Sept. 16, 1963 - Jim Brown, in one of his finest all-time performances, scored three touchdowns — one on an 83-yard pass play, another on an 80-yard run — as he led the Browns to a 37-14 triumph over the Washington Redskins yesterday at Cleveland Stadium. Brown gained 162 yards in 15 rushing plays. Early in the fourth quarter, Brown took a pitchout and sped around right end on his 80-yard scoring run that put Cleveland in front 34-14. This followed by a few minutes a 99-yard Washington touchdown pass play from George Izo to a former Brown, Bobby Mitchell. The play tied a league record set in 1939. Late in the first half, Brown took a screen pass from Frank Ryan and swept around right end on the 83-yard touchdown play. Leroy Jackson fumbled the opening kickoff on the Washington 30, and 4 plays later Ryan hit Bob Crespino with a 4-yard pass for a touchdown. Washington scored in the second quarter on an 8-yard pass from Norm Snead to Pat Richter in the end zone. Afterward, fullback Brown addressed his first comments to the Browns’ offensive linemen, saying, “Keep doing that kind of blocking and I’ll be running even harder next Sunday.” “This was more than just a victory,” Brown continued. “It was important because it opened the season on a good psychological thing for the team.” Blanton Collier, who replaced Paul Brown as Cleveland’s head coach following the end of last season, told reporters: “I was very happy with the offensive line play. They had been down because of the loss of a couple of veterans [guard Jim Ray Smith and tackle Mike McCormack, both traded to other teams]. They weren’t themselves in the exhibition game at Canton last week, but I think they redeemed themselves today.” Redskins’ coach Bill McPeak commented afterward: “We went into the game thinking we could overpower their line on both offense and defense. I was very disappointed in our team. I think the Browns executed as well today as I’ve ever seen them.”
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