Legendary NFL Quarterback Passes Away

The sports world mourns the loss of a legendary figure, Frank Ryan, the last quarterback to lead the Cleveland Browns to an NFL title. Ryan passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of 87 due to Alzheimer’s disease.

He spent his final years in a nursing home in Waterford, Connecticut, as mentioned in an email from his son. Ryan played college football at Rice University and later at the University of Michigan.

In the NFL, he played for the Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, and Washington Redskins during his career. He is best known for his time with the Cleveland Browns, where he played from 1962 to 1968.

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One of the highlights of Frank Ryan’s career was leading the Cleveland Browns to victory in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, where they defeated the Baltimore Colts. Ryan’s performance in that game, where he threw three touchdown passes to Gary Collins, is etched in the annals of NFL history.

The victory remains the last NFL championship won by the Cleveland Browns.

Our hearts are with the family and friends of Frank Ryan, as we honor the life of a Browns icon and championship-winning quarterback.

📰 » https://t.co/dFYZdMlvNp pic.twitter.com/9k6w3ol4Rr

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 2, 2024

After retiring from professional football, Ryan pursued a career in academia and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rice University. He became a professor and mathematician.

Beyond his impressive 52-22 record as a Cleveland starter and his three Pro Bowl appearances, Ryan’s life off the field was equally remarkable. After retiring from the NFL in 1970, Ryan’s diverse career included a stint working for the U.S. House of Representatives, where he played a role in developing the first computer voting system for the U.S. Congress.

Ryan’s awareness of the health risks associated with football, particularly concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), was ahead of its time. He believed these factors contributed to his Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that ultimately claimed his life. In a final act of service to the sport and its players, Ryan donated his brain to the Boston University CTE Center for Research.

Ryan’s family provided the following statement to the Browns:

NFL quarterback and Cleveland Browns Legend Frank Ryan has passed away due to the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease…

Frank assigned just as much, if not more, importance to academic achievement as he did to athletic achievement and later in life, he emphatically warned those closest to him about the concussion and other injury risks associated with football. Like many of his teammates and friends before him, Frank has donated his brain to the Boston University CTE Center so that future football players and their families, as well as society in general, can better understand the effects of repetitive brain trauma on the human nervous system.

Throughout his life, Frank received thousands of autograph requests from fans of all ages and backgrounds from across the country. He appreciated his fans enormously, and he kept every fan letter that he received. Frank fulfilled each and every autograph request that was sent to him, until he became physically unable to do so.

Frank and his wife Joan marked their 65th wedding anniversary earlier this year. Frank had a large and loving family that gave him joy and happiness throughout his life, and his family was with him at the end.