Ryan, a three-time Pro Bowler who twice led the league in touchdown passes, threw a trio of TDs to Gary Collins in the 1964 title game against the Baltimore Colts.
CLEVELAND — Frank Ryan, who helped lead the Browns to their most recent NFL championship during his time as one of the greatest quarterbacks in team history, has died at the age of 87.
According to the Associated Press, Ryan passed away Monday at a nursing home in Connecticut. No official cause of death was given.
A three-time Pro Bowler who twice led the league in touchdown passes, Ryan’s exploits made him a hero not just on the football field but in the world of academia, where he was a renowned mathematician who even attempted to apply his knowledge of statistics to the game he loved. Both of those vocations would leave a lasting impression on Cleveland, the place he called home for the majority of his 13-year playing career.
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Ryan stayed close to home to play at Rice University, where his athletic career was unassuming, at best. That didn’t stop the Los Angeles Rams from selecting him in the fifth round of the 1958 NFL Draft, and with his sights already set on higher education, he decided to multi-task and join the team while also continuing his studies.
Ryan made just 11 starts across four seasons in LA before his big break came in 1962, as he arrived in Cleveland following the Browns’ controversial trade of All-Pro QB Milt Plum. Originally the backup behind Jim Ninowski, he would up starting the last seven games and showed enough promise that new head coach Blanton Collier stuck with him the next year following the firing of Paul Brown. Under Collier’s guidance, the passing offense took off, and Ryan would thrive because of it.
A breakout 1963 campaign paved the way for the glory that was 1964, when Ryan would throw for 2,404 yards and a league-best 25 touchdowns as Cleveland took the Eastern Division with a 10-3-1 record. It would all culminate in the NFL Championship Game on Dec. 27 against the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, and the events of that day at old Municipal Stadium are still seared in the memories of all who witnessed it.
On a team that featured Hall of Fame playmakers like Jim Brown and Paul Warfield, it was Ryan and Gary Collins who stole the show, connecting for three scoring passes as the Browns rolled over the Colts 27-0. Though Collins was named the game’s MVP, Ryan threw for an impressive 206 yards and posted a 117.1 passer rating, becoming the only Cleveland quarterback not named Otto Graham to win a league title as a starter. Nearly 60 years later, no one else in franchise lore has joined those two.
This story will be updated.