Frank Ryan (American football)

Frank Beall Ryan (born July 12, 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a retired American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Los Angeles Rams (1958-1961), Cleveland Browns (1962-1968) and Washington Redskins (1969-1970). Although he led the Browns to their last National Football League title in 1964, Ryan is best remembered for being perhaps the only Ph.D. in mathematics to play in the league, completing a doctorate at Rice University.

Early years
After attending R. L. Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas, Ryan went to Rice University, but was unable to establish himself during the course of his collegiate career, splitting time behind center with King Hill, who was receiving most of the snaps.

Given his desire to continue toward a Ph.D., Ryan originally decided not to play professional football after the Rams chose him in the fifth round of the 1958 NFL Draft. However, he changed his mind after he was able to enroll at both UCLA and University of California, Berkeley in pursuit of the advanced degree.

Los Angeles Rams
Ryan spent the first four years of his career primarily in a reserve capacity, but did start a handful of games in competition with teammates Billy Wade and Zeke Bratkowski. In 1961, he and future Hall of Famer Ollie Matson connected on a 96-yard touchdown reception, establishing a new team record. However, the arrival of highly-touted newcomer Roman Gabriel made Ryan expendable, with the veteran becoming part of a multi-player deal with the Browns on July 12, 1962, his 26th birthday.

1962-1963
Acquired to back up starting quarterback Jim Ninowski, Ryan moved into the starting slot on October 28 when Ninowski broke his collarbone while being tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive lineman Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb. With no other candidates to compete with, Ryan established his leadership and held on to the starting role for much of the next six seasons. In his first full season as a starter, 1963, Ryan threw for 2,026 yards and 25 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions, helping the Browns to a 10-4 record. Thirteen of those touchdowns went to Gary Collins, who tied for the league lead in receiving touchdowns that year.

1964
In 1964, Ryan established himself as one of the league’s best passers. He threw for 2,404 yards and repeated his 1963 performance by completing 25 touchdown passes, which was enough to lead the league. Ryan had excellent company on the Browns offense: fullback Jim Brown; wide receivers Collins and Paul Warfield; and an outstanding offensive line led by future Hall of Famers Lou Groza and Gene Hickerson. But Ryan was also a clutch performer during the Browns’ memorable 10-3-1 season. Needing a win in the December 12 regular season finale against the New York Giants to clinch a berth in the NFL title game, Ryan completed 12 of 13 passes for five touchdowns and ran for a sixth touchdown in the 52-20 win. Two weeks later in the championship game against the Baltimore Colts, Ryan hit Collins for three touchdowns to win the title, 27-0 (the last Browns championship to date).

Ryan was rewarded for his performance with the first of three straight Pro Bowl appearances. Unfortunately, on the first play of the second half, he suffered a severe shoulder injury in the game after the combined 800-pound trio of Packer Willie Davis, Lion Roger Brown and Colt Gino Marchetti converged on the signal caller. Speculation persists to this day that Marchetti went out of his way to injure Ryan due to the perception that the quarterback ran up the score in the championship, with Marchetti's statement that he wanted "one more shot" at Ryan also fueling the rumors. However, a study of the film by Cleveland coaches in the weeks after the game exonerated Marchetti.

1965
Ryan’s numbers dropped in 1965, throwing for only 1,751 yards and 18 touchdowns. While his shoulder had completely healed, a sore elbow in training camp and an injured arch early in the regular season played a role in his completing fewer than half of his passes during the campaign. Those struggles resulted in a continuing cool relationship with Browns' fans, who booed him often during home contests. Part of Ryan's decline can also be traced to the absence of second-year wide receiver Paul Warfield, who missed much of the season after suffering a double fracture of the collarbone in the team's first exhibition game.

1966
In 1966, he bounced back with a superb season, leading the league with 29 touchdown passes and finishing second with 2,976 yards despite playing with intense pain. Ryan's output helped alleviate the absence of the legendary Jim Brown, who had retired prior to the start of training camp.

1967
On January 25, 1967, Ryan underwent an operation to repair the remaining effects of his injury. The surgery eliminated the pain, but also affected his throwing motion. In the 1967 season opener, Ryan's injury woes continued as he sprained both ankles in a 21-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Battling through that malady, along with shoulder and knee troubles, Ryan led the team to a 9-5 record to reach the playoffs.

1968
Ryan's tenure as the Browns' starting quarterback came to an abrupt end following a 1-2 start to the 1968 season. Browns' head coach Blanton Collier replaced Ryan with Bill Nelsen, who went on to lead the team to a division title. The official conclusion of Ryan's time with the Browns came on September 9, 1969 when he was released, but new Redskins' coach Vince Lombardi quickly signed Ryan as a backup.

Washington Redskins
Despite throwing only one pass during the 1969 season, Ryan returned for the last of his 13 years in the NFL in 1970 before officially announcing his retirement on April 13, 1971.

Academic career
Ryan attended graduate school during the first part of his playing career, and in 1965, he earned his Ph.D. from Rice. His thesis was titled, "Characterization of the Set of Asymptotic Values of a Function Holomorphic in the Unit Disc." He started teaching at Rice during his career and, during his time with the Browns, held a position as an assistant professor at the Case Institute of Technology, teaching undergraduate courses and conducting research in complex analysis.

Ryan’s second career was fodder for many jokes by sportswriters. Red Smith wrote that the Browns' offense consisted of a quarterback who understood Einstein’s theory of relativity and ten teammates who didn’t know there was one. Ryan was somewhat put off by the focus on his academic life, as he considered himself to be a regular football player.

Post-NFL career
Soon after his retirement from the Redskins, Ryan remained in the nation's capital when he was named Director of Information Services for the U.S. House of Representatives. While there, he helped advance the computer age in politics by playing an integral role in establishing the body's first electronic voting system. Ryan resigned that post to become athletic director at Yale University on March 7, 1977. He served in that position for ten years before resigning to become the school's Associate vice President for Institutional Planning. Ryan was a member of the Rice Board of Governors from 1972 to 1976, and he was recognized as a distinguished alumnus in 1987. Now retired, he lives in Grafton, Vermont.

Another Browns quarterback received a "professional doctorate"; Dr. Dave Mays, DDS, played for the team in 1976 and 1977.

Statistics
Ryan ranks fourth all-time among Browns quarterbacks with 13,499 passing yards and second behind Brian Sipe with 134 touchdowns. His 81.43 passer rating is third-best, behind Milt Plum and Bernie Kosar.

Ryan's career numbers (including years with the Rams and Redskins): 1,090 completions in 2,133 attempts for 16,044 yards, 149 touchdowns and 111 interceptions. Ryan also rushed for 1,358 yards and six touchdowns on 310 carries.

Other sources

 * Grossi, Tony (2004). Tales from the Browns Sideline. (Champaign, Ill.): Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-713-9
 * Stewart, Todd, ed. (2004) Cleveland Browns 2004 Media Guide. New York: National Communications Group