On Monday, Frank Ryan, the former quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, passed away. His intelligence off the field matched his talent on it.
His age was 87.
Ryan, who had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, passed away on New Year’s Day at a Waterford, Connecticut, nursing home, according to his son, Frank Ryan Jr., who spoke with Cleveland.com.
Ryan, the final signal-caller for the Browns to lead the team to an NFL championship, graduated from Houston’s Rice University with a degree in mathematics six months later.
Cleveland’s last championship would come from the NFL until the Cavaliers’ NBA Finals victory in 2016.
Frank Ryan Jr. sent an email to Cleveland.com saying, “Throughout his life, Frank received thousands of autograph requests from fans of all ages and backgrounds from across the country.” “He was really appreciative of his admirers. Until his physical limitations prevented him from fulfilling autograph requests, he saved every fan letter he got.
“Frank was surrounded by his large, devoted family at the end.”
The 13-year-old NFL veteran, who started 76 games and passed for 13,361 yards and 134 touchdowns, played seven of his thirteen seasons in Cleveland.
Starting for the Browns, Ryan was 52-22-2 and had three Pro Bowl appearances.
Wide receiver Gary Collins scored three touchdown throws from Ryan as the Browns stunned the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the 1964 championship game. Ryan was also the team’s MVP.
Remarkably, Ryan taught mathematics at Yale and Rice after serving as an NFL off-season lecturer.
After leaving the league in 1970, Ryan spent seven years as the director of development for the U.S. House of Representatives, where he oversaw the creation of the first computerized voting system ever utilized by Congress.
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