CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 the Fan) – Brownie is back.
For the first time in decades, the original Brownie logo dating back to the Browns first game played in 1946 has been incorporated in the field design at FirstEnergy Stadium for the 2022 season.
This year’s design comes as the result of an online fan vote.
A general view of the freshly painted field at FirstEnergy Stadium for the 2022 season featuring the original Brownie logo used by the Cleveland Browns at midfield.Courtesy of the Cleveland Browns
During training camp, the team revealed multiple field designs for fans to vote on. Each design featured two different iterations of both the helmet logo and Brownie at midfield along with the color [orange or white] selection of the ‘BROWNS’ script in the end zones.
The original running, stiff arm Brownie won.
“We love the helmet logo, but Brownie has been around for a long time,” JW Johnson, Browns Executive Vice President and Partner, told the team’s website, ClevelandBrowns.com. “I think people enjoy him, and we haven't really showcased him as much as we'd like to. Between myself and [Browns Senior Vice President of Marketing & Media] Brent Rossi, we decided that we should bring him back. It's been well-received.”
A view of the original Brownie logo used by the Cleveland Browns painted at midfield for the 2022 season at FirstEnergy Stadium.Courtesy of the Cleveland Browns
After Fox 8 traffic reporter Patty Harken Tweeted a photo of the original logo painted at midfield Tuesday morning, the team revealed the complete design featuring drone video footage.
The logo, which appeared on the cover of the program for the Browns very first game played September 6, 1946, against the Miami Seahawks, has been incorporated by the team in recent years on team apparel and signage at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, including training camp logos.
It's the first time since the 2016 season the Browns will have a logo at the 50. The team had been painting the helmet logo there from 1999-2016.
The Browns won seven championships – three AAFC titles from 1946-1949 and three NFL titles using some iteration of the Brownie logo. When Art Modell bought the franchise in 1961, one of the first things he did was eliminate the usage of the logo, replacing it with a generic ‘CB’ moniker and later the orange helmet.
