Paul Brown Birthplace Committee unveils logo

May 17—NORWALK — Initial plans to commemorate Norwalk as the birthplace of a football coaching legend continue to progress forward.

Members of the Paul Brown Birthplace Committee met late last month to discuss the latest updates on the project. The committee put out a press release on Tuesday highlighting some of its recent progress.

The committee, formed in January, finalized a logo, zeroed in on a location on West Main Street in Norwalk, and talked over recent communication with Cincinnati Bengals President Mike Brown.

The late Paul Brown, born in Norwalk on Sept. 7, 1908, was one of the most successful and influential figures in the history of college and professional football.

The committee was formed to explore several potential ideas to recognize his ties to the city, which may include a statue and historical marker. An application for a historical marker was filed on April 29 with Ohio History Connection, formerly known as Ohio Historical Society, in Columbus.

The committee's logo that was unveiled on Tuesday features a silhouette of Brown in his signature fedora hat imposed over a maple-leaf outline with the texture of a football colored inside. The leaf represents Norwalk's nickname as "The Maple City" — a result of Main Street being lined with maple trees that were originally planted in the 1830s by city founder Platt Benedict.

The logo was designed by 2011 South Central graduate Taylor Wilhelm, director of creative media for University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team.

The group is also focusing on funding from grants and private donations. Future information and details can also be found at the committee's Facebook page at facebook.com/PaulBrownBirthplaceCommittee. The committee can also be reached by email at paulbrownbc@gmail.com.

"The committee continues to meet and is making great progress," Norwalk Mayor Dave Light said. "The committee offered a letter to Mike Brown and the Bengals. He wrote back to us, which was exciting. Things are looking very promising.

"We feel like we have a site for the statue, and it's moving along better than we ever anticipated," Light continued. "This will be a great project that will once again put the city on the map, and yet another reason to make Norwalk a destination place."

The son of Lester and Ida Brown, Paul and his sister, Marian, lived in Norwalk until relocating to Massillon when Paul was nine years old. He attended school in Norwalk and completed fifth grade at Benedict Elementary School.

In Norwalk, Brown and his family lived at 7 W. Elm Street. Paul Brown was born at home there, his birth certificate shows.

Widely regarded as the "father of modern football," Paul Brown became a star quarterback at Washington High in Massillon and Miami University.

He returned to his alma mater in 1932 to coach the Massillon Tigers, compiling an 80-8-2 record. While there, Brown developed the playbook, hand signals and sending in plays. Next at Ohio State, he coached the 1942 national champions. After World War II, Brown was hired in 1946 to coach the new Cleveland pro team that, by fans' votes, was named for him.

Brown promptly integrated his team with two of the first African-American players in pro football, Marion Motley and Bill Willis. The Browns won four AAFC championships before joining the NFL, then won three more league titles. With the Browns, he continued to innovate, bringing game-film study, practice squads, the face-mask and the quarterback draw play to the sport.

In 1967, Brown became part-owner and first coach of the new Cincinnati Bengals. In six seasons, the team went 48-36, winning two division championships. Brown was named Coach of the Year in 1957, 1969 and 1970, and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

After the 1975 season, Paul Brown stepped down as Bengals head coach but stayed on as team president until his death on Aug. 5, 1991.

When the NFL celebrated its 100th year in 2020, the league undertook a season-long countdown of the 100 greatest game-changers in the sport. Paul Brown was No. 1 on the list.

A possible location to honor Brown could be a small area on city property in front of Suhr Family Park on West Main Street. In January, a small strip of land to the right of the former fountain that also sits on city property near Berry's Restaurant at 15 W. Main St. was also discussed as a possible recognition site.

"We're progressive, but we're still keeping our tradition and history alive," Light said. "A good way to showcase our pride and history of our community is to recognize a big fan favorite in Paul Brown, and highlight his contributions to the game of football and where he is from."