1953 Cleveland Browns Roster
Team Record: 11-1
Finishing 1st in the NFL's East Division
Postseason: 0-1 Lost Championship
Coach: Paul Brown (11-1)
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
1953 Cleveland Browns Results
The Cleveland Browns of the National Football League ended the 1953 season with a record of 11 wins and 1 losses, finishing first in the NFL's East Division. The team compiled a postseason mark of 0-1.
The defense proved to be a force, as the Browns surrendered 162 points, lowest in the league. Cleveland netted 348 points. Otto Graham passed for 2,722 yards. Dante Lavelli snagged 45 passes for 783 yards, while Ray Renfro and Pete Brewster provided receiving help as well.
Ray Renfro ran for a team-leading 352 yards, while Billy Reynolds and Chick Jagade also buoyed the ground attack.
Warren Lahr, Ken Konz and Tommy James each snatched 5 errant tosses from the opposition.
Paul Brown coached the team. The 1953 Cleveland Browns lost in the Championship.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | Doug Atkins | LDE | May 8, 1930 | 6'8" | 257 | Tennessee | Humboldt, TN USA | 8 | 0 |
| 88 | Pete Brewster | LE | September 1, 1930 | 6'3" | 210 | Purdue | Adams City, IN USA | 12 | 12 |
| 20 | Ken Carpenter | KR | February 26, 1926 | 6'0" | 195 | Oregon St. | Seaside, OR USA | 12 | 0 |
| 50 | Tom Catlin | LLB | September 8, 1931 | 6'1" | 213 | Oklahoma | Ponca City, OK USA | 12 | 0 |
| 70 | Don Colo | LDT | January 5, 1925 | 6'3" | 252 | Brown | East Bridgewater, MA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 66 | Gene Donaldson | G | September 29, 1930 | 5'9" | 215 | Kentucky | East Chicago, IN | 11 | 0 |
| 80 | Len Ford | RDE | February 18, 1926 | 6'4" | 245 | Morgan St. | Washington, DC USA | 12 | 0 |
| 52 | Frank Gatski | C | March 18, 1922 | 6'3" | 233 | Marshall | Farmington, WV USA | 12 | 0 |
| 64 | Abe Gibron | LG | September 22, 1925 | 5'11" | 243 | Valparaiso | Michigan City, IN USA | 10 | 0 |
| 84 | Horace Gillom | P | March 3, 1921 | 6'1" | 221 | Ohio St. | Roanoke, AL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 15 | Ken Gorgal | LS | February 13, 1929 | 6'2" | 200 | Purdue | La Salle, IL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 14 | Otto Graham | QB | December 6, 1921 | 6'1" | 196 | Northwestern | Waukegan, IL USA | 12 | 11 |
| 76 | Lou Groza | K | January 25, 1924 | 6'3" | 240 | Ohio St. | Martins Ferry, OH USA | 12 | 0 |
| 79 | Jerry Helluin | DT | August 8, 1929 | 6'2" | 272 | Tulane | Houma, LA USA | 6 | 0 |
| 62 | Lin Houston | G | January 11, 1921 | 6'0" | 213 | Ohio St. | Carbondale, IL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 30 | Sherman Howard | HB-DB | November 28, 1924 | 5'11" | 193 | Iowa | New Orleans, LA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 32 | Chick Jagade | FB | December 9, 1926 | 6'0" | 213 | Indiana | Chicago, IL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 42 | Tommy James | RDH | September 16, 1923 | 5'10" | 185 | Ohio St. | Canton, OH USA | 12 | 0 |
| 40 | Dub Jones | RH | December 29, 1924 | 6'4" | 202 | Tulane | Arcadia, LA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 22 | Ken Konz | RS | September 25, 1928 | 5'10" | 184 | LSU | Weimar, TX USA | 12 | 0 |
| 24 | Warren Lahr | LDH | September 5, 1923 | 5'11" | 189 | Case Western Reserve | Mount Zion, PA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 86 | Dante Lavelli | RE | February 23, 1923 | 6'0" | 191 | Ohio St. | Hudson, OH USA | 12 | 0 |
| 34 | Walt Michaels | LB | October 16, 1929 | 6'0" | 231 | Washington & Lee | Swoyersville, PA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 36 | Marion Motley | FB-LB | June 5, 1920 | 6'1" | 232 | South Carolina St. | Leesburg, GA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 65 | Chuck Noll | RG | January 5, 1932 | 6'1" | 220 | Dayton | Cleveland, OH USA | 12 | 0 |
| 72 | Derrell Palmer | RDT | August 27, 1922 | 6'2" | 240 | TCU | Breckenridge, TX USA | 11 | 0 |
| 16 | George Ratterman | QB | November 12, 1926 | 6'0" | 192 | Notre Dame | Cincinnati, OH USA | 9 | 1 |
| 26 | Ray Renfro | HB-FL | November 7, 1929 | 6'1" | 190 | North Texas | Whitesboro, TX USA | 12 | 0 |
| 46 | Billy Reynolds | PR | July 20, 1931 | 5'11" | 195 | Pittsburgh | St. Marys, WV USA | 12 | 0 |
| 78 | John Sandusky | RT | December 28, 1925 | 6'1" | 251 | Villanova | Philadelphia, PA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 56 | Don Steinbrunner | T | April 5, 1932 | 6'3" | 220 | Washington St. | Bellingham, WA USA | 8 | 0 |
| 54 | Tommy Thompson | RLB | January 6, 1927 | 6'1" | 221 | William & Mary | Jersey City, NJ USA | 9 | 0 |
| 60 | Bill Willis | MG | October 5, 1921 | 6'2" | 213 | Ohio St. | Columbus, OH USA | 11 | 0 |
| 82 | George Young | DE-E | May 10, 1924 | 6'3" | 214 | Baldwin-Wallace | Wilkes-Barre, PA USA | 12 | 0 |
