Every week I am going to try and put together a look back on a piece of Browns history. Some weeks it will be a player. Some weeks it will be a specific game. Hopefully they are all entertaining. What better place to start then with the most well known seating section in all the NFL?
Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield had no idea how deep their impact on a fan base would be.
The Dawg Pound didn't start in Cleveland, it was born in Kirtland, Ohio. Lakeland Community College was the location of the 1985 preseason camp of the Cleveland Browns.
Most people have heard the saying of a QB playing "cat and mouse" with a defense. Making calls and audible's based on what the defense is showing, etc. Dixon and Minnifield had an issue with this. They didn't wan't to be known as mice. The decided they wanted to be the Dog in the fight. This lead to the defensive players barking when they made positive plays in camp.
The fans caught on. As soon as the defense made a good play on defense, not only were the defensive players barking at one another, but the fans watching camp would start to bark. The ground work was laid.
Before the Browns first preseaon game, Dixon and Minnifield hung a banner in front of the east end zone bleachers. These bleacher seats were the cheapest seats in the whole stadium. These were the centerfield seats when the Indians played home games. They were cheap because you didn't really get a seat. It was a wood bleacher that was 6" by 21". It didn't really matter, you never sat down anyways. It was the only section of the stadium that didn't have an overhang for protection of the elements. These bleachers were close to the field, the fans being held back by only a small chain linked fence.
The fans embraced it. I don't know if it was because the Browns finally had some sort of mascot, or it was just a badge of honor to be a ticketholder of a Dawg Pound seat, but it became synonymous with being a Browns fan. I am sure we have all heard tales from other Browns fans about what they saw/heard/did in those bleachers. The fact that these were the "cheap seats" gave the team a blue collar feel. Being Cleveland, that feeling was well received. You attend sporting events now, the close seats are always filled by suits and people on their cell phones, waving into the camera asking if their kids can tivo the game so they can see themselves when they get home. That wasn't the case in the Pound. You were amongst other fans that understood football and knew what it meant to be good fans. It didn't matter if you knew the people around you, you knew they were Browns fans and that they thought Pittsburgh sucked. What else do you need for a friendship?
(Personally when I went with my father as a 10 year old, I was told on numerous occasions "don't tell your mother" when I asked if I could eat a milkbone or give Sam Wyche the bird during pre-game warm-ups. Rules were relaxed in the pound. Yes, I heard profane language and listened to men say that they would do vulgar things to opponents mothers, but there was no army of ushers to ask anyone to quiet down or leave. It was allowed because this is what you signed up for when you saw a game in the Dawg Pound. Why does an entire stadium have to be PG? If you take a child to a NFL game, they should be ready for some adult words. *Rant over, thank you*)
It was a dump. Seats sucked. Standing on concrete in freezing temps made you appreciate cardboard more than you ever expected. But to me, it was the greatest experience I ever had at a live sporting event. I saw the Browns win in OT over the Minnesota Vikings in freezing temperature. Wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
I have only seen one game in the "new" Dawg Pound. It just wasn't the same for me, but in all fairness, nothing will ever be able to match the mystique of the Pound.
What was your favorite Dawg Pound moment/story/game? Am I crazy, or does the new pound just lack something?
2 recs | 39 comments
Great post.
I think part of the issue actually has to do with the spacing as well. Larger stadiums don’t harness the noise as well, and I think it’s hard to get that electric feeling when the noise is lacking. I still am impressed though with the noise of the crowd on nationally televised games. Even with a partial crowd against Pittsburgh, the crowd was pretty rowdy. Probably got more of those Dawg Pound types given the conditions.
Roger Dorn - December 14, 2009
The only time I sat in the Pound was during a Tribe-Yankees game. As bad as those benches were, they weren’t much better than the ‘good’ seats.
golanbatrac - December 14, 2009
Never should have gotten rid of it.
A renovation sure, but getting rid of the ole’ girl took away what was arguably the greatest home field advantage in the league.
Still miss it. The new one’s OK I guess…it’s just not the same.
johnnyphoenix - December 15, 2009
We all know it’s just not the stadium…it’s the way the new one is run. I guess it’s just a sign of the changing times, but I remember a time when a Browns game was NOT considered ‘family fun.’ You generally kept kids out of the dawg pound unless you wanted them to learn some new vocabulary, get thrown up on, watch adults perform random acts of violence on each other, or get beer thrown on them…and it was never the ‘dawg pound, sponsored by…’ GREAT times. Teams were legitimately scared to play here, what with the batteries in snow balls, dog biscuits, and green painted dirt. The stadium being cavernous, ugly, and dirty made it that much better. Suited our team/fan mentality perfectly.
Maybe it’s just that many of the blue collar fans who went alot cannot afford it anymore with prices the way they are, coupled with the new stadium rules.
johnnyphoenix - December 15, 2009
(excuse the diversion)
but UK soccer has gone exactly the same way. The spectacle of working men watching sport on a saturday afternoon (for us it was always saturdays in those days) replaced by corporate branded machine. But thanks to the hooliganism they really had to chop the head off what soccer had become- why did they do it in the NFL as well?
LondonBrown - December 15, 2009
Great Post.
The absolute best memory I have was when Metcalf returned a couple punts for touchdowns against the steelers. I was in the second row of the pound. Unbelievable, I was like 22 then and the second punt return was pretty late in the game if I remember correctly, by that time in the game I was a little fuzzy lol…Definitely not the same now, but if they start winning more it will surely feel better!
Joey_D - December 15, 2009
Second return.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxaB8uuXNrE&feature=related
johnnyphoenix - December 15, 2009
I miss the days when game announcers would scream when they got excited. Everyone is sooo damned sober these days. It’s a shame…
golanbatrac - December 15, 2009
except gus johnson, who screams for any big play against the browns.
Dawg Nuts - December 15, 2009
lets not forget when Casey Coleman was the announcer. He seemed to root against the team. Thank God for Jim Donavin.
holmes213 - December 16, 2009
Those were the days!! Thanks for that link.
Joey_D - December 15, 2009
Thanks for finding that. What a great clip. The atmosphere in that stadium is just incredible.
Western Reserve - December 15, 2009
Awesome video.
Two things about it:
1. Did you notice how nuts the Dawg Pound was in that game? Insane.
2. We need to go back that mid-field logo. Now.
Bernie19Kosar - December 17, 2009
i am unable to see the video, what was the logo?
holmes213 - December 17, 2009
Thanks for sharing that.
I still think that Dawg describes a type of defensive lineman. Nice legend though.
mooncamping - December 15, 2009
agh.
Ryan Kelsey - December 15, 2009
DAWG stands for Defense Always Wins Games. If you’re going to be a true Browns fan then you should know that.
Buckeye Brad - December 17, 2009
Great post, I wish there was a pic somewhere of Dixon’s Banner. I remember getting free tickets and offered to take my pastor. As we were trying to find the tickets, we started getting closer and closer to the Dawgpound. Yep we were smack dab in the middle of it. And it was a Steeler game, late 80’s. Guys were throwing up, throwing things, relieving themselves right there in the bleachers. My pastor had a blast, said he felt “alive” there. LOL
ya i miss the old stadium too.
Red-Right-88 - December 15, 2009
I’m 26 so I never had the opportunity to experience the dawg pound as anything more than a child… guys really pissed in the stands?
danvail - December 15, 2009
I don’t know about the stands, but I do remember the troughs in the bathroom. The lines would get backed up and guys started taking their leaks in the sink.
Not the place to be if you are a germaphope.
Bernie19Kosar - December 15, 2009
Every time I sat in the Dawg Pound it smelled of urine.
woodsmeister - December 15, 2009
Yeah, sorry about that…
golanbatrac - December 15, 2009
I love Browns history, I have spent a lot of time reading about it and studying it. This will be, by far my favorite segment in DBN. This is a great article, and untill we create new ones, nothing beats the glory days.
By the way, who is your favorite palyer of all time?
Otto Graham
holmes213 - December 15, 2009
Great post. Pretty accurate description of tha “Original” Pound. The new one does suck! It seems like it’s everyone in Cleveland looking for their 15 minutes of fame. My very first game was in 74, in tha pound, against the Steelers, and the Browns lost, but I remember Dino Hall returning kicks and punts. The old stadium as great.
cboldt12 - December 15, 2009
I worked in Columbus in the late 80s after graduating from Ohio State. We got a group of guys to come up to a Browns/Bengals game. We had our Dawg Pound tickets. One of my friends was from southern Ohio. He was a Bengals fan. I sat him down and told him that under no circumstances should he reveal his allegiance while in the Dawg Pound. After many beers and a long completion by the Bengals he could not help himself. He did the unthinkable. He stood up and cheered for Cincinnati. A hell storm of beer and profanity came raining down on him within seconds of his display. I had just bought two more giant beers myself. I stepped behind my friend right in the line of fire and did what had to be done. I poured those two giant beers right on my buddy’s head. Go Browns! Long live the Dawg Pound!
Jngz - December 15, 2009
I saw a Dolphins fan in the Dawg Pound once. Came in wearing a Marino jersey, screaming about how awesome the Dolphins were. He went down under a hail of peanuts and stanky beer.
Best part? It was a Browns/Oilers game. Poor Bastard didn’t even have a dog in the fight.
Bernie19Kosar - December 15, 2009
This should be Rec’d a thousand times.
golanbatrac - December 15, 2009
My favorite was `1989 Browns Bills playoffs…I was there and in the last minute Thurman Thomas was carving up our Defense like swiss cheese…we all thought it was inevitable he scores and they win the game…then Clay Matthews intercepted and people went NUTS….Listen to them…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6jdq2eqbcg
johnnyphoenix - December 15, 2009
Holy crap! The post game interviews includes footage of the single most boneheaded play in Browns history — Clay Matthews lateral vs. the Oilers. Hadn’t seen that in many, many years. I didn’t even watch the end of that game… I had to go for a walk before I started breaking things…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1lMgUmB9ns&feature=related
golanbatrac - December 15, 2009
That had people questining Matthews great career for some reason.
holmes213 - December 15, 2009
You mean the spread existed back then?!?!
/sarc.
Ryan Kelsey - December 15, 2009
I’d say the Dwane Rudd helmet toss at the end of the Browns-Cheifs game was the most boneaded play in Browns history.
Ryan Kelsey - December 15, 2009
Except there wasn’t a first round bye on the line with Rudd. But yeah, that’s a strong #2.
golanbatrac - December 15, 2009
My dad had season tickets in the pound throughout the late 80’s and took me to most of the games. I know a few others have mentioned the “we won’t tell Mom about this” status of sitting in the pound so here’s a few standout memories that fall under this catagory:
1. Beaming Jerry Glanville with a snow ball before a game once.
2. Some guys in my section used to pass joints up and down our row. I was told to just pass it on but. . .
3. Does anyone else remember people smuggling in a big dog house with a keg of beer hidden inside?
4. Chanting “suck my Dickerson” at a Colts playoff game.
jerehall - December 15, 2009
Great story. The authorites figured it out when it took 6 guys to carry the doghouse in, but it only took 2 to carry it out.
Bernie19Kosar - December 15, 2009
Haha, I remember that “dog house” good stuff. I was in the pound one year when we played the Broncos and there was a girl a few rows in front of us with an Elway jersey on. Wow, what a mistake that was, she ended up getting escorted to another section because they feared for her safety!
Joey_D - December 16, 2009
What an excellent post!
Many of my earliest memories were of Browns and Indians games at the old Municipal Stadium. The most severe was a game about a week after Art Moddell had made it clear that he was moving the team. The signs I saw, included one burned in to my memory- a burnt hot dog made to look like feces and the words “Modell is a piece of Sh**”. I was 11 or 12 and thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen.
Ryan Kelsey - December 15, 2009
i need to do some reading on browns history. i never knew that there was a “new” dawg pound. i thought that was just the only one haha.
i was born in ‘92… i wish i could’ve watched the browns back in the 80s with kosar, etc.
emily522 - December 16, 2009
and btw, good post. i like the segment idea.
emily522 - December 16, 2009
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