Cleveland Stadium on Dec. 29, 1968, when the Browns played the Baltimore Colts for the NFL title and a trip to the Super Bowl to meet the AFL champion.
This Sunday, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears play for the National Football Conference championship, and the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers play for the American Football Conference title.
Five times, the Browns have come within one win of playing in football's biggest game. This is about their first chance.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As the Cleveland Browns prepared to face the Baltimore Colts in the 1968 National Football League championship game, their fans recalled a couple earlier games between the perennial powerhouses.
One, when the Browns upset the Colts, 27-0, in the 1964 title game in Cleveland. It was the next-to-last season before the first Super Bowl.
Two, and more relevant to the task at hand, the 1968 Browns were 2-3 when they went into Baltimore on Oct. 20 and stunned the Colts, 30-20, to begin an eight-game winning streak. The loss would be Baltimore's only one during the regular season.
Cleveland and Baltimore had not met between the 1964 title game and the Oct. 20, 1968 game.
Pro-Football-Reference.com details the 1968 Browns and the 1968 Colts. It has the boxscore and statistics for the championship game, a 34-0 Baltimore romp.
The late Chuck Heaton, Browns beat writer for The Plain Dealer, covered the game. His complete game story is included on The PD's Browns History Database, which includes Plain Dealer stories on every regular season and playoff game the Browns have played.
Two of the most important Colts, coach Don Shula and Tom Matte, had strong area ties. Shula had graduated from Painesville Harvey High School.
Heaton wrote:
Tom Matte, former Shaw High School and Ohio State star, scored three touchdowns before being injured in the last quarter as the Colts gained a spot against the New York Jets in the Super Bowl a week from Sunday in Miami.
AND IT WAS THE BIGGEST DAY in the amazing coaching career of young Don Shula, who played for John Carroll and the Browns and had an apprenticeship under Blanton Collier at Kentucky.
Heaton ended his story with a reference to the Super Bowl. The Colts were heavy favorites to defeat quarterback Joe Namath and the Jets in the Super Bowl, but Namath guaranteed a Jets win, and they delivered, upsetting Baltimore, 16-7.
Heaton wrote:
The big factor, of course, was the stout Baltimore defense. It's a fine one and will pose a real test for Namath and the Jets in Miami.
The Colts will receive about $10,000 per man for the victory as compared to the Browns' $6,000 and will be favored to pick up $15,000 in Florida.
For the Browns losing meant that some questions remain to be answered. It can't be a completely stand-pat off-season but the team did come a step further than the 1967 club.
The Browns can look to the future with a fair degree of optimism. And they certainly would prefer not to look back to yesterday.
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