When the Cleveland Browns joined the NFL in 1950, they owned the Pittsburgh Steelers in the early years. The Steelers’ glory days of the seventies saw the pendulum swing south. The ownership of the Turnpike Rivalry was firmly in Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger ensured the record books continued to reflect the Steelers’ dominance throughout the 21st century.
The fifties saw the Browns overwhelm the Steelers with a 16-4 lead in wins.
The sixties wouldn’t prove to be much better, but the 1963 season saw the Steelers post back-to-back winning seasons.
Although many fans felt their defense had cost them the division title when they finished with three tied games, confidence was high before the 1964 season began.
Steelers’ coach Buddy Parker predicted the team would have a better season than the 7-4-3 of the year before. This confidence was in spite of his controversial trade of Buddy Dial to Dallas for a draft pick who never materialized after he signed with the rival AFL.
Owner Art Rooney predicted his team would be contenders if the defense proved stronger than the previous season although he was philosophical about what was needed. “Sure, you need player talent,” Rooney said, “but you need a little luck here and there.”
The new season began with a 26-14 loss in Pitt Stadium to the Los Angeles Rams when eight turnovers, including five interceptions, were too much for the offense to overcome. Disappointed fans were keen to declare, “They’re the same old Pitts and Steelers.”
Eleven-year veteran quarterback Ed Brown threw three of the Steelers’ interceptions, but he was to turn the jeers into cheers the following weeks with home wins over the Giants and the Cowboys.
A 21-7 defeat in Philadelphia, where the defense gave up 272 yards on the ground, saw them travel to Cleveland as heavy underdogs. When the two teams met in preseason, the Steelers were thumped 42-7 by the Browns.
Cleveland was unbeaten including a 33-33 tie with the Cardinals which saw them tied on top of the Eastern division with St. Louis. They had a solid passing attack to augment the running of star running back Jim Brown.
Steelers Coach Parker went into the game knowing he had to keep the ball away from an explosive Browns offense. “That’s our only chance,” said Parker. “If they get the ball often enough, they’re going to score. If we can keep it off them, we’ll make a game of it down to the wire.
The main Steelers offensive threat was John Henry Johnson, a fullback with the legs of a halfback. Johnson was a 10-year veteran who played with the 49ers and Lions before arriving in Pittsburgh in 1960. Two years later when the Steelers had their best season for fifteen years, Johnson contributed 1,141 yards rushing and 226 yards receiving to the team.
Faced with injuries to two of his linebackers, Coach Parker sprang a surprise for the fans by playing 200-pound Clendon Thomas as the defensive halfback.
The (2-2) Steelers at the (3-0-1) Browns; October 10, 1964
Casting aside their mantle of underdogs, the Steelers began the game playing inspired football. They controlled the game from the opening kickoff, stunning their opponents and the home fans by scoring on their first two drives.
Mike Clark kicked a 21-field goal before John Henry Johnson showed Cleveland how to run the football. After Johnson and Clarence Peaks moved the chains on a 78-yard drive, Johnson finished with a touchdown run of 33 yards with a jaunt past six Brownie defenders.
The 35-year-old Johnson wasn’t finished. On the Steelers next drive from their opponents’ 45, he took a pitch out from his quarterback. Sweeping left while cutting in and out of the defenders, he danced into the end zone to extend his team’s lead. Although Clark missed the extra point, the Steelers held a 16-0 advantage.
Eventually, the Browns’ star running back Jim Brown got involved. He exploded on a draw play for 40 yards before catching a 12-yard pass to move the chains for a first down on the Steelers’ 26. Two plays later, Frank Ryan hit Gary Collins for an 18-yard touchdown and the Browns were on the scoreboard.
A Steelers’ fumble when in a scoring position on the Browns’ nine-yard, saw the teams go into the locker room with a Pittsburgh 16-7 lead.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Browns moved the ball into a scoring position before the Steelers defense held firm and forced them to attempt a 45-yard field goal. Lou Groza hit it wide, and the Steelers kept their lead.
On the ensuing Steelers’ drive, they extended their advantage. An 80-yard drive was completed by Johnson bulldozing 5 yards through the defense for his third touchdown.
Before this game, Groza had previously kicked six straight field goals, but he missed another one before the Steelers took a well earned 23-7 victory back to Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 23 at the Cleveland Browns 7
The Steelers rushed for 354 yards on the day compared to the Browns’ 96. Jim Brown’s contribution of 59 yards was the worst of his season to date as the Steelers’ defense played their part in the team’s win.
John Henry Johnson became the first Steeler to rush for 200 yards in a game to set a new standard replacing the 182 yards he ran four years previously against the Eagles. Le’Veon Bell holds the current record of 236 yards which he set in 2016, but Johnson still maintains the record of the oldest player in the NFL to achieve a 200-yard game.
Johnson also set a new Steelers record for rushing attempts in a game with 30. Franco Harris holds the current record with the 41 he made in 1976 against Cincinnati.
John Henry Johnson finished 1964 with his second 1000-yard season. Injuries affected his playing time the following year and in 1966 he joined the Houston Oilers of the AFL for one season.
After their promising win in Cleveland, the Steelers followed it with five consecutive defeats which saw the Steelers’ season evaporate. They finished 5-9 while the Browns went into the playoffs with a 10-3-1 record before being turned over by the Baltimore Colts.
It would be eight years before the Steelers produced another winning season. That would be after Dan Rooney made the decisive decision to hire Chuck Noll as the head coach.
