Dodgers Interested In Cliff Lee
June 25, 2009No Bye Week for Buckeyes
June 25, 2009Shaq is coming to town. He’s a pretty popular guy. I was inspired by the trade and our friends at the Ghosts of Wayne Fontes. The idea here is the most beloved Cleveland sports athletes of my time. Figure a starting point of 1980. (I was 8, and really that is about the earliest I remember following the scene closely.) These are not my favorites, just the ones that I think the city embraced the most. Hence the most beloved. So here we go-
1. Bernie Kosar– If LeBron James signed a 6 year contract extension tomorrow he could leap-frog Bernie I believe. But Bernie was the real deal. He wanted to play quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. It was his dream. He wasn’t a very graceful player, and he had terrible mechanics, but he was one of us. Much of that has come to light in the last few weeks with the attention he has gotten over his finances. Make no mistake- during the mid to late ’80s Cleveland was Bernie’s town. Songs were written. Boys were named for him. When he was unceremoniously dumped mid-season it cemented his place in our hearts. He never wanted to leave. He was run out of town by his coach.
2. LeBron James– Simply put the most talented athlete ever to wear Cleveland across his chest. The local boy turned a franchise around, and has the city closer to a title than ever before. Certainly there are some still trying to keep their distance from LeBron however, fearing heartbreak if he chooses to play elsewhere in 2010.
3. Omar Vizquel– His Tribe debut was an anomaly. He made three errors. From then on it seemed he never made another one. Omar made plays that we may never see again. And he made them look easy. Perhaps it was the playful toss to the pitcher while grinning from ear to ear after catches a pop-up in shallow left field with his back to the batter. Omar grabbed our attention with his defense, but was a pretty clutch hitter as well. The rock through the Tribe’s Jacob’s Field heyday, Omar received one of the most touching ovations I’ve ever seen when he returned to Cleveland as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
4. Ozzie Newsome– The Wizard is one of the top 10 Tight Ends in NFL history and a member of the Hall of Fame for his performances in the Orange and Brown. The three time pro-bowler was known for his consistency, catching at least one ball in 150 straight games. He played through pain and injury and was our iron-man.
5. Mark Price– Man, could he shoot. Automatic from the free throw line, and deadly behind the arc Mark ran the point for the Cavs during their most successful stretch pre-LeBron. Price was a 4 time all star, but couldn’t escape the shadow of Isaiah Thomas in the Eastern Conference. Mark wasn’t afraid to take the big shot, or to drive the lane and get to the free throw line.
6. Sandy Alomar– Sandy was the first piece of the rebuilding puzzle for the Indians. He won the rookie of the year award in 1990, and was a steady presence for the Tribe while young stars like Baerga, Belle, Thome and Ramirez settled in. His 1997 season is one for the Cleveland sports history books. If you were fortunate enough to be at the Jake for the all-star game that season you will surely never forget his home run to win the game for the A.L.
7. Clay Mathews– Consistency over time. #57 played for 15 years for the Browns at Linebacker. He played with everyone from Brian Sipe to Hanford Dixon to Tommy Vardell and Michael Jackson. Humble and fearless, Mathews always stuck his head in and made big plays. He wasn’t the biggest or strongest guy on the team, but he made 4 pro bowls. It seemed the Browns were always drafting his replacement, but he survived them all.
8. Kenny Lofton– The table setter. Kenny was Willie Mays-Hayes. He was exciting. Whenever he got on base you knew he could swipe a base. He was Rickey Henderson without the cocky attitude. He could have finished much higher on this list had he played his whole career here.
9. Doug Dieken– Dieken makes the cut here despite playing the majority of his career in the ’70s. A stabilizing force on the offensive line, Doug used every means necessary to win his individual assignment, even if that meant the occasional holding. He started 194 consecutive games. That’s mighty impressive for a lineman. He maintained his popularity by calling Browns games over the years.
10. Tie between Brad Daugherty and Eric Metcalf– Call it a copout if you want. No question Metcalf was the more popular athlete during his prime, but became the butt of jokes because of Bill Belichick’s stubborn habit of running him straight up the middle and into the teeth of the defense. (I’m sure it wasn’t Eric’s idea.) Daugherty was kind of quiet, but very efficient. He was the best passing center of his time, and could score in the low post. He was a big part of those Cavalier teams that just couldn’t get a big win against the Bulls and Jordan.
So that’s the list. I’m sure you will debate them. You will probably even be right on a couple. Here are a few guys that I give an honorable mention to- Josh Cribbs, Matt Bahr, Larry Nance, Carlos Baerga and Charles Nagy. These guys were absolute locks until they bolted town for bigger deals- Brian Sipe, Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez. Throw in Sabathia, and Earnest Byner. Byner not because of money, but because of, well you know.
90 Comments
Whoever leads a Cleveland team to a championship first will leapfrog everyone to #1.
Allthough whenever someone challenges Cleveland and reminds us that 1964 was our last title… my buddy reminds them of the Cleveland Crunch winning the indoor soccer championship in 1997.
Needs more Otto Orf!!!!
Indeed Kevin, that #1 spot is available.
is Brady Quinn on this list 5 years from now?
Hector Marinaro, baby!
Yikes. Kenny Lofton, “beloved”? More than Manny, or Thome? Who would win the jersey count in the stands in those days? Eric Metcalf – more than “Ice Cube” McNeil or even Brian Brennan or Webster Slaughter? Re Dieken, I think you are mentioning him because of his announcing. He was known for longevity and cute quotes in the papers, but so were a lot of guys in the Sam Rutiglaino/Marty era.
How about Kai Haskavii or Hector Marinaro?
I don’t think Ozzie should be on this list because of his current job.
Where is Rick Vaughn?
My own personal list:
1. LeBron
2. Omar
3. Bernie
4. Price
5. Nagy
6. Z
7. Delonte
8. Sandy Alomar
9. K2
10. Matthews
@ Harv- have you been to see the Indians when they play Ramirez or Thome lately? Those boos you hear aren’t shouts of love.
NO CRAIG EHLO?!?!?!?! Blasphemy. Pure and utter blasphemy . . .
yeah…we know.
great list rick. i’d have to say that while i wouldn’t put thome in the top 10, i would hold him in much higher esteem then sipe, belle, and manny… thome was a good ‘ol boy who married a local and still has a house here (not to mention still visits a lot). through philly and chicago, he’s still kept cleveland as his “second home.” (extra points for NOT chasing away trick-or-treaters)
@ Boom- I definitely thought about dropping Ozzie lower because of his post in Baltimore, but I think people understand that he didn’t have much choice about playing in Baltimore. The team moved there and he was under contract. As for becoming an executive, Modell was willing to give him a chance and I don’t think many teams were beating down his door.
Thanks Mendy. It’s nice to have someone think I’m doing a good job on the site today!
For me, Ozzie suffers for moving to Baltimore, but I understand his career-move needs.
I’m a little older than you so I might add Greg Pruitt, who put a national face on the Browns by doing so well ABC’s The Superstars. Gaylord Perry, for being the only reason to watch the Indians when I was a kid. And Bingo Smith, for having the name Bingo. Don’t think that didn’t help Joe Tait. i can’t forget Brian Sipe’s MVP award either.
At Josh – I just laughed for a solid 3 minutes at BQ being on the list. It’s most beloved, not most inexplicably worshipped.
Jim Brown?
Great list.
What about hated list now?
@ Mark – even though Rick is old, I don’t think he’s THAT old. He did say “in his lifetime”, which he pegged as essentially starting in 1980 in terms of fandom.
Sorry missed the part about the list being from your time.
The point i was trying to make was, in 5 years will he have a career as a Brown’s starting QB with enough success to be on this list?
Great list. I’d put Nagy in there somewhere and dump Daughtery-Metcalf.
Kenny Lofton definitely belongs on the list. Does everyone forget how crazy the bandwagon Cleveland fans went when he came back in 2007 and played well on our run to the ALCS?
This town LOVES Lofton.
Nice job on the list Rick.
yeah- no Jim Brown? Really?
Wow… I’m a child of the 80’s and all, but you can’t make a list of all-time embraced athletes in Cleveland and black out pre-1980 athletes.
Go to your nearest bookstore and buy “When All the World was Brown’s Town” and read it before posting… anything.
Most hated list would be fun.
What about Grady? The ladies sure love him.
Jim Thome?
I agree with 1 and 2. As soon as Lebron signs that extension, he becomes number 1.
Can I place my most hated vote for Andre Rison now?
@ Dave- I own the book. Reviewed it for this site actually. Starting here- https://waitingfornextyear.com/?p=1583
But i don’t think just because I read that and other books that I know which athletes were and weren’t beloved. That is the kind of thing you have to live through.
How about some love for Big Z? He may have never been the most explosive player on the court or most charismatic guy off of it, but hes been a fan favorite in Cleveland for over a decade. And you’ve gotta love the guys that start and finish their careers in Cleveland.
I think Z should be pretty high on the list…we watched him get drafted (seemingly out of nowhere), get hurt over and over again, just when we thought his career would never take off, we saw him grow into an awesome player who contributes as much as he can every year.
@ The Other Tim- Sipe left us for the USFL. Sorry, but that isn’t much better than what Thome or Ramirez did.
LeBron
Bernie
Price
Omar
Thome
Ozzie
Sandy
Big Z
Metcalf
Ehlo!
@ Scotty and Josh- Yeah, I could see Z on the list. He would probably be on my personal list, but I didn’t think that the town really has ever felt connected to Z.
Agree with #17 – wondering why you left off Jim Brown? Hell, the only Browns jersey I currently own is a #32 with BROWN across the back…….
Sigh. I mean, I even put it in bold type.
“The idea here is the most beloved Cleveland sports athletes of my time. Figure a starting point of 1980. “
Ben Gay was pretty popular….
Great list. Love it!
Give him a break, we love Cleveland – which means we could argue with his list all day.
I think its a solid list.
Leaving Jim Brown off is tough, but hell nobody was alive then
Leroy Kelly
Sam McDowell
Bingo Smith
Brian Sipe
Bernie Kosar
Dixon & Minnifield
Lebron James
Jim Thome
Mark Price
Omar Vizquel
“He was Rickey Henderson without the cocky attitude.”
man, Henderson must have been a prick to make Lofton seem humble. The bat flip after a walk would have pissed me off if i wasn’t a tribe fan.
Can you do a 10 most hated Cleveland athlete as well?
@ kevin- actually, yes.
Chuck Nagy…If Renteria wouldn’t have hit that ball!
Nagy is a tough omission. I agree. Could have gone Dennis Martinez too, but he was only around for those few years.
1) Bernie
2) Brian
3) Lebron
4) Mark
5) Kenny
6) Ozzie
7) Omar
8 ) Criag
9) Brad
10)Frank and Hanford
dang emoticons lol
8 ) Craig
I may get crucified for this, and it is totally unwarranted in terms of production, but every time I go home, I swear I see more Brady Quinn jerseys than any other Browns jersey aside from maybe Kosar back in his heyday. If we are talking strictly popular athletes, he might be in the mix for this list.
@ #48 the QB for the Browns will always sell a number of jerseys. Quinn is such a strange case because of his popularity with the women. He has the potential to rocket up the list by having a few productive seasons.
Football: Brian Brennan
Baseball: Lofton
Basketball: Mark Price
I am stunned that anyone would question the inclusion of Kenny.