First, let us know what you are up to since your time in the NFL?
Well, as you may know, I’m an NFL inspector. I’ve been doing that for 20 years now. I have full access to the stadiums and am doing what I need to do to protect the NFL sponsorships when players wear unapproved clothing.
How do you draw the line when players want to wear clothing to represent and give money to a specific cause?
Well, players know if they are braking the rules. If you have to ask you know you are probably over the line. Frankly, back in the day it wasn’t about making a fashion statement. If a guy gets fined the money goes to the NFL and they choose where it goes – so they don’t get to choose then either!
When you arrived to the Browns from the CFL, were you aware of how intense the Steelers-Browns rivalry was?
When I first came down to the Browns from the CFL I had no idea how fierce the rivalry was. The fans on both ends were brutal – I wouldn’t let my family go to the games – and if they did I wouldn’t let them wear the team’s colors. I played six seasons with the Browns and we won most of those games. My first season we broke that Three Rivers jinx. We dominated those 80’s season against the Steelers. Then they took off again in the 2000’s.
What made you so dominant in the 80’s?
I just think it was personnel. Schottenheimer took over for Rutligliano and the identity of the team changed, We got guys from three different leagues – we drafted guys, got guys like me from the CFL, drafted Bernie in the supplemental draft then got guys like Minnifield, Mike Johnson and Fike from the USFL.
Like now – they have great talent on the team now – but back then it was all seasoned talent. They had all played for a while in the CFL and USFL – they were experienced. This Browns team is talented but they are all very young. Even the head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators are new. When we played we played in all of the preseason games but not these guys, So they need time to gel. It’ll take time I think. We’ll see the difference then.
Who were some of the guys you liked facing in Pittsburgh?
Lipps was the main guy. I know they had Abercrombie there at running back and Stallworth was in his last year in my first year in Cleveland. There was a definite talent swing there.
It’s funny – I ran into Alonzo Highsmith in Cleveland and he told me he was watching film and said I was dirty then! I just told him that’s how we had to do it then – I had to come down and hit guys! That’s how we played!
In Cincinnati we’d knock Collinsworth out of games. That’s how we played.
Lipps– he was the man then in Pittsburgh. I liked him. He was a god guy – Minnifield and Hanford Dixon respected him too.
Any other Steelers you remember going up against?
Lipps really was the guy. It’s funny – I used to work with Cliff Stoudt a while back n the banking industry. I told him the Browns players always got free tickets to games if we were in the city. The Steelers didn’t do that for their alumni – he was shocked to heat the Browns did that.
Any fun memories of those Steelers-Browns games?
I remember Webster Slaughter used to sneak in at night and paint all of our shoes orange before those games.
And beating the Steelers 51-0 – that game always stays with me,. I just remember joking around the entire game – laughing all day. We played so well that game – I had two interceptions for touchdowns. I think our defense scored as many points as our offense.
What made you guys play so well that day?
We had a new coach – Bud Carson came in and switched things up. He just came out much more aggressive and I think that caught the Steelers by surprise. That was the year I led the league in interceptions.
Any other thoughts on what made that Steelers rivalry special for you?
It was just always so intense – even more than the Denver rivalry we had then. It was just so intense. I wasn’t prepared at first for just how intense it was. We just had to beat them. I have no idea why we hated them as much as we did, but we hated them. We just felt like we had to beat them.
It was a dream of mine to play professional football and I achieved my dream. It all worked out in the end. I am happy I could play for the Browns. I had some good experiences with the Chiefs and Vikings, but I’m glad to be most known for my play with the Browns.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
