Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
In the team’s first year as a member of the National Football League, after playing the previous four seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the Cleveland Browns defeated the Los Angeles Rams to win their first NFL championship. The Browns had also won the previous four AAFC titles.
A star-studded Browns team that included Hall of Famer Otto Graham at quarterback and the league’s leading rusher in fellow Hall of Famer Marion Motley, would go on to play in the next five NFL championship games. Other notable members of the 1950 Browns include Hall of Fame placekicker/offensive tackle Lou Groza who kicked the game winning field goal with 28 seconds to play to give the Browns a 30-28 victory, and halfback Rex Bumgardner who hooked up with Graham on a 14-yard touchdown pass on the Browns previous scoring drive. Seven members of the 1950 Browns including Graham and Motley were selected to play in the first-ever Pro Bowl and Motley and tight end Mac Speedle were both named to the AP All-Pro team.
This size 11.5, 21.2-gram, 10K gold Jostens ring contains a large single diamond on top of a cracked onyx stone with “Cleveland Browns World Champions” in relief around the perimeter with a “1950 NFL” banner on its right shank and a carving of a “Brownie the Elf” team mascot on the opposite side. “Jostens 10K” and the original owner’s name are engraved in the interior band. The ring is contained in a lime green velvet box with a handwritten note on a small scrap of paper that reads: “Have onyx fixed before you wear it. Manny was one of the original stockholders when they won the pennant, they gave stockholders rings too, this was his ring,” and “Call your mother tonight—afghan is for you, not Liz,” on other side. Ring personally belonged to Harry Sherby one of the original stockholders of the Cleveland Browns.