Paul Eugene Brown was born on September 7, 1908, to Lester and Ida Belle Brown at their home at 7 West Elm Street in Norwalk. He attended Benedict elementary until his family moved to Massillon, where his football career began. Though small, he became a successful quarterback at Massillon’s Washington High School and at Miami University in Oxford. In 1932, he returned to Massillon as head coach and compiled an 80-8-2 record while introducing ideas that later became commonplace in football, including the playbook, hand signals, and sending in plays. Ohio State University hired him in 1941, and he coached the Buckeyes to their National Championship in 1942. After World War II, he agreed in 1945 to coach Cleveland’s new professional team, which fans named the Browns despite his objections. In 1946, he integrated his Cleveland team with two of the first African American players in professional football, Marion Motley and Bill Willis. The Browns won four AAFC championships before joining the NFL, then won three NFL titles. He continued to innovate football by introducing game film study, practice squads, face masks, and the draw play. In 1967, Brown became part-owner and coach of the new Cincinnati Bengals. In his six NFL seasons there, the team went 48-36-0 and won two division championships. After receiving numerous coaching awards, Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967. Although he retired as coach after the 1975 season, he remained general manager of the Bengals until his death on August 5, 1991.