The 1953 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth season with the National Football League. Their start of eleven wins before losing their last game was the closest to a true perfect season in the NFL until the 1972 Miami Dolphins. After that fifteen-point loss at Philadelphia, the Browns met the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game for the second straight year; the Lions won again, this time by a point at home.

This was the second of two NFL seasons that coach Paul Brown would win eleven games. It would be seventy years before another (Kevin Stefanski) would win eleven games in two seasons coaching the Browns, by which time the NFL regular season schedule had expanded from twelve to seventeen games.

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 23 at San Francisco 49ers W 20–7 1–0 Kezar Stadium 36,273 2 August 28 at Los Angeles Rams L 9–27 1–1 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 21,440 3 September 4 at Detroit Lions T 24–24 1–1–1 Briggs Stadium 39,985 4 September 7 vs. Baltimore Colts W 23–21 2–1–1 Rubber Bowl 20,000 5 September 11 at Chicago Bears W 20–14 3–1–1 Wrigley Field 36,796 6 September 19 Green Bay Packers W 21–13 4–1–1 Cleveland Stadium 22,336

Regular season

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources 1 September 27 at Green Bay Packers W 27–0 1–0 County Stadium 22,604 2 October 4 at Chicago Cardinals W 27–7 2–0 Comiskey Park 24,374 3 October 10 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–13 3–0 Cleveland Stadium 45,802 4 October 18 at Washington Redskins W 30–14 4–0 Griffith Stadium 33,963 5 October 25 at New York Giants W 7–0 5–0 Polo Grounds 30,773 6 November 1 Washington Redskins W 27–3 6–0 Cleveland Stadium 47,845 7 November 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–16 7–0 Cleveland Stadium 35,592 8 November 15 San Francisco 49ers W 23–21 8–0 Cleveland Stadium 80,698 9 November 22 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–16 9–0 Forbes Field 32,904 10 November 29 Chicago Cardinals W 27–16 10–0 Cleveland Stadium 24,499 11 December 6 New York Giants W 62–14 11–0 Cleveland Stadium 40,235 12 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–42 11–1 Connie Mack Stadium 38,654 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries Week 1 at Milwaukee In the first-ever regular season meeting between Cleveland and Green Bay, the Browns rolled up 376 yards and Otto Graham completed 18 of 24 yards to highlight a 27–0 season opening win in at the new County Stadium in Milwaukee. The Browns yield 159 yards and allow the Packers to penetrate Cleveland territory just four times.

Week 5 at New York Graham scores the game's only touchdown on a 4-yard run in the second period as the Browns beat the Giants, 7–0, on a muddy Polo Grounds field. Graham, who attempts only five passes as the inclement conditions, scores after an offsides penalty on Lou Groza's missed field goal attempt gives the Browns a critical first down.

Week 6 vs. Washington The undefeated Browns make life miserable for Redskins quarterback Eddie LeBaron by intercepting four passes in a 27–3 win at Cleveland Stadium. Tommy James ties his own Browns record with three as Cleveland scores 24 points off turnovers.

Week 8 vs. San Francisco A Cleveland Stadium crowd of 80,698 watches the Browns dispatch longtime rival San Francisco, 23–21. With the Browns leading 10–0, Graham is knocked out of bounds by defensive back Fred Bruney and elbowed in the face by linebacker Art Michalik, who opens a gash that requires 15 stitches and nearly incites a riot. Graham returns for the third quarter wearing a clear plastic protective bar in front of his face, a device that will evolve into today's face mask. Showing little effect from his injury, Graham leads the Browns to 13 second half points and the victory.

Week 11 vs. New York The Browns improve to 11–0 by winning a 62–14 laugher over the Giants at Cleveland Stadium. George Ratterman starts in place of Graham and completes 15-of-27 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns. Graham plays briefly and completes 3-of-4 passes, two for touchdowns. Pete Brewster catches seven passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the most productive game of his career.

Standings

NFL Championship Game

Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources Championship December 27 at Detroit Lions L 16–17 0–1 Briggs Stadium 54,577

Roster 1953 Cleveland Browns rosterQuarterbacks

Running backs

CB

LB

Receivers

P/DEOffensive linemen G C G T/K G G T

Defensive linemen DE DT DT MG DT MG/DT/T MG DE Linebackers

Defensive backs S CB S CB Reserve lists MG (Military) DT (Military) T (Military) G (Military) LB (IR)

rookies in italics

Awards and records Otto Graham, NFL MVP

References

External links 1953 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (profootballreference.com) 1953 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1953 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com