CLEVELAND — A lot has changed for the Cleveland Browns on and off the field in the last four decades. The one constant is the passion of Browns fans, specifically the Dawg Pound. 

What You Need To Know

The Cleveland Browns celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Dawg Pound on Sunday. 

Cornerbacks Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield co-created the Dawg Pound in 1985 as a way to fire up the defense

The team will continue to honor the fan section throughout the season

The Browns organization recognized the fans who have been by the team’s side since 1985, celebrating 40 years of the Dawg Pound on Sunday. 

The Dawg Pound has become as synonymous with the Cleveland Browns as their orange helmets.

While the Browns fan base, specifically those that sit in the east end zone, has adopted the name. The concept of the Dawg Pound began in 1985 at training camp.

“We were at training camp at Lakeland Community College and everybody started barking,” former Browns cornerback Hanford Dixon said. “I’m telling you, everybody was a dog. Not just the defense but everybody, and that thing is still going strong today.” 

Hanford Dixon, along with fellow cornerback Frank Minnifield, started barking to try to push the defense to pursue the opposing team’s quarterback like a dog chasing a cat. Soon, fans started joining in, and the rest is history. 

“Sometimes when we’d play at the old stadium, you’d feel like you weren’t up to par but as soon as we came out of that tunnel, we’d run to the north end to the Dawg Pound, those guys got us ready,” said Dixon. 

The Browns organization celebrated 40 years of the Dawg Pound at Sunday’s game. They honored the 1985 team, including Dixon, and had several promotions before and during the game for its fans. Browns director of marketing Matt Papatheodorou said honoring the Dawg Pound is something the team will continue to do all season. 

“This is a very, very special moment to look back at all those unique charismatic individuals who have donned dog masks and anything and everything to make it as hard as humanly possible for individuals to play here at the stadium,” Papatheodorou said. 

Dixon, the original “dawg” himself, said seeing the Dawg Pound going strong four decades later means a lot to him. 

“I had no idea this was still going to be here and still going strong today,” Dixon said. 

Dixon went on to say the only thing that would make the day better was a Browns win. The team responded with a 13-10 upset over the Green Bay Packers for their first victory of the season.