The "Dawg Pound" has a storied past – one that originates from Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield during 1985 at training camp. Forty years later, the Cleveland Browns are celebrating the anniversary of the "Dawg Pound," a tribute to two Browns Legends and a symbol of a passionate fanbase.
With the Browns kicking off 2025 Training Camp on July 23, they are commemorating the history of the Dawg Pound with the "Dawg Pound XL" theme day at camp on July 25 with fans in attendance. In conjunction with Gregory Industries, there will be "Dawg Pound XL" gate giveaways for all fans. As part of the initiative, there will also be Dawg Pound Adult Dog Adoption Day – encouraging fans to adopt adult dogs onsite.
"We're excited for the fans to get out here on Friday at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "That'll be fun. They always bring that energy for us."
Cleveland touted one of the strongest secondaries in the league with Hanford Dixon and All-Pro cornerback Frank Minnifield, but the defensive line lacked the same firepower. Dixon and Minnifield wanted to do all they could to help their defensive teammates. So, Dixon pulled from his experiences from growing up in Theordore, Ala., remembering from his childhood how the dogs used to chase the cats.
"What we did was the dogs were originally for the defensive line, because what we told them, 'Hey, we're going to bark at you. And when we bark at, you guys think of that quarterback as a cat. You guys are going to be the dogs, and you just run it back and just let it go,'" Dixon said. "So, we started barking at them."
Yet, the barking didn't stop with the secondary. Due to the close quarters of fans around the perimeter of the fields at training camp at Lakeland Community College, fans heard the barking. And they joined in.
"Before we knew it, it wasn't for the defensive line anymore," Dixon said. "It was the whole defense. The whole team was the Dawgs and can't believe that the Dawg Pound is still going strong today."
On gamedays following its inception, the sounds of barking and chants echoed throughout Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Each game when Dixon and Minnifield ran out of the tunnel, they would head straight to the Dawg Pound to provide an added level of energy ahead of kickoff. From seeing a fan nicknamed "Big Dog" in the front row of each home game, to the "Bone Lady," fans created characters that embodied the "Dawg" mentality.
The "Dawg" identity translated into the "Dawg Pound," the famous group of Browns faithful who sit in the east end zone and cheer the Browns each Sunday. Sections 118-122 at Huntington Bank Field are dedicated to the most devoted Browns fans in the stadium. The barking that started at training camp in 1985 spearheaded the creation of new chants and barks that would go on to form the Browns "Dawg" identity for the last 40 years.
Over the last 40 years, fans have continued to embrace the "Dawg" identity and build the "Dawg Pound" into what it is today, with barks and chants echoing through the stadium every Sunday in Cleveland.
"That Dawg Pound in our heart just holds a special place there," Dixon said. "I really appreciate the Browns, Dee (Haslam) and Jimmy (Haslam) and the NFL for keeping that thing going. It's really something special to me, and it means a lot. The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Dawg Pound means a lot. Hopefully in some kind of way it can light a fire under this team and especially that defense and get them going a little bit."
