Cleveland continued to succeed in 1954, winning the NFL East division with a 9–3 record and beating Detroit for the NFL championship. Gorgal was injured and missed the latter half of the season; he had just one interception, although he returned it 53 yards for the only touchdown of his career. Cleveland head coach Paul Brown considered Gorgal one of his nicest players – he was known as "Gurgles Gorgal," the coach once said, because he "added so much fellowship and good feeling to our team" – but nevertheless traded him along with defensive end Doug Atkins to the Chicago Bears before the 1955 season. Gorgal later criticized the trade, saying Brown dumped him because of his injury.