modell (only proper names should be capitalized) was forced to give up the name and records because he basically put the league in a bind. He signed an agreement to move to Baltimore (breaking his Cleveland lease BTW) before he had gotten league approval for the move. Since the league had eight criteria for approving a move and the Browns only met one of them (that one even arguably), he was very unlikely to get that approval.
Since he had signed the agreement, the league was going to get sued either way, unless they could broker a deal. The deal was Cleveland retained the team identity and was promised a new team within three years. I believe they also kicked in some money for the new stadium.
Why did he do this? It wasn’t because he wasn’t getting a new stadium. The bond issue to renovate or replace the old one (which he had run down) passed the day after he made his announcement in Baltimore. It was because his stepson david had burned just about every bridge in Cleveland and there was no way he could ever effectively run the team. However, art doted on his wife who doted on her son (one of history’s all time horrendous spoiled brats).
He also had to buy out a guy named Robert Gries who owned 41% of the team and was vehemently opposed to the move. Gries would have joined a suit attempting to block the move.
Here’s the funny part. The teams in Baltimore continued to suck and despite the money he got to move he kept violating the NFL’s rules on debt. Finally, the NFL forced him to find someone who would buy at least a minority share in the team, or they would pull the franchise and resell it. The only way he could do this was by giving the buyer the option to buy the whole franchise after three years. Enter Steve Bisciotti. The team wasn’t successful until Bisciotti’s money was infused, and there was no way he would invest in something which would be run long term by the modell family.
In effect, the modells were kicked out of the NFL.
As for the Stoolers, it’s a fact that they aren’t in the playoffs primarily because they were spanked like small children by a 1-11 team on national TV. >:)
-Eric
Almost after the season ending win at Memorial Stadium; he began talking to other cities about moving the club. On February 13th he toured the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. The Colts also spoke to officials in Phoenix, as the Maryland legislature tried to use eminent domain laws to force the franchise to remain in Maryland. On March 28th he kept the move secret until just after midnight when by cover of darkness he used Mayflower moving trucks to pack up the Colts offices and relocate them in Indianapolis. By the time anyone realized what had happened it was too late to stop.
Maryland put up a futile fight before the Colts agreed to support Baltimore getting an expansion team. The city of Baltimore would fail in several attempts at landing a NFL franchise, and even entered the CFL, before landing a new NFL franchise named the Ravens in 1996, over 11 years later. However, the Irsay family would not relinquish the name Colts, as they once promised. Many Colt legends were angered by the move including legendary Quarterback Johnny Unitas who refused to acknowledge the franchise for the rest of his life.
Its really really hard to feel sorry for the Browns, given what happened to the Colts. .
Hey, thanks for your reasoned reply and the info.
I stand by my statement, that regardless of the details, the bottom line was Modell (who was far in front of Irsay for being in the HOF, I might add, until this issue; Irsay was hated by and large by players and fans alike long before “the escape”) announced during the season he would be moving, then played out the season. Irsay left without any word, which is unprecedented before, and certainly not since.
After all, the Browns moved to Baltimore in the ‘50s to become the Orioles, too. Just another example of your more typical MO.