The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team in the National Football League. The team is located in Cleveland, Ohio and play their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Cleveland Browns Stadium has a capacity of 73,200 and opened in 1999. The team plays in the AFC North division and is currently coached by Pat Shurmur. Established in 1946, the Browns were one of the seminal franchises in the All-America Football Conference, before joining the NFL in 1950.
Through their history, the team has featured 16 head coaches, starting with Hall of Fame coach and founder of the team, Paul Brown from 1946 through 1962. Brown is one of four Browns coaches who won the Coach of the Year award. Forrest Gregg won the honor in 1976, while Sam Rutigliano won in both 1979 and 1980. Marty Schottenheimer won the award most recently, winning the award in 1986. The team has won eight total league championships including four AAFC championships from 1946 through 1949, and four NFL championships in 1950, 1954, 1955, and 1964. The team has won 11 NFL conference championships, and has reached the NFL playoffs 24 times, most recently in 2002.
The Browns have featured 21 players enshrined in the Hall of Fame, beginning with quarterback Otto Graham, and most recently Gene Hickerson in 2007. The team has retired the number of five players: Otto Graham, Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Don Fleming, and Lou Groza. In the Browns Ring of Honor, the team has honored the sixteen former Browns who have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame as Browns.
The Browns three main rivals are their inter-division foes: the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens. Their rivalry with the Ravens stems from the relocation of the Browns to Baltimore to form the Ravens and the ensuing controversy, and every game since has been hotly contested. The “Battle of Ohio” as it is known, has seen the Bengals and the Browns face off 78 times, with the Bengals holding a narrow 42-36 edge. The “Turnpike Rivalry” as its known, pits the Steelers against the Browns in the oldest rivalry in the AFC. Having faced off 120 times since their first matchup in 1950, the Steelers hold a narrow 64-56 lead; however, since rejoining the league in 1999, the Browns have won only four of their 24 meetings.
