Cleveland's Curse Vol. 4: "Red Right 88"

The date was Jan. 4, 1981. Playing on the "grass" at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium that more resembled dirt with green spray paint, the winner would do battle with the San Diego Chargers the next weekend to determine the AFC's representative in the Super Bowl.

The gametime temperature was 4 degrees with a wind chill of -37 degrees. Many of the announcers of the game stated that it was so cold that kicking the football was like kicking a rock. Ordinarily, a field goal would have been the obvious call in the situation, but the cold weather affected the kicking, which in turn affected the decision making that led to the play.

Trailing 14-12 with less than a minute remaining in the contest, the Browns had the ball on the Oakland Raiders' 13-yard line and were in position for a potential game-winning field goal. Browns quarterback Brian Sipe called a timeout and conferred with Head Coach Sam Rutigliano, who called a play called "Red Right 88."

The logic behind trying for the touchdown was that Browns kicker, Don Cockroft, had previously missed two field goal attempts, had one extra point attempt blocked and had another aborted following a bad snap in the freezing Cleveland cold and wind.

Sipe came under the center and the ball was snapped. Seconds would seem like eternity. Dave Logan came open on the right side near the end zone, but Sipe did not see him because of Raider defensive pressure coming up the middle. Sipe chose instead to throw to tight end Ozzie Newsome.

Oakland defensive back Mike Davis stepped in front of Newsome and picked off the weak pass. The dream was over, and what began was a long history of Browns historic botches that would keep them short of playing in a Superbowl until this day. The Oakland Raiders would go on to be defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Superbowl, possibly a Superbowl that the Cleveland Browns should have won.

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