Undrafted out of Louisville, Frank Minnifield quickly found a home in the USFL, where he briefly played for the Chicago Blitz and the Arizona Wranglers before suing his way out of the league to play for the Cleveland Browns.  

Minnifield blossomed into one of the best Cornerbacks in the NFL in the second half of the 1980s, earning Pro Bowl Selections each year from 1986 to 1989.  A First Team All-Pro in 1988, Minnifield anchored a strong Cleveland Secondary, but perhaps his most significant contribution was coining the term “Dawg Pound” along with fellow Browns Corner, Hanford Dixon.  That alone is Hall of Fame-worthy in the eyes of many on the North Coast.

One can argue that Jim Ray Smith missed his window to be known on a higher level as he arrived in Cleveland one year too late and left two years too early, as the Browns would win NFL Championships before and after his arrival, but this was no reflection on the playing ability of Jim Ray Smith.

Smith was drafted in 1954 as an early draftee (Cleveland won the title that year), but due to military commitments, did not arrive until 1956.  Smith played both sides, but excelled as an Offensive Lineman, earning his first of what would be five straight Pro Bowls in 1958.  In that half-decade time frame, Smith would also be named a First or Second Team All-Pro (three First Team and two Second Team).  He retired right after, though he came out of retirement for two seasons with his home-state team, the Dallas Cowboys.

Bob Gain was drafted 5^th Overall in 1951 by the Green Bay Packers, but that year he elected to play in Canada with the Ottawa Rough Riders instead.  

In terms of notoriety, there are few on the defensive side of the ball that can match Lyle Alzado.  Known for his anger and ferocious play on the gridiron, Alzado debuted in 1971 with the Denver Broncos, and the following season he led all players in Fumble Recoveries.  Alzado played predominantly at Defensive End, and after missing most of the 1976 season due to a blown-out knee, he returned to help the Broncos and their defense reach their first Super Bowl.  A contract dispute led to his trade to the Cleveland Browns, and he later moved to the Los Angeles Raiders, where his popularity rose and he helped them win Super Bowl XVIII.

Alzado retired with 112.5 "unofficial" Sacks and was a two-time Pro Bowl and two-time First Team All-Pro Selection.  After his career ended, his life came to a tragic end as he was an admitted steroid abuser and believed that his PED use would cause the brain tumor that would take his life.

A Cleveland Browns member for his entire career, Gary Collins was the 4^th Overall pick in 1962, and as a rookie, the Wide Receiver wasn't targeted much but served as the team's Punter, a role he held for six seasons.  In his sophomore season, he integrated into the Browns’ offense and finished atop the leaderboard in Touchdown Receptions with 13.  After helping the Browns capture the NFL Championship in 1964, Collins had a two-year Pro Bowl streak, with trips to the game in 1965 and 1966.  In both of those years, he had at least 880 Yards and 10 TDs.

Named to the 1960's All-Decade Team, Collins would catch 331 passes for 5,299 Yards and a whopping 70 TDs, the latter being an impressive number considering the number of catches he had.

An exceptionally popular player in Cleveland (local McDonald’s franchises even had a sandwich named after him for a time), Michael Dean Perry was a defensive beast who, with the Browns, led a strong defense.  MDP would go to five Pro Bowls as a Brown (his sixth coming with Denver), and he was a First Team All-Pro and Second Team All-Pro twice.  He was also named the AFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1989.  Not too bad for someone considered a little undersized, but nobody doubted his quickness off the snap.

It is hard not to consider Clay Matthews Jr. as part of football royalty.

How can you not? 

He is the son of former San Francisco 49ers Clay Matthews Sr., the father of Clay Matthews III, the brother of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, and the uncle of Jake and Kevin Matthews.  As for this specific member of the Matthews clan, we have a 19-year veteran who spent 16 of those years with the Cleveland Browns.  In four of those seasons, he was named to the Pro Bowl.  Matthews Jr. may never have been a First Team All-Pro, but he had the longevity and relevance that overcomes that objection.  Matthews is currently third all-time in Tackles and in the top fifteen in Games Played. 

Clay Matthews Jr.’s resume is a great example of whether Canton wants to recognize a long period of being very good, even though he was never quite elite.

Erich Barnes came out of Purdue when the Chicago Bears drafted him in 1958.  The Cornerback played there for three seasons and went to the Pro Bowl in 1959.  After that, Barnes had the best run of his career: he played for the New York Giants for four years, earned Pro Bowl selections each year, and made First Team All-Pro in 1961.  Barnes would later earn his sixth Pro Bowl with the Cleveland Browns.  Barnes was known for his physical style of play and his ability to come back for run defense.

Overall, he would have 45 Interceptions in his career.

One of the main roles of an Offensive Lineman is to create holes for Running Backs.  The Cleveland Browns of the 1960s had some of the best runners, and Dick Schafrath was a big reason they had so much opportunity to run. 

Stepping in from Ohio State, Dick Schafrath maintained the high level coaches expected at that position.  He protected the weak side brilliantly but used his powerful, albeit undersized frame to create holes for Cleveland backs.  In fact, on eight occasions, Cleveland Browns’ Running Backs won the rushing title with Schafrath anchoring the left side.

As a four-time First Team All-Pro, it is a little curious that he hasn’t received a look from the Hall, but with the great post-football life that he led, he doesn’t need the accolade to make his existence complete.