Dick Schafrath should be in the Hall of Fame

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Former offensive tackle Dick Schafrath is considered one of the greatest Cleveland Browns of all time.

In fact, one Cleveland news outlet rated him as the sixth-greatest Brown ever, and that franchise has had scores of greats through the years … at least until the original Browns moved to Baltimore.

Somehow, though, Schafrath is not among the 16 Browns currently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that’s a real travesty.

After helping to lead Ohio State to the 1957 national championship, Schafrath lined up at left tackle for the Browns from 1959-71 and blocked for Hall of Fame running backs Bobby Mitchell, Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly.

In 1964, the Browns won the NFL championship.

Six of Schafrath’s teammates are in the Hall of Fame … Mitchell, Brown, Kelly, Lou Groza, Gene Hickerson and Paul Warfield.

During Schafrath’s pro career, he was selected to the All-Pro team four times, played in seven Pro Bowls and was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1963.

In addition, he blocked against 16 Hall of Fame defensive ends and 13 Hall of Fame linebackers.

Although Schafrath may never take his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was elected to the Browns Legends Club in 2003.

Schafrath will be among 11 sports greats playing in the Dick LeBeau Legends Golf Classic at Mitchell Hills Club in Springfield on Saturday.

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Trivia Time – Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau sent former Triad football coach Payton Printz an autographed photo with words of encouragement when Printz was first diagnosed with cancer.

This week’s question – Which NFL team has the most members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

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By Steve Stout

[email protected]

Reach Steve Stout at 652-1331 (ext. 1776) or on Twitter @udcstout

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