Origins of the Dawg Pound
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Yup you're right. Following is an excerpt from an article that explains in detail.
How the Dawg Pound got its name
You would think that a name as timeless as “The Dawg Pound” would be derived from some corrections institution. Perhaps a player who was released from some dangerous prison and was a member of a gang here. And when this former con-now player would hit someone pretty dang hard, folks would say, “Yeh, that’s that junkyard Dawg Pound mentality!”
Which would make a great story. But the truth is, the name was derived by a game two of Cleveland’s players made up.
The Browns held their training camp under head coach Marty Schottenheimer at Lakeland Community College in Kirkland, Ohio from 1982-1991. In 1985, the defensive backfield featured Hanford Dixon, Al Gross, Frank Minnifield and Felix Wright, plus a stellar linebacker crew of Tom Cousineau, Eddie Johnson and Chip Banks. The defensive front had Bob Golic, Carl Hairston and Reggie Camp.
During practices, the entire defense had a problem with getting into the backfield to disrupt the passing game as rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar was picking them apart each day. Minnifield and Dixon came up with a game to challenge play during those training camp practices in an attempt to encourage the defense to get to Kosar and stop the deluge of pass completions and then having to read about it in the next day’s paper.
Dixon was taken with the 22nd pick in the first round by the Browns in the 1991 NFL draft out of Southern Mississippi. He would later be selected to two Pro Bowls. Minnifield was a standout cornerback in the United States Football League and joined Cleveland in 1984. He subsequently went to four Pro Bowls plus was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
Hanford Dixon (left) and Frank Minnifield
To get more pressure on the quarterback, Minnifield and Dixon assessed that every player on the defense were dogs, and Kosar was the cat. During these practices, whenever any defender would get a sack, a quarterback hurry or an interception, Minnifield and Dixon would bark like dogs right there on the field. This encouraged the other defensive players to do the same. After a while, the spectators in attendance picked up on this, and when the players would bark, most of them would likewise. This placed the defense as fan favorites with the crowd all during training camp.
When the regular season began, at home games the crowd in those east end zone stands were some of the same fans that had barked during training camp. Fans whom are attorneys, doctors, engineers or judges are not going to bark at players during a practice. And they certainly were not buying those east end zone bleacher seats. Municipal Stadium was old, but it had metal seats with arm rests, wooden backs and a fold-down slightly-curved seat. Plus, these seats were in covered areas so that in the hot months the fans were not slowly roasted during games, and when the sky opened up and began to rain, those spectators had some sort of coverage overhead.
Not in the east end zone. The seats were bleachers which provided a mass spectator union. There wasn’t an overhead top section with a roof, so the elements on the field were the same elements in the east end zone. The cost per seat was inexpensive, also. You meld all of these situations together and you get a different classification of fans who don’t drive a Mercedes. The five sections of blue seats in this end of the stadium through Gate “E” had already been referred to as “The Pound.” Basically, it was viewed as the bad neighborhood within the stadium.
The east end zone was already known as being the most vocal sections in the stadium. After downing numerous cheap beers and the ability to be right there close to the field was a good part of the reason. What set this section apart though, was something else Dixon and Minnifield did.
The two star defensive backs designed, drew and painted the very first “Dawg Pound” sign, and then hung it up on the chain link fence outside the east end zone section before a preseason game. It read: “Dawg Country. No Cats Allowed.” Also on the sign was a drawing of the State of Ohio with a human football player whose face was that of a junkyard dog wearing Dixon’s jersey number 29, signaling number one with one hand and choking a cat with the other.
Signs usually referred to the section as “dogs” or “The Pound” whereas the inventors of the invention added a new and amended wrinkle: d-a-w-g-s. The east end zone had been officially christened “The Dawg Pound.” These fans accepted the designation with the usual vigor, and not only would bark for the defense’s successes during the game, but would show up in dog attire, masks, bone-shaped hats and other costumes that blended with the atmosphere.
From there, it simply spread. Fazio’s Grocery Stores sold posters that depicted the four defensive backs holding leashes to a Rottweiler, pit bull, German Shepard and a Doberman with the caption “The Last Dogs of Defense.”
[www.dawgsbynature.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2020 05:21PM by MamaRAMa.
How the Dawg Pound got its name
You would think that a name as timeless as “The Dawg Pound” would be derived from some corrections institution. Perhaps a player who was released from some dangerous prison and was a member of a gang here. And when this former con-now player would hit someone pretty dang hard, folks would say, “Yeh, that’s that junkyard Dawg Pound mentality!”
Which would make a great story. But the truth is, the name was derived by a game two of Cleveland’s players made up.
The Browns held their training camp under head coach Marty Schottenheimer at Lakeland Community College in Kirkland, Ohio from 1982-1991. In 1985, the defensive backfield featured Hanford Dixon, Al Gross, Frank Minnifield and Felix Wright, plus a stellar linebacker crew of Tom Cousineau, Eddie Johnson and Chip Banks. The defensive front had Bob Golic, Carl Hairston and Reggie Camp.
During practices, the entire defense had a problem with getting into the backfield to disrupt the passing game as rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar was picking them apart each day. Minnifield and Dixon came up with a game to challenge play during those training camp practices in an attempt to encourage the defense to get to Kosar and stop the deluge of pass completions and then having to read about it in the next day’s paper.
Dixon was taken with the 22nd pick in the first round by the Browns in the 1991 NFL draft out of Southern Mississippi. He would later be selected to two Pro Bowls. Minnifield was a standout cornerback in the United States Football League and joined Cleveland in 1984. He subsequently went to four Pro Bowls plus was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
Hanford Dixon (left) and Frank Minnifield
To get more pressure on the quarterback, Minnifield and Dixon assessed that every player on the defense were dogs, and Kosar was the cat. During these practices, whenever any defender would get a sack, a quarterback hurry or an interception, Minnifield and Dixon would bark like dogs right there on the field. This encouraged the other defensive players to do the same. After a while, the spectators in attendance picked up on this, and when the players would bark, most of them would likewise. This placed the defense as fan favorites with the crowd all during training camp.
When the regular season began, at home games the crowd in those east end zone stands were some of the same fans that had barked during training camp. Fans whom are attorneys, doctors, engineers or judges are not going to bark at players during a practice. And they certainly were not buying those east end zone bleacher seats. Municipal Stadium was old, but it had metal seats with arm rests, wooden backs and a fold-down slightly-curved seat. Plus, these seats were in covered areas so that in the hot months the fans were not slowly roasted during games, and when the sky opened up and began to rain, those spectators had some sort of coverage overhead.
Not in the east end zone. The seats were bleachers which provided a mass spectator union. There wasn’t an overhead top section with a roof, so the elements on the field were the same elements in the east end zone. The cost per seat was inexpensive, also. You meld all of these situations together and you get a different classification of fans who don’t drive a Mercedes. The five sections of blue seats in this end of the stadium through Gate “E” had already been referred to as “The Pound.” Basically, it was viewed as the bad neighborhood within the stadium.
The east end zone was already known as being the most vocal sections in the stadium. After downing numerous cheap beers and the ability to be right there close to the field was a good part of the reason. What set this section apart though, was something else Dixon and Minnifield did.
The two star defensive backs designed, drew and painted the very first “Dawg Pound” sign, and then hung it up on the chain link fence outside the east end zone section before a preseason game. It read: “Dawg Country. No Cats Allowed.” Also on the sign was a drawing of the State of Ohio with a human football player whose face was that of a junkyard dog wearing Dixon’s jersey number 29, signaling number one with one hand and choking a cat with the other.
Signs usually referred to the section as “dogs” or “The Pound” whereas the inventors of the invention added a new and amended wrinkle: d-a-w-g-s. The east end zone had been officially christened “The Dawg Pound.” These fans accepted the designation with the usual vigor, and not only would bark for the defense’s successes during the game, but would show up in dog attire, masks, bone-shaped hats and other costumes that blended with the atmosphere.
From there, it simply spread. Fazio’s Grocery Stores sold posters that depicted the four defensive backs holding leashes to a Rottweiler, pit bull, German Shepard and a Doberman with the caption “The Last Dogs of Defense.”
[www.dawgsbynature.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2020 05:21PM by MamaRAMa.
