Vin Scully once guided novice Jim Brown through Browns national TV broadcast in Cleveland

Aug. 3—The confluence is something, even 45 years later.

One fall Sunday afternoon, arguably the greatest of all time in sports broadcasting shepherded a novice through a game broadcast — and the novice happened to be arguably the GOAT at the sport he was calling.

Yet there it was that day emanating from the old Municipal Stadium, a 1977 Browns game against the Rams with Vin Scully and Jim Brown on the call for CBS.

On the sad occasion of Scully's death Aug. 2 at the age of 94, breaking the hearts of Southern California and sports fans the world over, now is a good time to acknowledge that random broadcast that brought Scully on a venture through Cleveland.

Circumstances for Scully to be in Northeast Ohio in his broadcasting capacity were rare, but not without at least one precedent.

As the voice of the Dodgers, and without regular-season interleague play in that era, the only instances that would have brought Scully to town before this 1977 Browns game for baseball had to be the World Series or the All-Star Game.

Although Scully was on the mic for the Fall Classic in 1953 and 1955 alongside Mel Allen, he did not announce the Indians' World Series appearance against the Giants in 1954 — Russ Hodges and Jack Brickhouse were in the booth for NBC that year.

The All-Star Game was in Cleveland in 1954 and 1963, both aired by NBC. Allen and Gene Kelly called the 1954 game, but Scully had the 1963 honors with Joe Garagiola.

Scully did not call Major League Baseball for a national TV network in a "game of the week" format until his memorable 1980s stint as the lead voice for NBC.

In 1977, Scully was in his third season as an NFL broadcaster for CBS. In those days, NBC had the primary AFC package, while CBS carried the NFC. According to gridiron-uniforms.com, which has a game-by-game TV announcer assignment database in addition to its uniform collection, the Browns were on CBS three times in 1975 and once in 1976.

Scully wasn't on the call for any of those games, and the lone Browns game to which CBS had the rights in 1977 was the Week 11 encounter with the Rams. He shared the booth with Hank Stram in 1975, Paul Hornung in 1976 and a rotation in 1977, mostly with Alex Hawkins but also with Sonny Jurgensen and Johnny Morris.

So by process of elimination, for only the second time and first in 14 years, Scully led a live national sports broadcast from Cleveland on Nov. 27, 1977.

By his side was Brown, who was assigned three games in his first season as a game analyst for CBS. This Browns-Rams game was his second, the maiden voyage coming two weeks earlier with veteran play-by-play man Lindsey Nelson for a Rams-Packers clash in Milwaukee.

According to a Plain Dealer article published Nov. 28, 1977, Brown deferred to Scully as far as how to navigate the Browns-Rams broadcast.

On an afternoon with temperatures in the 20s, Brown turned to Scully and noted, "Darn, it's cold today."

"Wait," Scully responded. "It's just starting. We'll be frozen by the time the game's over."

After practicing their pregame introduction three times, a familiar face leaned over from the next loge.

"Jim, it's a pleasure to have you back," Art Modell said, per the PD article. "It's like old days."

"Thank you, Art," Brown responded. "Good to be back."

Brown later told the PD he couldn't remember the last time he was in Cleveland. Of course, Brown famously retired following the 1965 season when he was only 29 after 12,312 yards and 106 TDs on the ground, three NFL MVPs, an easy path to the Hall of Fame and regarded as possibly the best player the NFL had ever known.

When asked if the game assignment brought back any nostalgia from his playing days, Brown answered in the negative.

"No," he said. "It's just hard for me to imagine that I was ever out there. I have more admiration for the players now than I ever did. That cold, that pressure."

Shortly before 1 p.m., that cold and pressure kicked in as Scully and Brown began their work.

That CBS broadcast has existed in various forms on YouTube, both in one video and in multiple parts.

"I'm with one of the greats of the game in Jim Brown," Scully says to open the broadcast, with noted emphasis on his partner's name.

"And Jim, it's 25 degrees, and they say a snowstorm is prospect. It'll put a lot of pressure on the running backs."

Brown explained how, on a cold day, the way running backs gripped the football, trying to limit turnovers, was paramount. He praised Browns running back Greg Pruitt and Rams counterpart Lawrence McCutcheon.

On a light note, as kickoff neared, Scully asked Brown about when he last played in Cleveland.

"I'm sure our viewers are not interested in anything that happened in 1965," Brown quipped with a laugh.

Scully's call was his usual signature mix of charm, impressive storytelling and minimalist approach that made him a legend, one that continued to grow for nearly 40 years of his career that followed.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, the game lacked excitement and was a defensive struggle.

The Browns mustered 209 yards, using two quarterbacks (Dave Mays and Terry Luck) and getting a combined 89 yards on 20 carries from Pruitt and Cleo Miller.

The Rams weren't much better, getting 104 yards on the ground from McCutcheon and a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter from John Cappelletti and an 18-yard chip-shot field goal from Rafael Septien in the second to account for all the scoring in a forgettable 9-0 win.

In the third quarter, Scully delivered smooth reads coming out of commercial breaks for an upcoming Johnny Cash Christmas special and a World's Strongest Man competition, then weaved back into an ugly game. Mays threw an interception, and an underthrown one at that under duress. That led to classic Scully:

"So on a heavy rush, David Mays throws it away," Scully said, as boos cascaded from Browns fans. "And the wolves are baying at David Mays."

Brown's nervousness is evident throughout, but so was Scully's seamless ability to weave Brown's football knowledge into the broadcast and make him feel more comfortable with an array of table setters.

"Forrest Gregg talking to Thom Darden," Scully said as the game wound down to the two-minute warning. "But that's not the problem. The defense hasn't done that badly at all."

"In fact," Brown adds, "the defense has done a great job, because they've made the big plays. Nine points, what can you say?"

"And if anything," Scully responds, "Gregg is sorry his defensive team has spent so much time on the field. Aren't you glad you didn't play defense?"

"I'm really glad I didn't play defense," Brown said.

Forrest Gregg was fired with one game left in the 1977 campaign and replaced by defensive coordinator Dick Modzelewski as the Browns went 6-8. The Rams went 10-4 in the regular season, but were ousted in their playoff opener by the Vikings.

Brown was part of a three-man booth with Scully and George Allen for the 1978 NFL season, including another game against the Rams in Cleveland. But the pairing did not go well and Brown was fired by CBS thereafter, ending his brief TV analyst career.

Scully called NFL games on CBS through 1982. In addition to the two aforementioned Rams games, he graced the mic alongside John Madden in 1981 at Municipal Stadium as the Browns hosted the Falcons in Week 4.

Prior to his 2016 retirement, he returned to Cleveland for a pair of Indians games on NBC's Saturday MLB "game of the week" package, one each in 1987 and 1988 against the Yankees and Athletics, respectively, and broadcast the 1981 MLB All-Star game for CBS Radio. Through interleague play, the Indians visited Los Angeles to play the Dodgers in 2008 and 2014 and hosted them in 2003.

And on one memorable day in 1977, two GOATs converged.

The confluence is something, even 45 years later as Scully's death is mourned across the sports spectrum.