CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A few days ago, I received an email with the heading JOHN MORROW.

To Browns fans of a certain age, the name was familiar.

1964.

That's right, the 1964 Cleveland Browns. The last Browns championship team.



John Melville Morrow was not among the names that first comes to mind on that team. But he was the starting center, a two-time Pro Bowl player.

The email came from his nephew, Jordan Morrow. His uncle had died on October 21 at the age of 84 from heart disease.

It seems very few people knew about it.

I called Jordan, who is an attorney in Savannah, Ga. He had read my book on the championship team ... BROWNS TOWN, 1964.

"I thought you'd like to know about what happened to my uncle," he said.

Jordan said it was a tough time for his family. Morrow's wife had "died 12 days before my uncle. They both had a lot of health problems."

John and Gail Morrow were married for 61 years.

"My uncle was a good guy, a humorous guy," said Jordan. "My father (Gordon) and my uncle grew up in Ann Arbor, right by the stadium."

I asked him to tell some stories.

"During the Michigan football games, they used to park cars on their front lawn to make some extra money," he said. "They cleaned the Michigan ice rink. They did a lot of jobs like that to make money."

The Morrow brothers both played for Michigan.

DRAFTED NUMBER 336

"My uncle was a 28th-round pick, can you believe that?" asked Jordan.

I looked it up.

Jordan was right ... in the 28th round, the Los Angeles Rams picked John Morrow ... center from Michigan ... the 336th selection overall.

This was in the era of 12 NFL teams.

John Morrow had started only seven in games in two seasons for Michigan.

The NFL draft was 30 rounds in 1956.

Of the 30 players drafted by the Rams, guess who had the longest and best pro career?

John Melville Morrow, who played nine seasons and 125 NFL games.

Morrow was traded to the Browns before the 1960 season. Coach Paul Brown traded Art Hunter (a Pro Bowl center in 1959) to the Rams for Morrow.

"My uncle said Paul Brown traded for him because he could run and get out and block for Jim Brown on the sweeps," said Jordan.

GROZA'S ROOMIE

When I interviewed Morrow for my 1964 Browns book, he loved talking about Lou Groza.

"Lou was the Browns to me," he said. "I was assigned to be his roommate. I showed up at Hiram College for training camp. The dorm were so small. It was sticky hot in August. One bed was by the window. I took it."

Morrow left his bags on the bed, and went out of the room. When he returned, Groza was standing by the bed, staring hard at Morrow as he came through the door.

"He wanted to know who the hell I was and what was I doing with his bed," said Morrow. "It was the only time we ever had a disagreement."

Morrow told me stories about Groza grilling steaks after practices in Hiram.

"Then we'd go for a ride in the countryside," he said. "I had an Olds 98 convertible. We'd light up a couple of good cigars. It was a great time."

And a simpler time.

AFTER FOOTBALL

"My uncle worked for the Menasha Paper Company in Wisconsin," said Jordan. "He lived in Sherwood, near Appleton."

Morrow told me a story about negotiating a contract with Paul Brown not long after he was traded to Cleveland.

They agreed on a salary and then Brown said, "You know that also includes the preseason."

Morrow nodded.

After he left the office, he realized, "Paul had just talked me out of the extra $500 we were supposed to get for the preseason."

Football players of that era knew playing the game for money was just a way of postponing having to "get a real job" when football ended.

Like most members of the Browns back then, Morrow had off-season jobs.

I close my eyes and think about the offensive line:

Dick Schafrath and Monte Clark at the tackles.

John Wooten and the late Gene Hickerson at the guards.

And John Morrow ... at center.

John Morrow ... RIP.