Football seasons come and go, but good books endure. Below is the most comprehensive list anywhere of books related to the Cleveland Browns — journalism, memoir, history, biography, photography, reference and more — even true crime and fiction. (Media guides, yearbooks, and books for juvenile readers are not included). These 70 titles are sorted by year of publication.
Click the links (Powell’s and Amazon affiliate) to learn more and add to your own library or to that of a fellow Browns fan. My general survey of Cleveland Browns books appeared in the January 2008 issue of the Orange and Brown Report Magazine, and I have been reviewing individual titles in recent issues.
Whether it’s a fresh title or one out-of-print and overlooked, a Browns book has to be a better gift than a Tim Couch jersey, eh?
I update this page periodically, so feel free to bookmark it, and please send along your tips on upcoming titles, recommendations, feedback, and corrections.
Things I’ve Learned from Watching the Browns by Terry Pluto, 2010
Classic Browns: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Browns History by Jonathan Knight, 2008
Paul Brown: The Man Who Invented Modern Football by George Cantor, 2008
Paul Brown: The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Football’s Most Innovative Coach by Andrew O’Toole, 2008
Cleveland Browns Trivia Teasers by Richard Pennington, 2008
One Moment Changes Everything: The All-America Tragedy of Don Rogers by Sean D. Harvey, 2007
Browns Scrapbook: A Fond Look Back at Five Decades of Football, from a Legendary Cleveland Sportswriter by Chuck Heaton, 2007
Playing For Pizza: A Novel by John Grisham, 2007
Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero by Mike Freeman, 2006
Heart of a Mule: The Dick Schafrath Stories by Dick Schafrath, 2006
The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns–Pro Football’s Greatest Dynasty by Andy Piascik, 2006
Sundays in the Pound: The Heroics and Heartbreak of the 1985-89 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, 2006
Browns Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! by Mary Schmitt Boyer, 2006
Browns Glory: For the Love of Ozzie, the Toe, and Otto by Alan Ross (ed.), 2005
Cleveland Browns History by Frank M. Henkel, 2005
For Browns Fans Only! by Rich Wolfe, 2005
The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam, 2005
False Start: How The New Browns Were Set Up To Fail by Terry Pluto, 2004
Tales From the Browns Sideline by Tony Grossi, 2004
OttoMatic by Duey Graham, 2004
Best of Hal Lebovitz: Great Sportswriting from Six Decades in Cleveland by Hal Lebovitz, 2004
Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys: 101 Colorful Characters from Cleveland Sports History by Bob Dolgan, 2003
Kardiac Kids: The Story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, 2003
Browns Town 1964: The Cleveland Browns and the 1964 Championship by Terry Pluto, 2003
Cleveland Browns A-Z by Roger Gordon, 2002
From Ghetto to God: The Incredible Journey of NFL Star, Reggie Rucker by Reggie Rucker and Nadine McIlwain, 2002
Brown’s Town: 20 Famous Browns Talk Amongst Themselves by Alan Natali, 2001
Rugged and Enduring: The Eagles, the Browns, and 5 Years of Football by David Cohen, 2001
First and Last Seasons: A Father, A Son, and Sunday Afternoon Football by Dan McGraw, 2000
Back Home: The Cleveland Browns by Tim Graham, editor, 1999
On Being Brown: What It Means to Be a Cleveland Browns Fan by Scott Huler, 1999
Cleveland Browns Facts and Trivia by Roger Gordon, 1999
The Cleveland Browns: The Official Illustrated History by Ron Smith, 1999
Cleveland’s Browns (Photo Highlights of the First Fifty Years of the Cleveland Browns) by Paul Tepley, 1999
The Cleveland Browns: The Great Tradition by Bob Moon, 1999
Total Browns: The Official Encyclopedia of the Cleveland Browns by Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, John Thorn, 1999
The Best of the Cleveland Browns Memories by Russell Schneider, 1999
The Browns: Cleveland’s Team by Richard Shmelter, 1999
Legends by the Lake: The Cleveland Browns at Municipal Stadium by John Keim, 1999
Tim Couch: A Passion for the Game by John McGill and Dave Baker, 1999
When All the World Was Browns Town by Terry Pluto, 1997
Glory for Sale: Inside the Browns’ Move to Baltimore & the New NFL by Jon Morgan, 1997
Fumble: The Browns, Modell, & the Move by Michael G. Poplar with James A. Toman, 1997
Cleveland Stadium: The Last Chapter by James A. Toman and Gregory G. Deegan, 1997
City of Champions: The Story of the 1948 Cleveland Barons, Browns and Indians by Kevin O’Connell, 1997
Browns Memories: The 338 Most Memorable Heroes, Heartaches & Highlights from 50 Seasons of Cleveland Browns Football by Tim Long, 1996
The Toe: The Lou Groza Story by Lou Groza with Mark Hodermarsky, 1996
Deadly Goals: The True Story of an All-American Football Hero Who Stalked and Murdered by Wilt Browning, 1996
The Cleveland Browns: A 50-Year Tradition by Steve Byrne, Jim Campbell, Mark Craig, Bob Moon, 1995
Cleveland Stadium: 60 Years of Memories by James A. Toman, 1994
The Cleveland Sports Legacy Since 1945 by Mark Hodermarsky, 1991
Behind the Lines by Don Strock and Harvey Frommer, 1991
Out of Bounds by Jim Brown and Steve Delsohn, 1989
Pressure by Sam Rutigliano, 1988
I Went Both Ways by Don Paul, 1988
Cleveland Browns Trivia by John F. Grabowski, 1987
Football’s Gentle Giant: The Blanton Collier Story by Kay Collier Slone, 1985
Day By Day in Cleveland Browns History by Morris Eckhouse, 1984
Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, the Story of a Heisman Trophy Winner by Robert C. Gallagher, 1983
Sam, Sipe, & Company : The Story of the Cleveland Browns by William V Levy, 1981
PB: The Paul Brown Story by Paul Brown and Jack Clary, 1979
The Cleveland Browns: Power and Glory by Chuck Heaton, 1974
Cleveland Browns: Great Teams, Great Years by Jack Clary, 1973
They Call It a Game: Shoulders the NFL Stands On by Bernie Parrish, 1971 (reissued in 2000)
My Greatest Challenge by Bill Glass, 1968
Get in the Game! by Bill Glass, 1965
Return to Glory: The Story of the Cleveland Browns by Bill Levy, 1965
Off My Chest by Jimmy Brown with Myron Cope, 1964
Confessions of a Gypsy Quarterback by George Ratterman and Robert Deindorfer, 1962
Football Scouting by Robert C. “Sarge” MacKenzie, 1955
T Quarterback by Otto Graham, 1953
