Midfield stadium logo to reappear this year, and fans get to vote on what that emblem will be

Some say the Browns don’t actually have a logo that represents their team.

In college football, there are numerous teams at all levels which are devoid of helmet decals on each side. But in the NFL, every NFL club has a pair of emblems emblazoned on their helmets except two: Pittsburgh and Cleveland. And for the Steelers, they can at least attest that they display one decal.

But Cleveland does indeed have a logo. In fact, they have several.

The first and most beloved is “Brownie the Elf”, which originally was called “Brownie Elf.” He first appeared in newspaper ads prior to the opening game in 1946 against the Miami Seahawks in the All-American Football Conference, the league in which the Browns were born.

There have been numerous renditions of Brownie. The first was a running back with a mean stiff arm running the football. The following were poses with a football in one hand and the other hand on his hip. Early renditions showed the same pose but with a crown on his head to signify the constant league championships the franchise had won. Still another appeared mostly on felt pennants in which Brownie is about to toss another touchdown pass downfield.

And there were many more. Each week during the season in those early years, Cleveland Plain Dealer sports cartoonist Dick Dugan would pen Brownie in various poses and facial expressions attached to either a pre-game write-up or a post-game analysis article.

In the 1980’s when the Dawg Pound was invented, several “mad dawg” heads have been used loosely as a logo, but nothing officially. Still, the club does have had actual live dogs. The first was “Swagger” who was a 145-pound bullmastiff that began his tenure in 2014 but passed away at the age of six in early 2020. He was replaced in 2019 by his son “S.J.”

There are costumed mascots as well.

In the 1940’s, assistant equipment manager Tommy Flynn would dress up in an Elf costume and patrol the sidelines during games. Flynn, a little person, ended this practice in 1950 when the Browns merged into the NFL and the established league insisted that the club stop this practice which they insisted appeared minor league.

Today, the team has two costumed characters in “Chomps” and “Brownie the Elf.”

Then there are the actual live characters such as Pumpkinhead, The Macho Fan, John Big Dawg Thompson and the Bone Lady.

RELATED: INTERVIEW – THE MACHO FAN

In 1953, head coach Paul Brown had his longtime equipment manager Leo Murphy paint a Brownie logo on the side of a helmet to gauge the look. Coach Brown took one glance at the finished helmet and dismissed it right away. After Murphy passed away, his children found that very same helmet in his basement at his home in Medina.

In 1965, owner Art Modell commissioned an artist to come up with a helmet logo to which an intertwining “CB” decal appeared on numerous collectibles and children’s toys, but was never actually used.

When Cleveland was re-entered into the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, Taco Bell offered five “dawg” bobbleheads for sale at selected restaurants. The six-inch tall collectibles set included the characters Trapper, TD, CD, Chomps and Crusher.

Vote for your field logo

You name the college or pro football team, and you will see a logo of some sort at midfield. Except at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

But now, the franchise has proclaimed that this year a logo will be painted on the 50-yard line. Which logo? Depends. Depends on the voting.

The team announced that a fan poll will decide which logo will appear plus the font displayed in each end zone.

“Browns fans always bring the energy needed to create an incredible homefield advantage at FirstEnergy Stadium. With all they do for us, we want to show our appreciation by giving them the ability to select one of four fantastic field designs for all home games this season,” said Browns Partner JW Johnson. “Everything we do throughout the year will be Browns fan-focused and this is simply one of many opportunities we have to get their direct feedback to accomplish that important goal.”

There are actually four midfield logos to choose from and two end zone fonts.

Two of the midfield logos are of Brownie the Elf. One is the posed Brownie holding a football whereas the other is the running back stiff arm Brownie. The other two are Browns helmets from different decades.

The end zone fonts are either white with orange outline or orange with white outline. All end zone fonts will also feature the American Football Conference “A” logo to the right of the font, and either a helmet or Brownie logo to the font’s left (whichever is not chosen for midfield). The NFL shield will be painted on each 25-yard line.

You can vote through the Browns Mobile App or click the below link to vote. Only one vote per person:

LINK: FAN POLL FOR 2022 STADIUM FIELD MARKINGS

The link gives the fan four options to choose from and displays the playing field in order to give a good view of what to expect. It is pretty easy to cast your vote.