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CANTON — Visitors to a new special exhibit at the Pro Football Hall of Fame will have the opportunity to come face-to-face with the most outstanding finger in Cleveland football history, Lou Groza.
He is one of six Cleveland Browns depicted as 6-foot figures in the transience exhibit titled “A Legacy Unleashed,” which will pay homage to the history of the Cleveland Browns.
The others, on loan from the team and a collector from Youngstown, are Otto Graham, Bernie Kosar, Frank Minnifield, Joe Thomas and Hanford Dixon.
The exhibit will pay homage to the history of the Browns, highlighting the franchise’s 8 championships, adding a birthday component to the NFL’s name anniversaries of 1954 and 1964; how Paul Brown’s influence feels in professional football; and the reincorporation of soccer through Marion Motley and Bill Willis as part of “The Forgotten Four. “
Player appearances over the six weekends of the exhibition will highlight the lineup.
The exhibit has a lot to offer viewers, said Rich Desrosiers, HOF’s head of communications and content.
“They can celebrate nearly 80 years of Browns history, celebrate the fact that the Browns were the first true dynasty in football with seven championships in 10 years since their founding in 1946, 18 Hall of Famers, some of football’s greats, players and coaches,” he said.
He said the team has a “great history” of accomplishments off the field in social justice and racial equality.
“The Browns were one of the first two groups to return to football in 1946 and we’re going to celebrate that history,” Desrosiers said.
“And that includes Marion Motley of Canton, who was a component not only of this history of victories on the field, but also of the history of the re-entry of the game and the civil rights and social justice movement in the ’50s and ’60s that Jim Brown helped create,” Desrosiers added. Those will all be things that this exhibition will celebrate. “
This is the first exhibit in the room dedicated exclusively to the Browns. Earlier this year, an exhibit dedicated to the Pittsburgh Steelers was held, marking the 50th anniversary of their first Super Bowl.
Unusual pieces on display include lapel pins and tie snaps that the Browns earned when they won their championships, as well as contracts obtained through Motley and Willis.
Desrosiers said the 6-foot figures are a novelty at the venue, imaginable thanks to loans from Browns and Youngstown memorabilia collector Ray Pristhrough, who bought the Thomas, Groza and Graham figures two years ago at an auction in the Browns’ locker room. He passed up the opportunity to buy Myles Garrett, which would have cost him as much as the 3 he bought.
Prisby said the characters are in her living room, where they can serve as a backdrop for video conferencing, but not with her granddaughter.
“She probably wouldn’t reach out to me if that was me,” he said.
He suggested potential visitors attend the six-week special exhibition.
“It’s a great occasion here,” Prisby said.
Cleveland Browns mascot Chomps smashed a guitar to open the exhibit on Friday, replicating the team’s opening games at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Brownie the Elf, another mascot of the team, as well as the hall’s mascot, Goldy the G. O. A. T. , will also make appearances at the opening of the exhibit.
“A Legacy Unleashed,” presented through SERVPRO, will run through April 21.
More information can be found on the Pro Football Hall of Fame website at: Pro Football Hall of Fame Exhibit Celebrates Browns History | Professional Football Hall of Fame (profootballhof. com).
Photos: A look at Marion Motley, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Canton McKinley Legend
Just announced: Virginia State will face Benedict College in the 2024 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic on Sept. 1
Contact Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy. molnar@cantonrep. com. In X, formerly as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.
This article appeared in The Repository: The Cleveland Browns’ Special Exhibition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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