Arthur B. Modell (born June 23, 1925, Brooklyn, New York) is a former National Football League team owner of the Cleveland Browns from 1961-1995 and the Baltimore Ravens from 1996-2004. is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... This article is about the state. ... NFL redirects here. ... Browns redirects here. ... City Baltimore, Maryland Team colors Purple, Black, and Gold Head Coach Brian Billick Owner Steve Bisciotti General manager Ozzie Newsome Mascot The Ravens: Edgar, Allan, & Poe League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1996–present) American Football Conference (1996-present) AFC Central (1996-2001) AFC North (2002-present) Team history Baltimore...

As Browns owner

During the 1940s and 1950s, he worked in advertising, public relations and television production in New York City. He purchased the Cleveland Browns in 1961 for $4 million, investing only $250,000 of his own money (he borrowed $2.7 million and found partners for the rest). New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Browns redirects here. ...

Unlike the Browns' previous owners, Modell immediately took an active role in the management of the team, and fired legendary coach Paul Brown on January 9, 1963. He did so partly because Brown mostly ignored his suggestions and partly because the Browns' players, especially star running back Jim Brown no longer wanted to play for Coach Brown due to his (Paul Brown's) allegedly autocratic managerial style. Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 - August 5, 1991) was an athletics coach of American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League. ... is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jim Brown (born February 17, 1936) is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor and social activist. ...

Modell quickly named Brown's assistant, Blanton Collier, as the new coach on January 16, 1963. The team's success continued under Collier, winning the 1964 championship and playing in three other title games through 1969. Blanton Long Collier (born July 2, 1906, Millersburg, Kentucky; died March 22, 1983, Houston, Texas) was an American football coach who led the University of Kentucky (1954-1961) and Cleveland Browns (1963-1970). ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. ... The National Football League has used several different formats to determine their league champions since its founding in 1920. ...

Using his background in advertising to market the team, Modell also showed a flair for promotions, with one popular innovation coming in 1962 being scheduling pro football preseason doubleheaders at Cleveland Stadium. In addition, Modell became active in NFL leadership, serving as NFL President and using his television connections to help negotiate the league's increasingly lucrative television contracts. Modell also was willing to provide his team as an opponent for both the first prime time Thanksgiving game in 1966 and the opening Monday Night Football broadcast in 1970. Cleveland Stadium under construction in 1931 Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and The Mistake By The Lake) was a baseball and American football stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. ... The television rights to broadcast National Football League (NFL) games are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any sport. ... The art of diplomacy, painted by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930). ... Monday Night Football (MNF) is a live television broadcast of the National Football League. ...

Modell took an active role in Cleveland community life and was a leading fundraiser for charities and various Republican Party candidates. He married TV soap opera star Patricia Breslin in 1969, having previously been a well known man about town. For many years he was able to disarm newspaper and TV reporters with his quick wit. For example, with regard to the NFL's innovative policy of sharing all network television revenue on an equal basis per team, so that the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants each got an equal slice of the revenue, he joked, "We're 26 Republicans who vote Socialist!" The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Packers redirects here. ... This article is about the current National Football League team. ...

However, that ingratiating manner did not always translate into smooth relationships with his employees. In 1967, five African American members of the Browns involved in a contract dispute refused to report to training camp. Modell eventually traded or released four of the players, with only standout running back Leroy Kelly staying. Kelly would go on to "play out his option" but the restrictive nature of free agency in the NFL at the time severely limited his options. An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Leroy Kelly, (born May 20, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pa. ...

Subsequent contract battles with defensive end Jack Gregory in 1971 and second-round draft pick Tom Skladany in 1977 only served to damage Modell's image among Cleveland fans. Feeling that the constant sellouts the team had enjoyed should be used to bolster the team, fan animosity manifested itself with anti-Modell stadium banners that were quickly removed by Cleveland Stadium management. Jack Morrison Gregory (August 14, 1895, North Sydney, New South Wales - August 7, 1973, Bega, New South Wales) was an Australian cricketer. ... Tom Skladany was a punter with a 6-year career in the NFL from 1978 to 1983. ...

As stadium landlord

Modell took control of Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1973, which had been owned by the City of Cleveland but had become too expensive for the city to operate or maintain. He worked out a deal with the city whereby his newly formed entity, dubbed Stadium Corp., would rent the stadium from the City for $1 per year, assume all operating and repair costs and would sublease the stadium to its two primary tenants, the Browns and the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland's franchise in the American League of Major League Baseball. Cleveland Stadium under construction in 1931 Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and The Mistake By The Lake) was a baseball and American football stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 21, 42, 455 Name Cleveland Indians (1915–present) Cleveland Naps (1905-1914) Cleveland Bronchos (1902-1904) Cleveland Blues (1901) Other nicknames The Tribe, The Wahoos Ballpark Jacobs Field (1994–present...

In so doing, Modell effectively became the landlord of the Indians. This was a good business decision even though the Indians were unsuccessful throughout the 1970s and 1980s and drew small crowds during this period, because the Browns were essentially paying rent to themselves and because Modell, by constructing luxury suites in the ballpark, generated large cash flows from the suite rentals which he did not share with the Indians. Modell later alleged that the suites were unsuccessful because he had borrowed the money for construction at the high interest rates that then prevailed, however, he has not accounted for why the revenue the suites generated wasn't used to pay down the debt. Luxury box or luxury suite is the North American term for a special seating section in arenas, stadiums and other sports venues. ...

Modell's Stadium Corporation also promoted very successful rock concerts at the stadium, including The World Series of Rock. These concerts drew large crowds that, unfortunately, damaged the baseball playing field. The World Series of Rock was a recurring day-long multi-act concert performed in Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Lake Erie, from 1974 through 1979. ...

Stadium Corp. and Modell were implicated in a lawsuit brought by Browns minority shareholder Robert Gries of Gries Sports Enterprises, who successfully alleged that Stadium Corp. manipulated the Browns' accounting records to help Stadium Corp. and Modell absorb a loss on real property that had been purchased in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville as a potential site for a new stadium. The lawsuit, Gries Sports Enterprises v. Cleveland Browns Football Co., 26 Ohio St. 3d 15 (1986), was a leading Ohio case concerning a corporate officer's fiduciary duty toward shareholders. Nickname: Crossroads of the Nation Location in Ohio Country United States State Ohio County Cuyahoga Township created 1818 Village created 1923 Incorporated 1961 Government type Mayor-council Mayor Thomas Perciak Area    - City 63. ...

By the 1990s, Modell was disturbed at what he saw as the financial distress of the Browns and the Stadium Corp., as recounted in detail in the book Fumble: The Browns, Modell, & the Move by Michael G. Poplar with James A. Toman (ISBN 0-936760-11-7) which was written by a Modell associate and longtime Browns employee. Less charitable portraits of Modell are contained in the books Glory for Sale: Inside the Browns' Move to Baltimore & the New NFL by Jon Morgan (ISBN 0-9631246-5-X) and Pay Dirt: the Business of Professional Team Sports by James Quirk and Rodney D. Fort (ISBN 0-691-01574-0).

Simultaneously with Modell's concerns, the Indians were dissatisfied with Modell's Stadium Corp. as their landlord. Modell did not share the suite revenues from baseball games with the Indians. Also, rock concerts damaged the playing field during baseball season, and Modell wouldn't spend any money to improve their clubhouse. As a result, the Indians alleged they could not attract high-quality free-agent players. Eventually the Indians prevailed upon the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to subsidize a new ballpark (which became known as Jacobs Field) for their exclusive use so that they could get out from under Modell's thumb. Jacobs Field (informally called The Jake) is a baseball stadium located in the middle of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. ...

In turn, Modell was dissatisfied with the Indians' new ballpark because Stadium Corp.'s suite rental renvenue decreased once Jacobs Field opened. Many suite customers switched their business from Cleveland Stadium's older suites to Jacobs Field's newer suites, especially because Modell's Stadium Corp. refused to decrease the annual rent for the suites even though the events for which the suites could be used decreased substantially (81 home games) with the loss of the Indians as a tenant.

Modell declined to become a tenant in Cleveland's new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, instead asking for improvements to Municipal Stadium. Because Modell's Stadium Corp. still controlled Municipal Stadium, it may have made more business sense for Modell to try to keep the Indians at Municipal, particularly as the baseball team began to show signs of improvement both on the playing field and at the box office. (The Indians went on to play in the World Series in 1995 and 1997, and sold out 455 straight games at Jacobs Field from 1995 until 2001.) The Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, located in Cleveland, Ohio, consists of Jacobs Field and Gund Arena. ... For other events named World Series, see World Series (disambiguation). ... Dates October 21, 1995–October 28, 1995 MVP Tom Glavine (Atlanta) Television network ABC Games 1, 4, and 5, NBC Games 2, 3, and 6 Announcers ABC: Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, and Tim McCarver NBC: Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, and Bob Uecker Umpires Harry Wendelstedt (NL), Joe Brinkman (AL), Bruce... Dates October 18, 1997 – October 26, 1997 MVP Liván Hernández (Florida) Television network NBC Announcers Bob Costas, Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker Umpires Ed Montague (NL), Dale Ford (AL), Joe West (NL), Greg Kosc (AL), Randy Marsh (NL), Ken Kaiser (AL) The 1997 World Series is regarded as...

Move to Baltimore

When the Indians and the City of Cleveland declined to abandon the Gateway Project and improve Municipal Stadium as Modell asked, Modell broke off negotiations with the City and County and decided, in secret, to move the team to Baltimore for the 1996 season. He was assisted in the move by Alfred Lerner, who would go on to become the owner of the new Cleveland Browns franchise in 1998. Modell's move returned the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the Colts left for Indianapolis after the 1983 season. Flag Seal Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more Motto: Get In On It (formerly The City That Reads and The Greatest City in America; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Location Location of Baltimore in Maryland Coordinates , Government Country State County United... The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League. ... Al Lerner (May 8, 1933—October 23, 2002) was the chairman of MBNA Bank. ... City Indianapolis, Indiana Other nicknames The Horseshoes Team colors Speed Blue and White Head Coach Tony Dungy Owner Jim Irsay General manager Bill Polian Mascot Blue League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1953–present) Western Conference (1953-1969) Coastal Division (1967-1969) American Football Conference (1970-present) AFC East (1970... The Indianapolis skyline Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana. ... The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. ...

The reaction in Cleveland was, not surprisingly, very hostile. Modell had promised numerous times never to move the team. The Brooklyn native mentioned numerous times how saddened and betrayed he and other Brooklynites had felt when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1957, he had publicly criticized the Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis and he had testified in favor of the NFL in court cases where the league unsuccessfully tried to stop Al Davis from moving the Oakland Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. The City of Cleveland sued Modell, the Browns, and Stadium Corp. for breach of the Browns' lease, which required the Browns to exclusively use Cleveland Stadium for their home games for several seasons after 1995. Surprisingly for Modell, many Baltimore fans sympathized with Clevelanders' outrage. Baltimore was still smarting from Colts owner Robert Irsay's behavior in the run-up to the Colts' move a decade earlier, culminating in the team being literally sneaked out of town in the middle of the night in late March 1984. Many people in Baltimore felt Irsay had stolen Baltimore's football history as well. They felt that Modell would be doing the same thing to Cleveland if he went with his initial plan to call his team the "Baltimore Browns." The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team that played from 1890-1957. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... City Indianapolis, Indiana Other nicknames The Horseshoes Team colors Speed Blue and White Head Coach Tony Dungy Owner Jim Irsay General manager Bill Polian Mascot Blue League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1953–present) Western Conference (1953-1969) Coastal Division (1967-1969) American Football Conference (1970-present) AFC East (1970... For other persons named Al Davis, see Al Davis (disambiguation). ... City Oakland, California Other nicknames The Silver and Black Team colors Silver and Black Head Coach Lane Kiffin Owner Al Davis General manager Al Davis League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960–1969) Western Division (1960–1969) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference (1970–present) AFC West (1970... Robert Irsay. ...

Eventually, the NFL, Modell and the two cities worked out a deal. The Browns' franchise would be placed on inactive status for three years. Modell had to leave behind the Browns' name, colors and heritage (including team records) for a replacement franchise, in the form of either a new team or another relocated franchise. In return, Modell would be allowed to take his players and organization to Baltimore as the Ravens. Cleveland received a loan from the NFL for a new stadium. The Browns were resurrected in 1999. Many sportswriters and commentators in and outside of Cleveland reviled him, saying the honorable course would have been to sell the team to local interests. It is widely believed that the acrimony from the move has kept Modell out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (he was an also-ran in the 2006 voting). To this day, he is considered to be the most hated man in Cleveland and has not returned to the city since 1996. For example, when his longtime friend, Browns kicking legend Lou "The Toe" Groza, died in 2000, Modell didn't feel safe attending the funeral. City Baltimore, Maryland Team colors Purple, Black, and Gold Head Coach Brian Billick Owner Steve Bisciotti General manager Ozzie Newsome Mascot The Ravens: Edgar, Allan, & Poe League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1996–present) American Football Conference (1996-present) AFC Central (1996-2001) AFC North (2002-present) Team history Baltimore... The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football placekicker who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

In an ironic twist, many Baltimore fans--including several prominent old-time Colts players who live in the area--consider the Ravens to be the successors of the Baltimore Colts. Johnny Unitas and other former Colts were so upset at the way Irsay treated Baltimore that they cut all ties to the relocated Colts team. John Constantine Johnny Unitas (May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002), nicknamed The Golden Arm, was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s. ...

Soon after Modell moved to Baltimore he sold a minority interest to Maryland businessman Steve Bisciotti. After owning an NFL team for 44 seasons, Modell sold controlling interest of the team to Bisciotti in 2003, citing ill health. However, Bisciotti had the option to buy the team at that point after becoming a minority owner in 1999. Modell retains a 1% share and has an office at the Ravens headquarters in Owings Mills, Maryland. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. ...

He retained an interest as a legal maneuver to avoid a claim by the Andrews trust, which was controlled by family of a former business adviser who sought to collect an estimated $30 million finder's fee upon Modell's sale of the team to Bisciotti. The Andrews trust essentially claimed that under a 1963 agreement Modell owed a finder's fee for his original purchase of the team which was to be paid when Modell sold his entire interest. In July 2005, Modell prevailed in court and defeated the claim. [1]

Modell's father George and the founder of the Modell's chain of sporting goods stores, Henry Modell, were brothers.[2] Modells (full name Modells Sporting Goods) is a sporting goods retailer with various locations in the Northeast United States. ...

External links

• Baltimore Business Journal article following sale