Organized football has been a part of Massillon’s history since 1891, its early football culture was not much different from what could be found at other small midwestern towns. That all changed in 1932 when Paul Brown returned home to coach the Massillon High School Tigers. Although he was hired primarily to coach football, he also taught English and history. He always thought of himself, first and foremost, as a teacher, using teaching methods to coach football. He would use the chalkboard to diagram plays and explain the logic behind them. Players were given intelligence tests, and also had to maintain playbooks. Brown used game film to analyze the team’s performance and individually grade his players. He was the first coach to call plays from the sidelines. He thought timing the 40-yard dash, rather than the 100-yard dash, a better method of measuring speed in the game of football.
Paul Brown’s innovations in coaching changed the way football is coached and played today. He is truly the “Father of Modern Football”. In his nine years as coach of the Massillon Tigers, his record was 80 wins, 8 losses, and 2 ties, for an amazing winning percentage of .909. He lost but one of his last sixty games at Massillon. His teams won six consecutive State Championships and four National Championships.
For more information about Paul Brown and the Massillon Tigers, visit the Paul Brown Museum located inside the Massillon Museum, where admission is always free.
