Otto Graham ran for six TDs and threw for 15 more in leading the Browns to the Eastern Conferenc title.

Editor's note: Our series on the greatest NFL teams of all time begins with a look at the 1955 Browns. The greatest team ever will be revealed on Tuesday, May 15.

If Otto Graham had made his first retirement stick, then the 1955 Cleveland Browns wouldn't have "happened."

After leading the Browns to nine consecutive league championship games (including the All-American Football Conference) and an NFL title in 1954, Graham announced his retirement. However, as the Browns looked less than stellar in training camp and during the 1955 exhibition season, head coach Paul Brown convinced Graham to come back for one more season.

	1955 Browns
	Record: 9-2-1 Points scored/allowed: 349/218 Adjusted power index: +6.40 Opponents' record: 60-67-5 (.473)* Record against teams with winning records: 2-1-1 Points scored/allowed against teams with winning records: 100/90 * For all of these opponents' records, games against this team are excluded.

Although Graham's record as a quarterback is impeccable -- 10 seasons, 10 league championship games, and seven league titles (four AAFC, three NFL) -- his reputation is somewhat diminished because, unlike other quarterbacks of his era, Graham did not call the plays. Of course, in today's game, no quarterback calls his own plays. The facts are what they are, but consider the following: In his six NFL seasons, the Browns were 58-13-1.

His 1950-55 passing rating of 78.2 looks average by today's standards, but in only one of those six seasons was the league rating over 60.0. (The 2000 NFL passing rating was 78.1.)

Graham's teams won more consistently than just about any other in history and he was a very productive passer. By any definition, that is a great quarterback.

Graham vs. League (passer rating)
Year	Graham's passer rating	League passer rating	Browns' record
1950	64.7	52.9	10-2
1951	79.2	55.6	11-1
1952	66.6	55.7	8-4
1953	99.7	53.6	11-1
1954	73.5	61.7	9-3
1955	94.0	57.1	9-2-1

Graham made his retirement stick after 1955 and the Browns' record was just 5-7 in 1956. Of course, the Browns returned to glory with Jim Brown and company, but they still didn't win as often as they did under Otto Graham.

Eddie Epstein works as a consultant to major league baseball teams. He is the co-author, along with ESPN.com's Rob Neyer, of "Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time." He has been a regular contributor to ESPN.com's baseball coverage and is a huge football fan.