The 'All-America Football Conference' (AAFC) was a professional
American football league that challenged the established
National Football League (NFL) from
1946 to
1949. One of the NFLâs most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nationâs best players, produced one of pro footballâs greatest teams, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. Three of its teams were admitted to the NFL, of which two survive today.
History
Founding
The AAFC was founded by ''
Chicago Tribune'' sports editor
Arch Ward on June 4, 1944. Ward was also the originator of baseballâs
All-Star Game and footballâs
College All-Star Game.
Ward brought together a number of wealthy pro football enthusiasts, some of whom had previously attempted to purchase NFL franchises. Ward had previously encouraged the NFL to expand, but now he hoped to bring about a permanent second league and a championship game with the NFL, similar to baseballâs
World Series.
On November 21, 1944 the AAFC chose
Jim Crowley, one of the "
Four Horsemen of Notre Dame", as its commissioner. Not coincidentally, the NFL commissioner at this time was
Elmer Layden, another of
Knute Rockne's legendary
1924 backfield.
During the next months, the AAFCâs plans solidified. The league initially issued franchises for Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Brooklyn and Miami were later added. A group representing Baltimore was considered for admission, but could not secure a stadium. The league planned to begin play in 1945, but postponed its opening for a year as World War II still raged.
As the eight franchises built their teams, no move was more far-reaching than Cleveland's choice of
Paul Brown as its head coach. Brown had won six Ohio state championships in nine years at Massillon High School and the 1942
national championship at
Ohio State, and had also coached successfully at the militaryâs Great Lakes Naval Station. In Cleveland, Brown would emerge as one of the game's greatest innovators.
NFL Reaction
As might be expected, the NFL did not welcome its new rival. In 1945, Layden remarked that the AAFC, still a year from its first game, should âfirst get a ball, then make a schedule, and then play a game.â
[1] This insult, often paraphrased as "Tell them to get a ball first," would be long remembered.
Washington Redskins owner
George Preston Marshall was perhaps the NFL's hardest-liner regarding the AAFC. In 1945, he commented âI did not realize there was another league, although I did receive some literature telling about a
WPA projectâ.
[2] Later he declared, âThe worst team in our league could beat the best team in theirs.â
[3] After the AAFC put a team in
Baltimore, Marshallâs opposition to it would be a major obstacle to interleague peace. Not coincidentally, his team was badly hurt by the AAFC. A top team from 1936 to 1945, the Redskins began a decades-long title drought after coach
Ray Flaherty and many key players defected in 1946.
Laydenâs successor,
Bert Bell, pursued a policy of official non-recognition, generally answering âno commentâ to queries about the other league. In 1947, ''Pro Football Illustrated'' previewed both leagues in its annual publication and was banned from NFL stadiums.
[4]
Prospects
The AAFC posed a formidable challenge. In most interleague sports wars, the established league has major advantages over the challenger in prestige, finance, size, and public awareness. The NFL-AAFC war differed in several respects.
The NFL was just emerging from its wartime retrenchment. The Cleveland Rams had suspended operations for 1943, and on three occasions teams merged for a season.
[5] The Boston Yanks had played only one season as an independent entity.
Meanwhile, the AAFC had advantages not enjoyed by many challengers:
★ The AAFC was founded by a key figure at a major newspaper, so it enjoyed ample attention in the press.
★ The AAFC owners were wealthier than their NFL counterparts, giving the AAFC the nickname "the millionaires' coffee klatch" in many newspapers.
[6]. Among them were Clevelandâs
Arthur B "Mickey" McBride (a real estate and taxi magnate), San Franciscoâs
Anthony Morabito (lumber), Chicagoâs John L. Keeshin (trucking), and Los Angelesâ group of Benjamin Lindheimer (a racetrack owner), actor
Don Ameche and
Louis B. Mayer of
MGM. The NFL owners were generally men whose primary assets were their teams.
★ Peace created an surplus of talent and an opening for a new league. Many pro and college players, some of whom had played on military teams, were once again civilians. Many college-eligible players were signable despite longstanding tradition because their original classes had graduated.
[7] The AAFC took its share: its 1946 rosters included 40 of the 66 College All-Stars, two recent
Heisman Trophy winners (
Frank Sinkwich and
Angelo Bertelli), and more than 100 players with NFL experience.
★ Air travel was now viable. Like major league baseball, all of the NFLâs teams still played in the Northeast and Midwest, but the AAFC seized the opportunity to place teams in open cities in Florida and California.
Yet it remained to be seen if there was a market for this much pro football. Since achieving stability in the early 1930s, the NFL had never fielded more than 10 teams.
[8] No competitor had endured for more than two years. In 1946, there would be 18 teams, including three in Chicago, three in New York, and two in Los Angeles.
Baseball and college football were substantially more popular. Longtime NFL president
Joe Carr had said, "No owner has made money from pro football, but a lot have gone broke thinking they could."
[9] At a time when the World Series had long been a national institution, and the
Rose Bowl drew crowds of 90,000, the NFL's title game typically drew about 35,000 fans. Most pro teams played in baseball stadiums, some shared names with the local baseball team, and both leagues saw fit to choose college football legends as their commissioners.
There was even a sense that collegians could defeat pros. 1946 saw the famous Army-Notre Dame scoreless tie in Yankee Stadium. At season's end, Arch Ward (the AAFC founder!) opined that both teams were superior to either pro champion.
[10]
It was in this sports landscape that the AAFC prepared to compete with the NFL.
Maneuvers and intrigue
Early events in the NFL-AAFC war favored the AAFC.
Dan Topping, owner of the NFLâs
Brooklyn Tigers,
[11] wished to move his team from Ebbets Field to the much larger Yankee Stadium. New York Giants owner
Tim Mara used his territorial rights to block the move. He had good reason: the Yankees had displaced the Giants as New Yorkâs premier baseball team after moving into The House That Ruth Built, three rival football leagues had planted teams there hoping to duplicate that feat, and Topping (of
Anaconda Copper) was significantly wealthier than Mara.
Topping responded by buying into the baseball Yankees and transferring his club to the AAFC.
Most of his players followed. His renamed New York Yankees were rewarded with $100,000 from each of the other seven AAFC teams while the AAFC's initial New York investor withdrew.
(Note that the AAFC Brooklyn Dodgers were a separate entity never associated with Topping's team.)
Shortly after Topping defected, the NFL owners fired Commissioner Layden, replacing him with Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner
Bert Bell. Bell had already made a major contribution to the league: the
NFL draft, begun in 1935, was his idea.
Meanwhile,
Dan Reeves'
Cleveland Rams had consistently lost money, despite winning the 1945 NFL title. Compounding his problems, the local AAFC competition already looked strong: Arthur McBride was aggressively marketing the Browns, and coach Paul Brown was an Ohio icon. Accordingly, Reeves proposed to move the Rams to Los Angeles.
With two teams planned for California, the AAFC had national aspirations. The NFL's thinking was more modest: it rejected Reeves' move because of travel expenses. After the NFL refused to consider his second choice (Dallas), Reeves threatened to withdraw from the league. Having already lost Topping, the NFL reconsidered and approved the Los Angeles move.
[12]
It was unprestigious for the NFL champion to move at all, let alone partly to avoid an unproven rival. On the other hand, the NFL would now face the AAFC as a national rather than regional league, and the AAFC would not have a West Coast monopoly.
Initial alignment
For 1946, the AAFC began play with 8 teams playing a record 14 games (a double
round-robin). The NFL's 10 teams played 11 games, its standard since 1937.
[13]
In another ambitious move, the AAFC chose larger stadiums in Chicago, New York, and Cleveland than the NFL's.
[14]
The two leaguesâ franchises and home fields for 1946 were:
'NFL'
'AAFC'
1946 season teams
''(
★ ) Now known as Tiger Stadium.''
''(
★
★ ) Better remembered as War Memorial Stadium, the original home of the modern
Buffalo Bills.''
''(
★
★
★ ) Now known as the Miami Orange Bowl.
1946
In the AAFC's first game, on September 6, 1946, the Cleveland Browns defeated the Miami Seahawks in Cleveland 44-0, before a pro record crowd of more than 60,000 fans. This historic game would prove a microcosm of much about the league:
★ Largely thanks to Paul Brown's innovations in organization and coaching,
[15] the Browns were on their way to setting a new standard of excellence for all of pro football.
★ Other teams would have significant problems, but the Seahawks would become the AAFCâs most spectacular fiasco. The Seahawks saw two games postponed due to hurricanes, never drew more than 10,000 at home, finished last in the league, ran up $80,000 in unpaid debts, and were ejected from the league after the season.
★ The crowd was the first of many large gates that the AAFCâs most popular teams (Cleveland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York) would attract, surpassing the NFL.
★ The score, however, was the first sign of the AAFCâs greatest problem. The league would have a wide gap between its best and worst teams, and its standings would be remarkably consistent from year to year.
★ Finally, this game marked the end of pro footballâs
color line. The Browns'
Marion Motley and
Bill Willis, both future Hall of Famers, became the first black players to play in pro football since 1933. (Meanwhile, the NFL Rams, opening several weeks later, had also signed two black players, UCLA great
Kenny Washington and future actor
Woody Strode.) Notably, this game took place ''before''
Jackie Robinson's debut with the
Brooklyn Dodgers - Robinson at this time was playing for the
Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' top farm team. In coming years, the AAFC would tap this talent pool more than the NFL, with 20 black players compared with the NFLâs 7 in 1949.
[16]
Other than New York, all of the quality teams in 1946 were in the Western Division. In the West, Cleveland led with a 12-2 record, three games ahead of San Francisco, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago. The Eastâs standings were unusual. New York was the only team to win more than three games, winning with a 10-3-1 record, seven (!) games ahead of Brooklyn and Buffalo, followed by Miami. Despite Brooklyn's record, its tailback
Glenn Dobbs led the league in passing and was named the MVP.
The title game was a tight affair, with the Browns coming from behind late in the fourth quarter to defeat the Yankees 14-9.
Despite the fiasco in Miami, the AAFC had enjoyed a successful debut, establishing a high level of play and doing well at the gate. The NFL likewise set new attendance highs for both the season and its title game. However, salaries shot up with two leagues competing for players, so the only teams to make a profit were the two champions, the Browns and the NFL Bears.
1947
The Chicago Rockets had experienced some disorganization in 1946. In a remarkable move, Commissioner Crowley (a successful former college coach) gave up a five-year contract to became their part-owner and coach. Admiral
Jonas H. Ingram was named to replace him as commissioner.
To replace the Seahawks, the Baltimore group turned down in 1945 was issued a franchise. The new Baltimore Colts would play in
Municipal Stadium. Meanwhile, the Bisons were renamed the Bills and the NFL added a 12th game to its schedule.
The AAFC enjoyed its most successful season in 1947. Some notable guests watched the Browns' opening game: the entire coaching staff of the 1946 NFL champion Chicago Bears.
The 49ers obtained the rights to Armyâs legendary Heisman-winners
Felix Blanchard ("Mr. Inside") and
Glenn Davis ("Mr. Outside"), and amid great publicity unsuccessfully attempted to get the military to permit them to play during their post-graduation furloughs. In other highlights, a Yankees-Dons game in the Los Angeles Coliseum drew a new pro record of more than 82,000, and division leaders New York and Cleveland locked horns on November 23 in the most famous game in AAFC history.
Before more than 70,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Browns rallied from a 28-0 deficit to tie 28-28.
New York won the East with a 11-2-1 record, 2 1/2 games ahead of Buffalo, with Brooklyn and Baltimore far back. Cleveland, led by MVP quarterback
Otto Graham, won the West with a 12-1-1 record, 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco. Los Angeles followed, and Chicago was last at 1-13. Former Commissioner Crowley would not return either as coach or owner.
The title game was a defensive struggle, with the Browns again defeating the Yankees, 14-3.
By this time a pattern had emerged among the franchises. The Browns, Yankees, 49ers, Dons, and Bills all had stable ownership and at least one winning season. The Browns led both leagues in attendance by a wide margin, the Yankees and Dons outpaced their crosstown NFL rivals on the field and at the gate, and the 49ers and Bills (despite a small stadium and city) also enjoyed good attendance.
However, the Dodgers, Rockets, and to a lesser extent the Colts were having serious problems. Playing near the Yankees and the NFL Giants, the Dodgers drew less than 12,000 fans per game, least in both leagues. The Rockets faced the NFL's flagship Bears and a Cardinals team enjoying rare success. After a decent start in 1946, the Rockets collapsed on the field and now played before tens of thousands of empty seats in huge Soldier Field. The first-year Colts did reasonably well at the gate but finished last. All of these teams were at the bottom of the standings and all were sold after the 1947 season, the Rockets for the second time.
1948
Although 1947 had been a successful season for the AAFC in many respects, the league still lost money. In 1948, attendance in both leagues declined, and negotiations to end the war became serious.
One factor affecting AAFC attendance was the imbalance between the leagueâs best and worst teams. To counter this, Commissioner Ingram attempted to get the strongest teams to distribute some players to the weakest. He was modestly successful: the Browns sent rookie quarterback
Y. A. Tittle to the Colts, who enjoyed their first good season, and the Yankees were overly generous and fell into mediocrity. However, 1948 featured extremes despite Ingramâs efforts.
For the first time, the division races were close. One featured excellence, the other mediocrity.
In the West, San Francisco and Cleveland both remained undefeated far into the season. On November 14, nearly 83,000 (a new record) in Cleveland Municipal Stadium watched the 9-0 Browns win a 14-7 defensive struggle over the 10-0 49ers. They met again two weeks later in San Francisco, with the Browns now 12-0 and the 49ers 11-1. The Browns again won narrowly, this time 31-28, clinching first place.
The rematch concluded an AAFC Thanksgiving week promotion: the Browns played three games in eight days! New Dodgers' part-owner
Branch Rickey (of baseball fame) suggested this experiment, and the Browns were chosen as the guinea pigs.
[17] They survived unscathed, and went on to complete an unprecedented 14-0 season.
The 49ers finished a heartbreaking second at 12-2. Los Angeles followed, and Chicago again finished 1-13 and last. The quarterbacks of the two outstanding teams, Clevelandâs
Otto Graham and San Franciscoâs
Frankie Albert, shared the MVP.
In the East, Buffalo and Baltimore tied at a mediocre 7-7, just ahead of 6-8 New York. Brooklyn was last at 2-12. Buffalo won a playoff and the dubious privilege of meeting Cleveland for the title.
Cleveland won the title game in a predictable rout, 49-7. With pro football's first perfect season and an 18-game winning streak and a 29-game unbeaten streak in progress, the Browns were making history. Since then, the only other perfect season belongs to the 1972
Miami Dolphins, the 2003-04
New England Patriots broke the winning streak record, and the unbeaten streak record still stands.
Meanwhile, things were very different in the NFL.
The NFL had also had a problem with imbalance. Nearly every title game from 1933 to 1946 featured either the Giants or Redskins from the East against either the Bears or Packers from the West.
But in the late 1940s new powers rose in the NFL, as the Cardinals, Eagles, and Rams all won titles, and the Steelers reached a playoff. All these teams had long histories of futility and had merged or suspended operations during the war. (In fact, the Cardinals were winless from mid-1942 to mid-1945, including an 0-10 merged season with the Steelers.)
Adding to the drama, the division races were often tight. Decades before
Pete Rozelle, Bert Bell promoted parity by purposely matching strong teams early in the season, keeping them from getting far ahead in the standings.
[18] All this presented a sharp contrast to the AAFC.
The war was getting increasingly costly thanks to rising salaries and dropping attendance. Nearly every team in both leagues lost money - enough that in December, the NFL officially acknowledged the AAFC as peace talks almost succeeded in ending the war. However, the AAFC wanted the NFL to admit four of its teams, while the NFL was willing to admit only the Browns and 49ers.
[19] Although the survival of its Brooklyn and Chicago teams was now in doubt,
[20] the AAFC decided to continue the fight.
1949
Commissioner Ingram stepped down, and another admiral, Oliver O. Kessing, was named to head the league.
As the war entered its fourth season, the financial problems forced reorganization in both leagues. In the NFL, the champion Philadelphia Eagles lost money and were sold. Plagued by league-low attendance, the Boston Yanks moved to New York in a curious move. Yanks owner Ted Collins had long desired a franchise in Yankee Stadium (thus his teamâs name), and expected the AAFC and its Yankees to be gone in 1949. Instead, with Yankee Stadium and the Yanks name unavailable, Collins' renamed Bulldogs had to share the Polo Grounds with the Giants on unfavorable terms and compete with two superior rivals.
[21]
Meanwhile, the Dodgers, the AAFC's least-drawing team, merged with the Yankees. The Rockets (renamed the Hornets) and Colts continued their streaks of annual ownership changes.
With the AAFC now down to 7 teams, it realigned into a single division, reduced its schedule to 12 games (still a double round-robin), and changed its postseason. In 1948, the 12-2 49ers had stayed home while the 7-7 Bills played for the title. This would not recur, as now the top four teams would qualify for the playoffs. Also, for the first time in pro football, playoff
home-field advantage would be based on win-loss record rather than rotating annually between divisions.
The lineup of the rival leagues was now:
'NFL'
1947-1949 season teams
'AAFC'
Since 1934, the College All-Star Game had matched the defending NFL champions against an all-star team of graduated college seniors. The game was a major event on the sports calendar, as Rose Bowl-sized crowds (more than 105,000 in 1947)
[22] watched college footballâs best often hold their own with the pros. Held in late August at Soldier Field, the game was sponsored by the ''Chicago Tribune'' and directed by sports editor Arch Ward.
Ward, of course, was also the founder of the AAFC. After the game's contract with the NFL expired with the 1948 game, Ward refused to renew it, and attempted to help the AAFC by putting its champion into the prestigious game. However, the NFL was able to convince the ''Tribuneâs'' board to override Ward and force him to re-sign with the NFL, handing the AAFC an embarrassing defeat.
Red ink on both sides continued to flow. Los Angeles Dons owner Ben Lindheimer was subsidizing the Colts and Hornets.
[23] The Green Bay Packers, then as now owned by a local civic group, had to issue new stock to remain solvent.
[24] Now facing two cross-town rivals, the Bulldogs predictably had even lower attendance in New York than in Boston. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions were also having serious financial problems.
On the field, Cleveland finally showed some vulnerability. An opening day tie with the Bills ended their winning streak, and on October 9 the 49ers ended their unbeaten streak in a 56-28 upset to move into first place.
Things soon reverted to the AAFC norm, however. The Browns won the rematch with the 49ers, 30-28, and Cleveland (9-1-2) and San Francisco (9-3) finished one-two for the fourth consecutive year. Brooklyn-New York and Buffalo were the other playoff qualifiers, followed by Chicago and Los Angeles. Baltimore finished far behind at 1-11.
In playoff action, Cleveland defeated Buffalo 31-21 and San Francisco defeated Brooklyn-New York 17-7. The two best teams in AAFC history met at last with the title at stake, with the Browns winning the final title, 21-7. No MVP was named for this season.
With this victory, the Browns now owned a 52-4-3 record and all four AAFC titles. How would they do against the NFL? Soon, that question would be answered.
Merger
On December 9, 1949, two days before the AAFC's last title game, the NFL and AAFC finally agreed to peace terms. Three AAFC teams were admitted to the older league: the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts. The Buffalo Bills, Brooklyn-New York Yankees, Chicago Hornets, and Los Angeles Dons folded. The enlarged league was renamed the National-American Football League.
The Browns and 49ers, by far the AAFC's two strongest teams, were obvious choices. Not so the Colts, an unlikely choice over the Bills as the third addition to the NFL. The playoff Bills had outperformed the last-place Colts on the field and at the gate. The Colts also played near the NFL Redskins, partly accounting for George Preston Marshallâs hawkishness. However, Buffaloâs small size (only Green Bay was smaller) and harsh winters were seen as problems,
[25] while Marshall reversed himself and decided that the Colts could build an excellent rivalry with his Redskins, a decision aided by a $150,000 fee to waive his territorial rights.
Buffaloâs fans attempted to save their team with a petition drive
[26], more than 15,000 season ticket pledges, and a $175,000 stock offering.
[27] However, Buffalo owner Jim Breuil was content to accept a minority share of the Browns, and the NFL was not inclined to add a fourth team.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner
Art Rooney called Buffaloâs exclusion âa sad mistake.â
Later, Bert Bell would tell
Lamar Hunt, then seeking an NFL expansion team for Dallas, that Buffalo was his first choice for eventual expansion.
[28] However, Buffalo would have to wait until the 1960 advent of Huntâs new
American Football League to again have a pro team, the modern-day
Buffalo Bills.
The Yankees' players were divided between the NFL's two New York teams, with the Giants choosing six and the Bulldogs receiving the rest. Three Bills players were awarded to the Browns. The remaining players on the Bills, Dons, and Hornets entered a dispersal draft.
With the AAFC Yankees gone, Bulldogs owner Ted Collins could now call his team the New York Yanks and move into Yankee Stadium. He continued to lose money, however, and sold the team to Dallas interests after two seasons.
[29]
In March 1950, the 13-team National-American Football League, ten of whom were NFL holdovers, voted to restore the league's former name. "National" and "American" became the names of the league's new conferences. (These did not evolve into today's NFL conferences, which were formed after the 1970
NFL-AFL merger). Three years later, the conferences were renamed Eastern and Western, eliminating the reminder of the NFL's defunct rival.
The enlarged NFL was aligned as follows:
Remarkably, although the AAFC was defeated, it actually outdrew its senior rival in terms of attendance.
Aftermath
"The World Series of Pro Football"
After winning each of their titles, the Browns challenged the NFL champion to an interleague championship. Unfortunately for fans, each year the NFL refused.
[30] (Of course, by playing such a game the NFL would legitimize the AAFC and risk more prestige.)
In December 1949, with both leagues financially exhausted but now at peace, a profitable interleague playoff was now both possible and desirable. So it would seem, but remarkably it was not to be. Although Pittsburgh's
Art Rooney, whose Steelers were among the shakiest NFL franchises, publicly advocated such a game, most of the NFL was unwilling to risk defeat at the hands of their vanquished, supposedly inferior rival.
[31] Officially, however, commissioner Bert Bell maintained that the NFL constitution barred such a game.
The football world would have to wait to see how the Browns matched up against the NFL's best.
All would not be lost for fans, however. Bell appreciated that the Browns were now an important asset to the NFL, and scheduled a special Saturday night game between them and the NFLâs two-time champion Philadelphia Eagles to open the 1950 season. While not quite an unofficial interleague playoff, what took place on September 16, 1950 was no ordinary regular season game.
The defending champions of two leagues that had never met on the field were about to play, foreshadowing tensions present in the early Super Bowls of the 1960s. At last the Browns would have the chance to prove themselves, and by extension the AAFC, against the NFL. There was tremendous anticipation from fans and the press, which called the game âThe World Series of Pro Footballâ.
[3] Although the game was played in the Eaglesâ city, it was not played on their field: because of the huge crowd expected, the game was moved from
Shibe Park to
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium,
[33] site of the
Army-Navy game. Attendance was more than 71,000: more than any previous NFL or AAFC championship game and one of the largest pro football crowds to that date. (This figure also surpasses
Super Bowl I and nearly matches Super Bowls II and III.) There was even a most valuable player award, unheard of for a regular-season game.
As it turned out, âThe World Series of Pro Footballâ resembled
Super Bowl III nearly two decades later. As with the 1968
Baltimore Colts and
New York Jets, the Eagles were widely considered one of the NFLâs strongest-ever champions, while many discounted the Brownsâ success in their âinferiorâ league. The result was just as shocking: the Eagles underestimated the highly motivated Browns (coach
Greasy Neale did not even scout the Brownsâ preseason games),
[34] while
Paul Brown found some previously unknown weaknesses in the widely imitated âEagle Defenseâ. The Browns led 14-3 at halftime and dominated the rest of the game to win decisively, 35-10. Quarterback
Otto Graham was named the gameâs MVP.
The Browns, 49ers, and Colts in the NFL
The Browns went on to go 10-2 to finish in a first-place tie with the
New York Giants, then won the playoff 8-3 to qualify for the NFL championship game. Their opponent was a formidable
Los Angeles Rams team that averaged nearly 39 points per game, a record that still stands. (Ironically, this was the Ramsâ first game in Cleveland since winning the 1945 title as the Cleveland Rams.) In a classic seesaw game, the Browns prevailed on a last-minute field goal, 30-28, to win their fifth consecutive league title.
The Brownsâ 1950 season confirmed the quality of their AAFC achievements as nothing else could. After the title game, Commissioner Bell called the Browns "the greatest team to ever play football.â
[35]
Cleveland remained near the top of the NFL for years, although in 1951 they were finally denied a league title (by the Rams). The Browns played in every NFL title game from 1950 to 1955, winning three of them, for a grand total of seven league titles in ten years.
The other ex-AAFC teams did not fare nearly as well.
The 49ers, the AAFC's second-best team, struggled in 1950 and finished 3-9. However, starting the next year they emerged as one of the better teams in the NFLâs Western Conference, reaching the postseason in 1957 after some near-misses.
The Colts' prospects were not promising: they had finished 1-11 and last in the AAFC in 1949 and also faced the handicap of playing near the
Washington Redskins. In 1950, the Colts went 1-11 again and disbanded. Their legacy lived on, however: three years later, a new Baltimore Colts franchise was established and became one of the NFLâs storied teams.
''See
Cleveland Browns,
San Francisco 49ers,
Baltimore Colts (1947-50), and
Indianapolis Colts for further details of these teams' subsequent histories.''
The AAFC and the NFL record book
One notable difference between the All-America Football Conference and the American Football League (AFL), which merged with the NFL two decades later, is that the records and statistics of AAFC players and teams are not included in the NFL record book, while those of their AFL counterparts are. For example,
Joe Namath's pre-1970 statistics with the AFL
New York Jets are considered official NFL statistics, while
Y.A. Tittle's pre-1950 statistics with the AAFC Baltimore Colts are not.
According to the NFL, this is because official scoresheets of AAFC games were not made available to the NFL after the merger. Without these, the NFL could not verify the authenticity of any AAFC statistics or records and so chose to ignore them. However, in the case of the
NFL-AFL merger completed in 1970, the AFL gave all of its official scoresheets to the NFL making it possible for the NFL to accept the AFL's statistics and records.
Another explanation is that the NFL-AAFC agreement was not a merger between equals. Three AAFC teams were admitted to the NFL, while four disbanded. There was no interleague playoff in December 1949. "American" swiftly disappeared from the enlarged league's name. The general attitude of superiority expressed throughout the war by NFL figures such as Marshall and commissioners Layden and Bell is also suggestive. The AFL, on the other hand, was able to force the NFL to admit every one of its teams and to play a
Super Bowl on a neutral field. From this perspective, it is not surprising that the AFL's statistics were recognized and the AAFC's were not.
Despite this, however, the
Pro Football Hall of Fame does recognize AAFC statistics.
[36] (It is worth noting that statistics from other defunct leagues, such as the
United States Football League, are not so recognized.)
Analysis
Why did the AAFC fail?
The AAFC began with wealthier owners, larger stadiums, excellent press, and comparable talent. The AAFC surpassed the NFL at the gate. The AAFCâs champion would have been more than a match for any NFL team. Yet, in the end, the AAFC failed.
It is difficult to avoid one obvious factor, commonly voiced in the press of the day: the Brownsâ near-total domination of the league. Attendance dropped sharply during the AAFCâs later seasons, even in Cleveland.
[37] A 52-4-3 record and four straight titles is certainly reason for fans to become bored.
It should be noted that the leagueâs imbalance was not limited to Clevelandâs invincibility, however. The only teams to threaten the Browns were the 49ers and Yankees, and the standings were quite static. San Francisco finished second four times, and was the only team besides Cleveland to post a winning record every year. New York had three postseason appearances, Buffalo had two. Los Angeles was usually average. On the other hand, Chicago, Brooklyn, Miami, and Baltimore never had a winning season. Chicago went 1-13 twice, and had four owners in four years. Baltimore had three owners in three years. Miami swiftly went bankrupt. Brooklyn merged to avoid that fate.
One reason the Browns became so dominant is that the AAFC did not hold a player draft before its first season. The AAFC instead encouraged its owners to sign as many good players as possible to compete with the NFL. However, because Paul Brown built the most extensive recruitment network in either league, he had a head start in recruiting top players coming out of the colleges and the military. Jim Crowley, the AAFCâs commissioner at the time, later acknowledged this decision was a fatal mistake.
[38]
A less obvious conclusion is that the NFL won because of superior leadership. The AAFC played four seasons and had three commissioners. The NFL replaced Elmer Layden with Bert Bell as the war began. Bell, who served from 1946 until his death in 1959, proved to be an outstanding commissioner. Under his leadership, the NFL restored confidence after a gambling scandal in 1946, defeated the AAFC challenge, achieved lasting franchise stability, established an effective television policy, and entered a new era of prosperity climaxing in the famous 1958 title game.
Also, the NFL owners, while less wealthy than their AAFC counterparts, had a greater tolerance for losses, having operated during many lean years, including World War II.
Some other points are worth noting:
★ A key moment was the NFL's reluctant approval of the Rams' move from Cleveland to Los Angeles. Had owner Dan Reeves followed through with his threat to withdraw if turned down, the AAFC would have been the sole national league while the NFL shrank.
★ Another key moment came earlier, in 1943. Reportedly, four of the NFL's ten owners wished to suspend the league's operations for the balance of World War II. However, the Bears'
George Halas and the Redskins'
George Preston Marshall, along with Commissioner Layden, insisted on continuing to operate, and prevailed.
[39] Had the NFL returned in 1946 after a three-season hiatus, it might have had more problems facing the AAFC challenge.
★ Before World War II, the NFL fielded 10 teams. By 1953, when pro football again stabilized, the NFL had 12 teams. It is an open question whether the 18 teams of 1946-48 could have prospered, even with the two leagues at peace. Certainly having three teams each in New York and Chicago was unnatural: by 1952 New York was a one-team town, as was Chicago by 1960.
If the AAFC had held a draft in 1945...if the NFL had rejected the Rams' move...if the AAFC had better leadership...most of all if the Yankees or 49ers had toppled the Browns in dramatic fashion and reignited fan interest... had these factors been different, the AAFC might have achieved Arch Wardâs goal of an interleague championship. It would be another league, the
American Football League, that would succeed in this in 1966.
Legacy
Although the AAFC played only four years, it had a major, lasting impact on pro football. Of all the leagues that challenged the NFL, only the American Football League of the 1960s influenced the NFL more than the AAFC.
The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and original Baltimore Colts began in the AAFC.
Fifteen AAFC alumni (thirteen players and two coaches) are enshrined in pro footballâs Hall of Fame.
The AAFC played a 14-game schedule more than a decade before the NFL adopted it, and played a major role in popularizing zone defenses in pro football.
The AAFC put the first pro football teams in Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami. Indeed, the AAFC was a coast-to-coast league more than a decade before major league baseball. This brought about another innovation: AAFC teams traveled by air while NFL teams still traveled by train.
Black players were excluded from the NFL from 1934 to 1945. The AAFC helped reintegrate the pro game in 1946 when Cleveland signed
Marion Motley and
Bill Willis while the NFL Rams signed
Kenny Washington and
Woody Strode. Not coincidentally, by decades' end these two teams were the best in pro football.
The AAFCâs Paul Brown produced numerous innovations to the game on and off the field. Among them were year-round coaching staffs, precision pass patterns, the face mask, and the practice of coachesâ calling plays via âmessenger guardsâ. He also was the first coach to have his staff film the opposition and have his team breakdown those game films in a classroom setting. In fact, the classroom setting and chalkboard analysis can also be attributed to him. His success with the Browns forced the rest of both leagues to adopt his methods. Many of his players and assistants eventually coached champions. Brown declined efforts to draft him to succeed Bert Bell as NFL commissioner,
[40] later founded the
Cincinnati Bengals, and served on the NFLâs key Competition Committee until his death in 1991.
These and other AAFC innovations and personalities helped lay the groundwork for the NFLâs great success.
AAFC teams
★
Brooklyn Dodgers, 1946-48 (merged with New York for 1949 season)
★
Buffalo Bisons, 1946; renamed
Buffalo Bills★
★ , 1947-49
★
Chicago Rockets, 1946-48; renamed
Chicago Hornets, 1949
★
Cleveland Browns★ , 1946-49
★
Los Angeles Dons, 1946-49
★
Miami Seahawks, 1946; relocated, becoming
Baltimore Colts★
★ , 1947-49
★
New York Yankees, 1946-48; merged with Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming
Brooklyn/New York Yankees, 1949
★
San Francisco 49ers★ , 1946-49
(
★ ): ''Team now in NFL.''
(
★
★ ): ''Team in NFL with that name, but unrelated to the AAFC team.''
AAFC standings
''W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties''
1946
| 'Eastern Division' |
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| Miami Seahawks | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 'Western Division' |
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Dons | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Chicago Rockets | 5 | 6 | 3 |
'AAFC Championship: Cleveland 14, New York 9 (Dec. 22 @ Cleveland)'
1947
| 'Eastern Division' |
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 'Western Division' |
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| Los Angeles Dons | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Chicago Rockets | 1 | 13 | 0 |
'AAFC Championship: Cleveland 14, New York 3 (Dec. 14 @ New York)'
1948
| 'Eastern Division' |
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| New York Yankees | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| 'Western Division' |
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Dons | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Chicago Rockets | 1 | 13 | 0 |
Eastern Division playoff: Buffalo 28, Baltimore 17 (Dec. 12 @ Baltimore)
'AAFC Championship: Cleveland 49, Buffalo 7 (Dec. 19 @ Cleveland)'
1949
| Team | W | L | T |
|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| Brooklyn/New York Yankees | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Chicago Hornets | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Dons | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Baltimore Colts | 1 | 11 | 0 |
Semifinal #1: Cleveland 31, Buffalo 21 (Dec. 4 @ Cleveland)
Semifinal #2: San Francisco 17, Brooklyn/New York 7 (Dec. 4 @ San Francisco)
'AAFC Championship: Cleveland 21, San Francisco 7 (Dec. 11 @ Cleveland)'
AAFC postseason games
Championship games
''From 1946 to 1948 the champions of each division met in the AAFC championship game. In 1949, there was only one seven-team division, so the championship game was the final round of a four team tournament.''
Other playoff games
''In 1948, there was a tie for first place in the Eastern Division. In 1949, there was only one seven-team division, so the playoffs were a four team tournament.''
''See
All-America Football Conference playoffs for box scores.''
All-Star Game
''The AAFC played an all-star game only once, following the 1949 season. This game, played in Houston and known as the
Shamrock Bowl, was the league's last game before the merger with the NFL. The champion Browns faced a team of All-Stars from the other six teams.''
''See
All-America Football Conference All-Star Game for box scores.''
AAFC Awards
Most Valuable Player
★ 1946:
Glenn Dobbs, HB, Brooklyn Dodgers
★ 1947:
Otto Graham, QB, Cleveland Browns
★ 1948 (tie):
Frankie Albert, QB, San Francisco 49ers
★ 1948 (tie):
Otto Graham, QB, Cleveland Browns
★ 1949: none named
Coach of the Year
There was no official award issued by the league. However, starting in 1947, the
Sporting News named a Coach of the Year for all of pro football. In 1947 and 1948, the choice was from the NFL. In 1949, this award went to
Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns.
Hall of Fame
The following AAFC players and coaches are enshrined in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio:
Players
★
Len Ford, Los Angeles Dons
★
Frank Gatski, Cleveland Browns
★
Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns
★
Lou Groza, Cleveland Browns
★
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, Chicago Rockets
★
Frank "Bruiser" Kinard, New York Yankees
★
Dante Lavelli, Cleveland Browns
★
Clarence "Ace" Parker, New York Yankees
★
Marion Motley, Cleveland Browns
★
Joe Perry, San Francisco 49ers
★
Y.A. Tittle, Baltimore Colts
★
Arnie Weinmeister, New York Yankees
★
Bill Willis, Cleveland Browns
''(Note: Graham and Motley were also named to the
NFL's 75th anniversary all-time team in 1994.)''
Coaches
★
Paul Brown, Cleveland Browns
★
Ray Flaherty, New York Yankees and Chicago Hornets
AAFC Leaders
Rushing
| Year | Name | Team | Yards | TDs |
|---|
| 1946 | Spec Sanders | New York | 709 | 6 |
| 1947 | Spec Sanders | New York | 1432 | 19 |
| 1948 | Marion Motley | Cleveland | 964 | 5 |
| 1949 | Joe Perry | San Francisco | 783 | 8 |
Passing
| Year | Name | Team | Yards | TDs |
|---|
| 1946 | Glenn Dobbs | Brooklyn | 1886 | 13 |
| 1947 | Otto Graham | Cleveland | 2753 | 25 |
| 1948 | Otto Graham | Cleveland | 2713 | 25 |
| 1949 | Otto Graham | Cleveland | 2785 | 19 |
Receiving
| Year | Name | Team | Yards | TDs |
|---|
| 1946 | Dante Lavelli | Cleveland | 843 | 8 |
| 1947 | Mac Speedie | Cleveland | 1146 | 6 |
| 1948 | Mac Speedie | Cleveland | 816 | 4 |
| 1949 | Mac Speedie | Cleveland | 1028 | 7 |
Scoring
| Year | Name | Team | Points | TDs | FGs | PATs |
|---|
| 1946 | Lou Groza | Cleveland | 84 | 0 | 13 | 45 |
| 1947 | Spec Sanders | New York | 114 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | Chet Mutryn | Buffalo | 96 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949 | Alyn Beals | San Francisco | 73 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
AAFC Commissioners
#
Jim Crowley 1944-
1947
#
Jonas H. Ingram 1947-
1949
#
Oliver O. Kessing 1949
See also
★
List of leagues of American football
★
All-America Football Conference playoffs
References
1. The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football, 1977: ''The AAFC'', pgs. 245-251
2. Americaâs Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, by Michael MacCambridge, 2005, pg. 13
3. MacCambridge, pg. 64
4. MacCambridge, pg. 50
5. The Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers in 1943, the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers in 1944, and the Boston Yanks and Brooklyn Tigers (Dodgers) in 1945.
6. Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League, 1999, ''Chapter 27: The All-America Football Conference, by Phil Barber''
7. The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns, by Andy Piascik, 2007, pg. 16
8. There were 11 franchises in 1944 and 1945, but only 10 teams actually played.
9. MacCambridge, pg. 53
10. Piascik, pg. 222
11. Known as the Dodgers from 1930-43.
12. MacCambridge, pg. 16
13. The NFL had played 12 games in 1935-36 and 10 games during the wartime 1943-45 seasons.
14. In Cleveland, the Rams had played in League Park.
15. MacCambridge, pg. 36
16. Piascik, pg. 131
17. Piascik, pg. 115
18. MacCambridge, pg. 46
19. Piascik, pg. 120
20. Piascik, pg. 119
21. Piascik, pg. 126
22. The ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, edited by Michael MacCambridge, 2005
23. The Coffin Corner, Volume 2, 1980, published by the Professional Football Researchers Association, ''All-America Football Conference,'' by Stan Grosshandler
24. The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History: ''The Green Bay Packers'', pgs. 138-145
25. MacCambridge, pg. 76
26. Piascik, pg. 144
27. The Coffin Corner, Volume 19, 1997, published by the Professional Football Researchers Association, ''The Other Buffalo Bills'', by Joe Marren
28. MacCambridge, pg. 121
29. The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History: ''Extinct Teams, Extinct Leagues'', pgs. 241-242
30. Piascik, pg. 147
31. Piascik, pgs. 146-47
32. MacCambridge, pg. 64
33. Later renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium, it is perhaps best remembered for the 1985 Live Aid concert.
34. Piascik, pg. 162
35. Piascik, pg. 182
36. The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History: ''Introduction'', pgs. 7-8
37. MacCambridge, pg. 51
38. Total Football II, ''Chapter 2, The History of the National Football League,'' by Jack Clary
39. Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and Eagles - "The Steagles" - Saved Pro Football During World War II, by Matthew Algeo, pg. 30
40. MacCambridge, pg. 137
External links
★
AAFC All-Star Game, 1949
★
Final AAFC Standings (1946-1949)
★
AAFC 1946 season in details
★
AAFC 1947 season in details
★
AAFC 1948 season in details
★
AAFC 1949 season in details
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