Dick Modzelewski obit

Dick Modzelewski, Key Lineman in a Vaunted Giants Defense, Dies at 87

 

He was not on the list.

Dick Modzelewski, a star defensive tackle who appeared in eight NFL title games with the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns during the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 87.

He died Friday at his home in Eastlake, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, the Giants said in a statement Saturday. No cause was given.

Modzelewski spent 14 years in the NFL, eight with the Giants that included six title games. He teamed with Andy Robustelli, Rosey Grier and Jim Katcavage on one of the great defensive lines.

Modzelewski also appeared in two championship games with the Browns. He joined the NFL with Washington in 1953 and also played for Pittsburgh, never missing a game in his career.

He coached in the NFL for 22 years, including the 1978 season as the Giants' defensive coordinator.

Modzelewski was an All-American in 1951 and '52 at Maryland and won the Outland Trophy in 1952 as the nation's best lineman. It resulted in an invitation to the White House, where he had lunch with President Dwight Eisenhower. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Redskins drafted Modzelewski in the second round. He played two seasons there before his trade to the Steelers. Modzelewski was briefly reunited with his brother Ed, a fullback.

After one year in Pittsburgh, Modzelewski was traded again, this time twice in less than a week. The Steelers dealt him to the Detroit Lions, who three days later sent him to the Giants for another defensive tackle, Ray Krouse, a former Maryland teammate.

Modzelewski was traded to the Browns in 1964 for wide receiver Bobby Crespino. He was expected to be a backup but became a starter when Frank Parker was injured. Cleveland played in the championship game in each of Modzelewski's first two seasons, beating Baltimore in 1964 and then losing to Green Bay.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy Jane, and four children.

A funeral is set for Oct. 26 in Mentor, Ohio.

He would keep that status for the next three years, winning All-American honors as both a junior and senior, while also capturing the 1952 Outland Trophy. In a 1951 game against the University of North Carolina, Modzelewski paced a defense with 12 solo tackles, while the team held the Tar Heels to just 40 yards of offense. At the end of that season, Maryland was ranked third in the country and knocked off the top-ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers in the Sugar Bowl.

 

The Washington Redskins took notice of Modzelewski's accomplishments and drafted him in the second round of the 1953 NFL Draft, signing him on April 10. In his two years with the team, Modzelewski showed promise as a rookie, then began having conflicts with Redskins' coach Joe Kuharich in 1954. As a result, Modzelewski signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, ready to play for former Maryland assistant coach Jack Hennemier. However, after the Redskins filed an injunction to stop the deal, the Stampeders signed an agreement to tear up the contract.

With Modzelewski unhappy, the Redskins traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 1, 1955, once again reuniting him with brother Ed, a fullback on the team. The brothers would not play together though, as Ed was traded to the Cleveland Browns as a replacement for retiring Hall of Famer Marion Motley, with whom he won the NFL Championship. Dick was once again traded, this time twice in a four-day span. On April 24, 1956, he was traded to the Detroit Lions, then was dealt three days later to the New York Giants. In an ironic twist, the player the Lions received was Krouse, whose 1950 injury at Maryland had led to Modzelewski's development.

On March 4, 1964, Modzelewski was traded to the Browns, in exchange for wide receiver Bobby Crespino. Originally expected to be a supplement to starting defensive tackles Jim Kanicki and Frank Parker, Modzelewski was rushed into the lineup following an injury to Parker in the season opener on September 13.

Over the course of the season, Modzelewski's veteran leadership helped lead the Browns to their first Eastern Conference title in seven years. In the NFL Championship game on December 27, he joined an aggressive defense in completely shutting down the Baltimore Colts offense, giving the Browns a 27–0 shutout victory.

In his final two years as a player, the Browns again reached the title game in 1965, but fell short the following year. During his final campaign, Modzelewski was joined by another brother, Gene, who played one season before fulfilling a military commitment.

Modzelewski served as a scout for the Browns in 1967, then joined the team's on-field staff the following year as defensive line coach. After two solid years in which the team again reached the NFL Championship game, the Browns' fortunes declined over the next five years, with a then-team-worst 3–11 record in 1975 forcing head coach Forrest Gregg to make changes.

On February 13, 1976, Modzelewski was promoted to defensive coordinator and the team responded with a six-game improvement. Midway through the 1977 season, the Browns had a 5–2 record and seemed destined for their first playoff berth in five years. However, a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Brian Sipe led to a tailspin that culminated with Gregg's dismissal on December 13. Modzelewski was named interim head coach for the team's final game, a 20–19 loss to the second-year Seattle Seahawks.

As 1978 began, new Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano quickly announced he was eliminating the defensive coordinator position, and offered Modzelewski the job of defensive line coach. Seeing the offer as a demotion, Modzelewski resigned and returned to the New York Giants as their defensive coordinator. That position would last only one season after another wholesale coaching change, but he would resurface as defensive line coach with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1979 under head coach Homer Rice.

After first being dismissed with the entire staff one day after the end of the 1979 season, Modzelewski was rehired by Gregg, who had been selected as the Bengals' new head coach. The team struggled to a 6–10 season in 1980, but then put together a memorable year in 1981, ending with the franchise's first-ever trip to the Super Bowl. Despite a 26–21 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI, the Bengals returned to the post-season the following year, but lost in the first round of the expanded playoff system.

After a disappointing 1983 season, Gregg left to take over his dream job: head coach of the Green Bay Packers, then brought Modzelewski with him to again serve as defensive line coach. Modzelewski eventually served as the team's defensive coordinator, but after four frustrating years, Gregg resigned and Modzelewski landed with the Lions in 1988 as the defensive line tutor. He spent two years in that role until announcing his retirement.