Sad news;Cleveland Browns lost one of the quartherback player

CLEVELAND (AP) — This wasn’t your typical NFL quarterback, Frank Ryan.

The Cleveland Browns are champs thanks in part to his arm. Off the field, he received greater recognition for his brilliance.

Ryan passed away on Monday. He guided the Browns to their final NFL championship in 1964 while obtaining a degree in mathematics during the offseason. He was eighty-seven.

According to a statement from Ryan’s family, he passed away while receiving treatment at a Connecticut nursing home. According to his relatives, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) “is suspected to have played a role in the progression of the disease” and he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Ryan gave the CTE Center at Boston University his brain for research.

The Browns posted on social media, saying, “Our hearts are with the family and friends of Frank Ryan, as we honor the life of a Browns icon and championship-winning quarterback.”

On December 27, 1964, the Browns upset the highly-favored Baltimore Colts and Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas 27-0 in the championship game. Ryan completed three touchdown passes to wide receiver Gary Collins. Cleveland is still one of the four clubs that has never made it to the Super Bowl and has not won a football championship since.

However, the Browns were a constant force in the early to mid-1960s because to Ryan and Hall of Fame running backs Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly.

Just months after winning the ‘64 title — the last for any of the city’s three major professional teams for 52 years until the Cavaliers won the NBA crown in 2016 — Ryan got his Ph.D. from Rice, where he played college ball in his home state of Texas.

He went on to teach math at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland and later at Yale and Rice. Ryan is also credited with helping create an electronic voting system that modernized the U.S. House of Representatives.

A three-time Pro Bowler with the Browns, Ryan spent seven seasons with Cleveland, compiling a 52-22-2 record as a starter. He led the league in passing touchdowns in 1964 and 1966.

Although Cleveland rode the great Brown and later Kelly on the ground to many wins, Ryan was one of the league’s top passers and threw at least 25 TD passes in three seasons. He also played for the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins before retiring after the 1970 season.

Ryan also served for 10 years as athletic director at Yale.

During his 13-year playing career, Ryan passed for 16,042 yards and 149 TDs while going 57-27-3 as a starter.

Ryan is survived by his wife, Joan. The couple celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last year.

Funeral and memorial arrangements were still being finalized.