Haunting memories of November 1963 return

LES LEVINE

llevine@cjn.org | @LesLevine

The last time I felt strange, or guilty, about watching the Cleveland Browns play was Nov. 24, 1963, when the Browns hosted and defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 27-17. That game was played two days after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated – in Dallas.

I don’t remember much about the game, except for the strange silence throughout most of it. I wondered why the NFL allowed games to be played that day, and as it turned out, Pete Rozelle said it was the worst mistake he made in almost 30 years as commissioner.

I do remember being at my uncle’s house, getting ready to make the drive downtown to the game, when I saw Lee Harvey Oswald emerge as he was about to be transferred to a jail, I assumed. We never got to learn whether Oswald was a “patsy,” as he proclaimed, or whether he acted alone – or virtually anything else about what happened two days earlier. To this day, the events surrounding that dark, dreary day are still questioned.

Jack Ruby, well known in Dallas police circles, took care of that when he shot Oswald at point-blank range, adding another notch to the conspiracy theories with which most of us are familiar. I know it was a simpler time, but supposedly

Bobby Kennedy, the president’s brother and attorney general, got word to Rozelle that the president would have wanted the games to be played that Sunday.

Fast forward to Oct. 27, 2018.

There was never any doubt regarding whether the Browns game against the Pittsburgh Steelers would be canceled in deference to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Squirrel Hill, just 6 miles from Heinz Field, a place where the Browns hadn’t won since 2003.

Isn’t it strange? Since the opening-day tie between the two teams in Cleveland, things have changed quickly. Three players scored touchdowns for the Browns that day. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor ran one in, as did Carlos Hyde, while Josh Gordon caught a touchdown pass. A half-season later, Taylor has lost his job to Baker Mayfield, Hyde was traded to Jacksonville for a fifth-round pick and Gordon could end up in the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots.

About Ethan

Favorite subject: Math

Hobbies outside of soccer: Plays golf and volunteers with the Arthritis Foundation

Siblings: Older sister Jordan, 19

Favorite athlete: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal FC

Parents: Joanne and David Berkovitz

Synagogue: The Shul in Pepper Pike

To nominate a player of the week, email Staff Reporter Ed Carroll at ecarroll@cjn.org.

I’m not saying the NFL should have canceled the game (or any games). I’m just saying I had similar feelings while watching the game as I did almost 55 years earlier.

BYE, BYE HUE AND LUE

You think you’ve seen it all as far as covering sports in Cleveland is concerned. I expected Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson to get fired, with the only question being when it was going to happen. It could have been after another loss to Pittsburgh, or perhaps during the bye week, or, as I expected, at the end of the season.

And then, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert beat Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to the punch, firing his coach, Tyronn Lue, after six winless games and before the Browns played the Steelers. When that happened, many people asked if two franchises in the same city had ever fired their coaches on the same day. As it turned out, Haslam waited until the next day.

It was a foregone conclusion that if Jackson wouldn’t survive, his replacement would be offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

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Instead it was Gregg Williams. He is given the task of taking on the Kansas City Chiefs in his first game, general manager John Dorsey’s former team and a team I expect to go to the Super Bowl. It’s a team capable of putting up 45 points against the Browns, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes putting up monster numbers.

And Larry Drew has the job of taking over the Cavs, the day it was learned that the face of the franchise, Kevin Love, could miss a month or so due to a toe injury. The Cavs are a team that will struggle to win 25 games.

It never stops.

Supposedly, there was a difference of opinion between Lue and general manager Koby Altman as to how much playing time the veterans would get. Altman wanted the younger players to get more playing time, while Lue tried to squeeze out some wins with veterans.

And now it’s up to Williams and Drew. What they do? It’s anyone’s guess.

Read Les Levine online at cjn.org/Levine. Follow Les at Facebook.com/Cleveland JewishNews.