Written by Adam Burke

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This is one installment in a team effort by The Cleveland Fan, highlighting the top local sports figures by jersey number. Please weigh in with your thoughts on the "Boards". As David Letterman would say, "For entertainment purposes only; please, no wagering"

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“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goal posts are.” – Arnold H. Glasgow

Since the return of the Browns, there has been only one constant. For a franchise that has gone through quarterback after quarterback and coach after coach at an alarming rate, it’s the kicker that has been the lone salvation for a beaten down fan base. Arguably the most underappreciated, underrated field goal maker in the NFL, Philip Drury Dawson has persevered through years of losing and two off-the-field family issues that would bring any man to his knees to become one of the most celebrated and revered athletes in Cleveland sports history. TheClevelandFan.com’s list of the Top Cleveland Sports Figures by Number continues with #4, Phil Dawson.

Dawson’s path to the NFL didn’t go the way you would imagine it to go for a kicker who graduated from the University of Texas. A byproduct of Lake Highlands High School, the alma mater of former Browns kicker Matt Stover, Dawson was an All-American with a penchant for nailing big kicks. In 1995, as a sophomore, Dawson received hero status in Austin for his game-winning 50-yard field goal in 30 miles per hour winds to beat Virginia, 17-16, to kick start a six-game winning streak and help propel the Longhorns to the Sugar Bowl.

Despite a terrific college career, Dawson went undrafted. The Oakland Raiders signed him, but cut him shortly after. The New England Patriots added him to their practice squad, but he never got in a game. The Cleveland Browns, in need of a kicker as an expansion franchise, signed Dawson in March of 1999. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since the return of the Browns in 1999, the franchise has scored 3,677 points. Of those points, 1,265 of them have come from the right foot of Dawson, who is one of 25 kickers to have 300 or more made field goals in their career. Of that list, Dawson is one of three kickers to have made all of those field goals for one team. Dawson also has one touchdown to his name, a 1999 fake field goal touchdown run.

Kicking in Cleveland is no picnic. Down on the lakefront, with sometimes brutal conditions and windy Sundays at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Dawson has been called on to make the nearly impossible seem almost too easy. One shining example occurred on December 16, 2007 when Dawson nailed a 49-yard line drive on a snow-covered field in blizzard-like conditions to help beat the Buffalo Bills, 8-0. Time after time, Dawson, whose career field goal percentage in Cleveland is 84.9 percent, has hit a crucial kick at a critical time or has been the only offense the Browns have mustered.

Dawson is probably best remembered for his November 18, 2007 game-tying kick in Baltimore. The 51-yarder, which hit the left upright and then the cross bar support after going through the uprights, was correctly reversed upon “official review”. Dawson would then hit a 33-yarder in overtime to move the Browns to 6-4 and keep their playoff hopes alive.

That 51-yard field goal meant a lot more to Phil Dawson than a game-tying kick and an eventual win. Dawson’s oldest son Dru, then six years old, and his beautiful wife Shannon were at the game. It was Dru’s first game as the Dawsons wanted to “wait until he was old enough”. As the article from the May 18, 2008 Cleveland Plain Dealer explains, Dru was able to pick any away game he wanted to go to as a present for his sixth birthday. As fate would have it, he picked the Baltimore game.

That game served as a major emotional release for the Dawson family, who had been through a lot over the previous year and a half. During the 2006 offseason, Dawson was told the most disheartening news and husband and father could hear. A complication with Shannon’s pregnancy known as low-lying placenta with accreta was threatening her life, as well as the life of the couple’s unborn daughter. Doctors cautioned Dawson that he might have to choose between the life of his wife or the life of his daughter. The only hope for the Dawsons was a largely experimental procedure that used balloons to prevent Shannon from bleeding to death during the delivery process. While Dawson sat and prayed over the most agonizing period in his life, Shannon was required to lie still for 24 straight hours while doctors attempted to perform a miracle.

Sophiann Dawson came out alive and healthy. Shannon survived the risky delivery. Unfortunately, four months later, panic and fear would again encompass Phil and his wife, as little Sophiann stopped breathing. A paramedic was able to revive the baby with CPR. Sophiann was admitted to the hospital and was eventually released in good health.

During the time Sophiann was in the hospital, Dawson still went to do his job, kicking for the Browns against the New York Jets on October 29, 2006. Dawson made two of his three attempts. The following week, Dawson had to go all the way out to San Diego, leaving his wife and children, at what was still a precarious time, and hit all six field goal attempts in a 32-25 loss. Not surprisingly, Dawson struggled in 2006, making 21 of 29 field attempts, the second-lowest mark of his NFL career.

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“Every night, Phil and I pray to God to keep us here so that we could see the victorious side of it.” – Shannon Dawson, May 2008

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With a healthy family, Dawson has been able to focus his attention on making kicks. Since 2007, Dawson has made 149 out of 173 attempts, with 15 of the 24 misses coming from 40+ yards away. While Dawson has succeeded, Shannon’s prayers for victory have not been answered, as the Browns are just 33-63 in that six-season span.

During that time, respect for Dawson has grown exponentially, both in Cleveland and around the NFL. Most Browns fans believe that he is the best player the Browns have had since the franchise returned in 1999. For his part, Dawson has backed it up statistically, with the most field goals made in franchise history, as well as the highest field goal percentage of any Browns kicker with a minimum of eight attempts.

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“I’m glad it’s big news when I miss one. If people were used to it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” – Phil Dawson, December 2012

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The 2012 season was full of accolades for Dawson. Dawson began the season by making 23 consecutive field goals, before missing one against the Oakland Raiders due to a bad snap. The following week, Dawson kicked his 300th field goal. During the Browns’ bye week in November, Dawson was enshrined in the Texas Longhorns’ Hall of Fame. Dawson was named to his first Pro Bowl. Fourteen years of being one of the game’s most consistent kickers was finally validated with a trip to Hawaii.

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“It was a pretty priceless moment when we saw the name flash up on the screen. My kids went nuts ’cause my wife went nuts. That makes these 15 years of waiting worth it.”- Phil Dawson, December 2012

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Even in one of the proudest moments of Dawson’s athletic career, his thoughts immediately shifted to his family. This list of the top Cleveland sports figures by number will feature a lot of individuals with incredible amounts of talent. Dawson may not be the most talented player on this list. He may not even be in the top 10 or 15. But, you will be hard pressed to find a better person and a player that meant more to his team than Phil Dawson.

 

Honorable mentions:

Ron Harper – Ron Harper got a few mentions in our discussions. Harper, the first round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1986, played 263 games with the Cavs, averaging 19.9 points and 5.1 assists per game. Basketball-Reference.com also ranks Harper 61st in defensive win shares with a career mark of 44.1, making Harper one of the most complete basketball players to suit up for the Cavs.

Harper was traded in a less than popular deal with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 1989 season. The Cavs traded Harper and a first round pick for Danny Ferry and Reggie Williams. Ferry was a mediocre player, while Harper went on to be a five-time NBA Champion.

Joe Sewell – Joe Sewell’s uniform number from 1920-1928 is unknown, but he wore #4 during the 1929 season. It may not have been enough to dethrone Dawson had Sewell worn #4 for that entire decade, but Sewell, a Baseball Hall of Famer, had a tremendous career with the Indians. In 11 seasons with the Indians, Sewell posted a .320 career batting average, with 1800 hits, and finished in the top 10 of Most Valuable Player voting four times. In 6,605 career plate appearances, including regular season and playoffs, with the Indians, Sewell struck out exactly 100 times. Sewell was also part of the 1920 World Series team.

The Veterans’ Committee elected Sewell into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

Joe Gordon – Joe Gordon was 32 when he joined the Indians after seven seasons with the Yankees. Gordon batted .262 and hit 100 home runs for the Indians over four seasons. Gordon was a four-time All-Star for the Indians. Gordon bashed 32 home runs and had 124 RBI in 1948, the year of the last World Series title for the Indians franchise.

In 2001, the 100-year anniversary of the Cleveland Indians, Gordon was voted one of the 100 greatest Indians. In 2009, the Veterans' Committee elected Gordon into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jim Hegan – Jim Hegan wore #4 from 1951-1957 as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Hegan never set the world on fire offensively, finishing his Indians career with a .230 batting average and a .649 on-base plus slugging. However, Hegan excelled behind the plate. For his career, Hegan threw out 50 percent of base stealers. In 1950, 48 runners tried to steal on Hegan. Sixty-nine percent of them were thrown out.