Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-08-20

Boss of Browns
Bears Watching
By MORRIS SIEGEE

AMONG THE NEW BREED of go-getters who are
gradually replacing the founding fathers of the National
Football League, bears watching than Arthur
Model the open-feld thinker who quarterbacks the
Cleveland Browns.
Model was restleSsy submissive almost two years
after purchasing the Browns in 1861 but abruptly ended
his apprenticeship last January He qualified for the merit
badge Of authority by firing his coach
His action practicable Shortly after buying the
team he to Washington be tutored in the ground
rules Of ownership by George Preston Marshall for
among the league leaders in the moScoachesred cate
CORY.
In Models case coach firing was no mere routine He
wasn't picking nobody He liquidated Paul Brown or
ganzer and only coach the Browns had known-and
also something of a tin god in Cleveland.
$50 =
IF IT WAS BID for recognition by Model it was an
expensive In demotng Brown to nonresident vice
president in charge of memories Model sadded himself
with $4,000 contract which has five years to run.
The jury is still out in Cleveland whether the i'm
petuous former Brooklyn stckballer right Football
is a game of tremendous human emotions" Model ex
planned, "and found Brown either unwilling to or in
capable of being emotional"
Regardless of the merits Browns firing brought at
tenion to Model He had to be reckoned with as young
Turk with mind of his Last Saturday in Cleveland
there another example of Modes thinking. The
cess of his latest venture cannot be argued.
record Cleveland football Spllout of more than 49,
600 put its money the line to watch Modes second
nua doubeheader Several owners who scoffed at the
idea last year there to watch footballs most lavish
specacle and their envy was undisquised.
Their latent endorsement failed to impress the head
strong young What impressed me most of ALL he
said the phone from Cleveland last night was the fact
that thousands persons stood the rain for hours buy
ing beacher and standngroom tickets. They helped me
put my message across"
MODELS MESSAGE WOULD restyle the NFL sched-
ue He has been trying to drum into the heads of his fell
low executives the notion that fans entitled to all
of the IA teams as often possible
To accomplish this Model would trim preseason
games to only three instead of five and boost the cham
ponshp schedule to 49, The additional two games would
be with teams from the other division.
THE way it is now" he said fans in the East see
the same Western team only about every six
years. He wants expanded inter-eague play with
16-game schedule two teams from the other division
would play in each city annually.
us there anything wrong with this arrangement? Peo-
pie tire of seeing the uniforms year in and year
You need look farther than baseball to the stupidity
of prohibiting nter-league play In football at least
have partial mixing. We should have more"
IN HIS TWIN BILLS Model pits two Eastern squads
against Western teams This arrangement has brought
almost 100000 into the Browns akefron stadium in
years The 38year escapee from producing daytime
TV serials enthused the of the
he is willing to underwre similar doubeheaders for Los
Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore.
When he proposed the twin attraction, Model had
trouble finding volunteers to round out last years
gain BILL He finally arranged to transfer SteelersLons
game from Detroit to Cleveland to couple with Ceve
land Dallas scrimmage
Saturday the four participating squads played to
gross gate Of than $325O0 and walked away with
than 100000 each for evenings exercise He is
not likely to want for teams any longer.
Model also thinks double-headers have psychology
cal value that can't be ignored. They put city in
football mood They help to establish the Wen
have 10000 for opener against the Redskins next
month"
He disagrees that clevelands football interest comes
A.
the surge of Browns ticket sales There's Just too damn
much baseball" he complains. "ony the Yankee keep
interest alive One team isn't enough TO keep interest at
a peak all year"
There is doubt that Model in addition to firing
Paul Brown also fired the interest Of his fans How
ever his remains be gned is winess this year.