Without Graham, the Browns floundered in 1956. Injuries to two Browns quarterbacks left the relatively unknown Tommy O'Connell as the starter, and Cleveland finished with a 5–7 record, its first losing season. Dante Lavelli and Frank Gatski retired at the end of the season, leaving Groza as the only original Browns player still on the team. While the Browns' on-field play in 1956 was uninspiring, off-the-field drama developed after a Cleveland-based inventor let Brown test a helmet with a radio transmitter inside. After trying it out in training camp, Brown used the helmet to call plays during the pre-season with long-time backup George Ratterman behind center. The device allowed the coach to direct his quarterback on the fly, giving him an advantage over franchises who had to use messenger players to relay instructions. The Browns used the device off and on into the regular season, and other teams began to experiment with their own radio helmets. Bert Bell, the NFL commissioner, banned the device in October 1956. Today, however, all NFL teams use in-helmet radios to communicate with players.