The 1952 Cleveland Browns season was the team's third season with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and seventh season overall. They were 8–4 in the regular season and won the American Conference. Cleveland hosted the

NFL Championship Game Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...

, but lost 17–7 to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Exhibition schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. :* Saturday night (October 4)

Game summaries

Week 1

The Browns avenged their December

championship game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

loss to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with a 37–7 romp over the Rams at Cleveland Stadium. The Browns took a 23–0 halftime lead and never headed. Ken Carpenter rushed for 145 yards on 16 carries and the Browns defense limited Rams quarterbacks

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American professional football player, coach and executive. He played as a quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. ...

and

Bob Waterfield Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. A skilled player, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily as a quarterback, but also as a ...

to a combined six completions in 27 attempts.

Week 4

Despite being without injured wide receiver

Dante Lavelli Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009), nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football ...

and Carpenter and then losing defensive end

Bob Gain Robert Gain (June 21, 1929 – November 14, 2016) was an American football player who played 13 seasons for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played in five Pro ...

to a broken jaw, the Browns had little problem pounding the Eagles 49–7 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It is Cleveland's 5th win over Philadelphia in as many meetings.

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...

threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns and even backup quarterback

George Ratterman George William Ratterman (November 12, 1926 – November 3, 2007) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). Early life He was born in Cinc ...

got into the act, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Horace Gillom.

Week 6

In the first-ever regular season meeting between the

and the Browns, the Lions won 17–6, at

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-use stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of ...

. The Lions led 10–6, when a Graham pass intended for

Ray Renfro Austin Raymond "Ray" Renfro (November 7, 1929 – August 4, 1997) was an American professional football flanker who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1952 to 1963 for the Cleveland Browns. He also played as a halfba ...

was picked off by

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Jack Christiansen Jack LeRoy Christiansen (December 20, 1928 – June 29, 1986) was an American professional football player who became a college and pro coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions as a safety and ...

. On the Lions next play from scrimmage, Bob Hoernschemeyer ran for 41 yards, setting up a

Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before ...

Leon Hart Leon Joseph Hart (November 2, 1928 – September 24, 2002) was an American football player. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award in 1949. He also received All-American hon ...

touchdown pass.

Week 10

The Browns took a one-game lead in the Eastern Conference with a 48–24 win at

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Chick Jagade Harry Charles "Chick" Jagade Jr. (December 9, 1926 – November 24, 1968) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He played college f ...

ran for 127 yards on 16 carries, including a 17-yard touchdown scamper on a draw play. Carpenter also had a big day returning punts including one for 53 yards and a touchdown.

Week 12

Needing a win in the season finale to clinch the American Conference Title, the Browns (8–3) traveled to the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but lost to the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

, 37–34.

Charlie Conerly Charles Albert Conerly Jr. (September 19, 1921 – February 13, 1996) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1948 through 1961. Conerly played colle ...

fired four touchdown passes for the Giants while Graham threw three interceptions. The Browns clinched anyway when Washington upset Philadelphia.

Standings

NFL Championship Game

Roster and coaching staff

References

External links

1952 Cleveland Browns
at Pro Football Reference (profootballreference.com)
1952 Cleveland Browns Statistics
at jt-sw.com
1952 Cleveland Browns Schedule
at jt-sw.com * at DatabaseFootball.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1952 Cleveland Browns Season

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Cleveland Browns seasons

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...