Paul Brown was nine years old when his family moved to Massillon from Norwalk, Ohio. In PB:The Paul Brown Story he describes Massillon in 1917 as “a wealthy, thriving steel town with a healthy blue-collar work ethic and....some fine sports teams including the Massillon Tigers, one of professional footballs first franchises, a healthy semipro baseball team called the Agathons....and a healthy assortment of good high school teams, particularly a football team that had for years turned out tough, hard nosed players who later went on to colleges in Ohio, Indiana and western Pennsylvania.” Brown played high school football under Dave Stewart and credited Stewart with teaching him the fundamentals of winning and instilling in him the desire to coach. After graduation, he attended Ohio State for a year but felt it was too large for him. He transferred to Miami of Ohio where he eventually took over as starting quarterback for his junior and senior years. His grades were good enough to recommend him as a Rhodes Scholarm but in 1930 the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and the goal was survival. He was recommended for a teaching and coaching job at Severn Tech, a prep school for the Naval Academy, by Dave Stewart and was fortunate to receive the job. In his two year term his teams were 16-1-1.

In 1931 Massillon was 1-9 and was looking for a new coach. He wasted no time in arranging an interview to coach where football was the focus of the entire community. There were several factions pushing their candidates and finally a school board member called Dave Stewart to read a list of the candidates. “Pick Brown” was the reply. Paul Brown was just 24 years old when selected as the Massillon High School football coach.

There is no doubt that Paul Brown put Massillon “on the map.” His achievements in the game and his continuing references to his roots kept Massillon in the public eye. But he has meant more than that to the community.

Success was not immediate to the fledgling coach. The first two years ended with defeat by the traditional rival Canton McKinley Bulldogs. This rivalry dated back to the professional days and in 1913 was scheduled as the last game of the high school season. There was some grumbling in the town. At the same time the coach noticed a player at practice sick to his stomach ejecting green tomatoes. When it was found that the player’s family could not afford a healthy diet in the depression environment Paul Brown started a booster club to make sure his players would be fed. The club became a vital part of his contribution to the Massillon mystique. It was an organization to help the team and it also provided a forum for meetings where the coach discussed his program. All walks of life became close in their relationship to Brown and his kids. The grumbling stopped, the team was fed and the program became the rallying point for the community.

In his nine years (1932-1940) as head football coach his teams were 80-8-2 (90.9 winning percentage). There were 6 state championships and 4 national championships. Paul Brown took his relationship with sports beyond football. He was appointed athletic director for all sports in 1934. He believed in excellence in all extra curricular activities. For example, in his last five years the Massillon High basketball team went to the state level tournament reaching the semi-finals three times and the finals once.

In 1936 the athletic program was so popular that the school board purchased land and obtained WPA funds to build a 21,000 seat stadium. Tiger stadium opened in 1939, was eventually renamed Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and still stands as a jewel of the community.

Paul Brown’s innovations in football eventually earned him a place in the Football Hall of Fame. Many started in Massillon - play books, individual grading on game performance, coaches calling plays, and scripting opening offensive plays. But there is more to the story. Paul Brown recognized that what happened under the Friday night lights and the final Saturday afternoon game was entertainment for the fans. He worked with and encouraged George (Red) Bird to develop the Massillon Tiger Swing Band and created the greatest show in high school football. It was through his effort that the mascot in a real tiger skin urged the fans on from the sidelines and during half-time shows. On the day of a game the downtown area was awash with the orange and black tiger motif with flags flying and a large sign in the center of town announcing the season schedule. That tradition flourishes today.

Under Paul Brown the football program generated enough revenue to support all extracurricular activities. In PB:The Paul Brown Story he is quoted, “We wanted to have the best because we wanted our students to see nothing but the best and be content with nothing less than the best - whether in football or any other area.”

The only other job Paul ever wanted was to be the Ohio State football coach. That chance came in 1941. He went a long way from there but never forgot Massillon.