saying Donovan "represents all that is good about Cleveland...His class, professionalism and limitless care for those around him make all of us better."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton's Roger Gordon puts Browns' 1970s struggles in spotlight