Q: Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins team of 1972 remains the only NFL team to go undefeated, finishing at 17-0. In 1948, the same year the Cleveland Indians won the World Series, Paul Brown’s Cleveland Browns went 15-0. Are either of these teams, as teams, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
—Gary Furin, Atlanta
A: The entire rosters of the 1972 Dolphins and the 1948 Browns aren't in the Hall of Fame, but there's an exhibit that showcases the 1972 Dolphins and mentions the Browns.
The Browns were in the All-America Football Conference in 1948 and the NFL doesn’t recognize those records, Pro Football Hall of Fame executive vice president and historian Joe Horrigan told Q&A on the News.
The Browns, the San Francisco 49ers and a version of the Baltimore Colts merged with the NFL in 1950.
Six members of the 1948 Browns team and coach Paul Brown are in the hall. Six members of the 1972 Dolphins team and Shula also have been elected to the hall, Horrigan said.
Counting ties, the Browns went 29 games without a loss, beginning in 1947 and extending into 1949, Horrigan wrote on the Hall of Fame’s website.
Q: How old is Bruce Springsteen? He looks great and I’ve been listening to him for a long, long time.
—Eddie Webster, Douglasville
A: Springsteen, a Grammy Award winning singer and musician who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is 66 years old.
He was born in Long Branch, N.J., on Sept. 23, 1949.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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