The Browns now have 18 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

On Feb 11, 2023

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 1965, file photo, Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown (32) carries the ball during an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Cleveland. Jim Brown. Period. Arguably the greatest player in NFL history was picked by the Browns with the No. 6 overall pick in 1957. Brown rushed for 12,312 yards in nine seasons, leading the league in eight seasons. The three-time MVP walked away from his career at its peak to pursue acting. (AP Photo/File)

Joe Thomas received the call everyone was expecting him to get on Thursday night. The Browns offensive tackle will be part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.

The next thing Thomas will have to wait for is Aug. 5. That’s the date of the Hall of Fame’s Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

When Thomas and the rest of the Class of 2023 are enshrined, they will join an exclusive club that has just 362 members before this class arrives. However, the tackle will join an even more exclusive club than that when you count just the number of players who played a significant portion of their careers for the Browns .

More on Hall of Famer Joe Thomas:Browns icon Joe Thomas is first-ballot Hall of Famer. How shot put, swimming aided journey

It’s time to look back at the other Browns players who have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

How many Cleveland Browns players were in the Hall of Fame before Joe Thomas?

There have been 17 Browns players enshrined in the Hall before the Class of 2023. That number was tied with the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders for the eighth-most of any franchise in the league’s history. The Chicago Bears had the most, with 30, while the Green Bay Packers (26) and Pittsburgh Steelers (24) round out the top three.

Who are the Cleveland Browns’ previous 17 Hall of Famers?

Jim Brown, RB
Paul Brown, head coach
Joe DeLamielleure, OL
Len Ford, DE
Frank Gatski, OL
Otto Graham, QB
Lou Groza OL/K
Gene Hickerson, OL
Leroy Kelly, RB
Dante Lavelli, WR
Mike McCormack, OL
Bobby Mitchell, WR/HB
Marion Motley, FB
Ozzie Newsome, TE
Mac Speedie, WR
Paul Warfield, WR
Bill Willis, DL

How many Hall of Famers played for the Cleveland Browns but aren’t considered part of that group?

Five. Doug Adkins was a defensive lineman who was drafted by the Browns in 1953 before being traded after the 1954 season to the Bears, where he played 12 seasons before ending up in New Orleans. Willie Davis was drafted by the Browns in 1956, but didn’t play for them until 1958 due to an Army commitment. Still, he was traded before the 1960 season to the Packers, where he developed over 10 seasons into a Hall of Fame defensive lineman. Len Dawson famously played nine combined games for the Browns in the 1960 and 1961 before the quarterback ended up with the AFL’s Dallas Texans, who eventually became the Kansas City Chiefs. Henry Jordan, like Davis, was drafted the Browns — in 1957 — before being traded to the Packers, for whom he became another Hall of Fame defensive lineman. Tommy McDonald was the opposite of the other four in that he was already a Hall of Fame-caliber player after 11 seasons, mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles, when he ended his career with his one and only season in Cleveland in 1968.

Who was the most recent Cleveland Browns player to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame?

Before Joe Thomas? That would be Mac Speedie, who was part of the Class of 2020. The receiver was a member of the original Browns team in 1946 and played with them through the 1952 season. In 86 games, Speedie caught 349 passes for 5,602 yards with 33 touchdowns.