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This cache is located in Newport News Park, off of Richneck Road.
Park here to begin your hunt: N 37 10.328 W 076 30.904
DO NOT PARK at the Model Airplane Flying Field.
Please Do Not Cross the open field to reach the cache(s). All caches in this series can be accessed
Via the fire break trails surrounding the area.
2nd in a series along my “Buckeye Trail”
This cache is named after the “Dawg Pound” which is the section of bleachers at the east end of Cleveland Browns Stadium where some of the most loyal and rabidly devout fans of the Cleveland Browns cheer on their team.
Professional football arrived in Cleveland in 1946 and in the years that followed a loyal fan base took hold. Browns fan supported their team win or lose. From the outset, Cleveland was a team to be reckoned with. The first year they were 13 and 2! 1947; 13-2-1! 1946; 15 and 0! (Includes playoffs) In their first ten years the team amassed a record of 119 wins, 27 losses and 4 ties!
Over the years Cleveland has been the home of many legendary and Hall of Famers, among them are Lou “the Toe” Groza, Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Paul Warfield and Gene Hickerson just to name a few of the players. Then there is Paul Brown, head coach from 1946-1962 who shaped the Browns into the powerhouse they were until the mid eighties.
The most devastating blow to Browns Fans everywhere came in 1996 when owner Art Model in a dispute with the City over the condition of Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium (home of the Browns and Indians) announced that he was moving “his” team to Baltimore! Little did he realize what that announcement would do! Cleveland fans everywhere rallied, responded and in a show of true loyalty to “their” team, forced the NFL to allow only the players to move to Baltimore. The Team Name, Records etc. would remain and that when the league next expanded, Cleveland would again get “their” team back.
In 1999 the League expanded, the Browns came back to life in Cleveland to a new stadium designed just for football (note, the new stadium while smaller and designed for football is nice, it cannot replace the atmosphere of the old Municipal Stadium that held 80,000 plus, I can remember seeing the Browns play Oakland to a nearly sold out crowd with the snow flying!) Since the resurrection the old rivalries have continued to build between the Browns and the Steelers and the Bengals. While the Browns have struggled to get off the ground, its fans know that Cleveland will one day soon, again be the Alpha Dog of the NFL.
The “Dawg Pound” started during the 1985 Training Camp at Lakeland Community College in Kirkland, Ohio. Hanford Dixon and fellow cornerback Frank Minnifield started the idea of the pound by using the dog-versus-cat relationship between the quarterback and the defense.” We had the idea of the quarterback being the cat, and the defensive line being the dog," Dixon said. "Whenever the defense would get a regular sack or a coverage sack the defensive linemen and linebackers would bark." This attitude carried into the stands at the training camp, where fans started barking along with the players. Dixon and Minnifield then put up the first "Dawg Pound" banner in front of the bleachers before the first preseason game at old Cleveland Stadium. The bleacher section had the cheapest seats in the stadium, and its fans were already known as the most vocal. They adopted their new identity whole-heartedly, wearing dog noses, dog masks, bone-shaped hats and other outlandish costumes.
Now, on to the Cache;
The Dawg Pound has many hiding places in this location. Ground Zero will only put you in the area. Use your GeoSense and you too, can become a Dawg Pound Member!
The cache is a camouflaged, medium sized container with room for swag, small Travel Bugs and Geocoins. This is a Themed Cache, so lets try to keep the Swag exchange Theme related. Be sure to replace the cache exactly as you found it so others can thrill to the hunt.
Enjoy your hike in while exploring this seldom visited section of Newport News Park, no real bushwhacking required until your close. The trails for the most part are high and dry. However, there are sections that will be wet after heavy rains.
First to Find will have a little extra work to do to claim their
prize.
Next up: Fear The Roo!
This cache has been approved by and registered with
the Newport News Department of Parks, Recreation &
Tourism. Registration # 0150
Congrats to Team Bill2bears on their FTF and Milestone 200.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)