Page "Paul Brown" Paragraph 36

The conflict between Brown and Modell reached a breaking point when Brown traded star halfback Bobby Mitchell for the rights to Ernie Davis, a Heisman Trophy-winning running back who broke all of Jim Brown's rushing records at Syracuse.

Brown did not inform Modell of the move, and Modell only heard about it after getting a call from Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall.

Davis, however, was diagnosed with leukemia before the 1962 season.

He came to Cleveland to train after the cancer went into remission, but Brown would not allow him to play.

Modell, however, wanted to give Davis a chance to play before he succumbed to the disease.

Ultimately, the relationship between coach and owner was never repaired, and Ernie Davis never played in a professional game, dying on May 18, 1963.