Welcome to MDW: Modell Death Watch, a modest little page dedicated to the public service of networking those who, er, care about one Arthur Modell.

We will link news reports and web sources from time to time. Wikipedia, for example, tells us that Modell was born in 1925, good news indeed. Other welcome items will be linked as they are found.

We encourage other like-minded web surfers to email us here at MDW with suggested links, comments and updates on Modell's Death Status.

FACTS MONITORED: Date Of Death: unknown Place of Death: unknown Cause of Death: unknown Place of Interment: unknown updated: December 24, 2007

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QUOTES/LINKS (Some links have expired, sorry.)

Oh, really? "I called Bob and asked if he was interested in owning an NFL team," Modell recalled the other day. "He said, 'Why, are you selling the Browns?' I told him, 'No, it's more important than the Browns. It's the New York Giants.'"

One down... Lerner was also instrumental in bringing the original Cleveland Browns football team to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Ravens in 1996.

This is why grown men who fought wars and played football without face masks cried when Art Modell announced he was moving the franchise to Baltimore. These players had turned into fans themselves and understood what the Browns meant to the community. In a word, they meant everything. "It was like losing a relative," Hall of Famer and season-ticket holder Lou Groza said. Or worse.

If at first you don't succeed... Modell has a history of heart problems. He underwent an emergency quadruple bypass operation after a heart attack in 1983. Seven years later, he had double bypass coronary surgery.

Attaboy, Drew! I hope Art Modell doesn't win. I hope he never feels the joy of holding a Super Bowl trophy.

HOF shutout '02. Thank you Toni Grossi. `I shudder to think what that ceremony in Canton would be like if Art Modell were put in the Hall of Fame,` I concluded.

HOF shutout '03. Huh? ...firing legendary coach Paul Brown, forcing running back Jim Brown to retire and getting rid of two of the most popular players in Cleveland history, receiver Paul Warfield and quarterback Bernie Kosar. Combine those with The Move, and those are the arguments to keep Modell out of the Hall of Fame. It's not enough.

HOF shutout '04. Maybe just by sticking around, he can be viewed as something other than an incompetent rat bastard. Naah.

HOF shutout '05. Tagliabue Death Watch? Said Tagliabue: "Art is a legend of our game and one of life's unforgettable characters. I believe Art's entire record should be recognized as entitling him to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton."

HOF shutout '06: Good news, bad news. Former Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell did not advance to the finalists round of 15 on Wednesday for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Modell will be eligible again next season because he made it from the starting list of 112 nominees to the semifinal round of 25.

Sure. "It was an agonizing moment. Terrible. I didn't want to dance on the grave of the people in Cleveland," Mr. Modell said in an interview after his news conference.

Attaboy, George! Modell's remarks on WTAM drew a heated response from Voinovich. He called WTAM later Thursday and said Modell is trying to "rewrite history." "Modell was a liar then, and he's a liar now," Voinovich said. "The thing that bothers me is, all during the time we were talking back and forth, he had already cut a deal to take the team to Baltimore. "If you want to know a reason why a lot of the business people in (Cleveland) have nothing more to do with Art Modell and why he's not welcome here, it's because he wasn't forthright and honest with us."

Modell's grave site under construction but the address is withheld, alas.

Shakadawg rants on the weaselly guy. (Our apologies to Don MacLean.)

32 gets it. It seems that the clue bus stopped a while back at Browns Stadium, and the greatest running back most of us ever saw, Jim Brown, hopped on, his shirt-tail flapping, his heart aflame with indignation. "About a month ago, for the first time, I realized what Art [Modell] did to Cleveland," said Brown.

The Prism of Distrust. From this we learn two things: It's a small freaking world, and one should never underestimate how many of life's maladies can be blamed on Art Modell.

Spate news, and the ultimate Fathead. These days, he navigates the Ravens' cavernous training facility in a wheelchair because his balance isn't quite what it used to be before a 2002 stroke. At 81, he shows the wear from 46 eventful - and sometimes turbulent - years in the NFL. "The worst thing is not being able to get around himself," [wife] Pat said. "He's such a strong, sensitive man. It makes it very difficult. He has fits of depression." Despite a spate of health issues the past few years, Modell still has a sharp mind and strong spirit. His presence permeates the team's complex, starting in the main lobby, where a life-size oil painting of a stoic Modell in a camel-hair coat greets visitors.

HOF hopeful. Do that, and we'll start calling it an "Egress."

HOF shutout '07. Art Modell once again didn't make the list of finalists for induction in the NFL Hall of Fame. Darn.

HOF shutout '08. Ravens minority owner Art Modell was left off the list of 26 semifinalists nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. Go figure.

OTHERS WHO CARE

Dead or Alive?
The Dead Pool

BARK TO MDW email

"If Modell makes it into the Hall of Fame, his display will require two rooms there, so Ladies Room users won't be left out." -- BW, Ohio.

"Last year I was in New York city on business. I knew Art grew up in Brooklyn. So I searched online for quite awhile trying to find out where Art's father is buried, so I could go [visit] his grave. If you can find this out, let me know!" -- DZ, Ohio.

"When the lousy bastard finally kicks it - I will do my best to let you all know where he gets dumped. I'm from Pittsburgh and a proud member of the Steeler Fan Club of Baltimore. I'm certainly not a Browns fan, but what modellass did to you and Cleveland was pure bullshit and made me embarrassed to be here when it happened... In the immortal words of Drew Carey: 'I gotta go take a modell.'" -- DR, Baltimore MD.