 The changes paid off. In 1963, the team finished 10 – 4, and Jim Brown broke the NFL's single-season rushing record with 1,863 yards. Brown was also voted the league's Most Valuable Player. Cleveland, however, finished a game behind the New York Giants and did not reach the championship game. The Browns had started out 6 – 0 but faltered after racial divisions cropped up within the team. Some black players believed white teammates were getting to play ahead of them because of their race. Toward the end of the season, Collier met with the team's leaders and told them the racism had to stop. After the season, he traded away players he thought were sowing discord and opened up a dialogue with those who remained to stamp out the tension.
