On This Date in Sports December 22, 1946 : Browns Champs of the AAFC
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees 14-9 at Municipal Stadium to win the first championship of the All-American Football Conference. The AAFC was an eight-team league that started up as a rival of the NFL. The Browns quickly emerged as the league’s best team, going 12-2. They would go on to win the AAFC Championship in all four years the league existed.
The All-American Football Conference was a rival league for the NFL that was founded in 1944 by Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward. The same man who was behind the creation of the All-Star Game in baseball. The league would begin play in 1946 with eight teams playing in two four-team divisions. The 14-game schedule would consist of a round robin format with each team playing every team in the league twice. The AAFC set out to be an inclusive league, allowing African Americans to join the league. A move that helped force the NFL to integrate before the start of the 1946 season as well.
The AAFC was set up to succeed with wealthy owners, as the league began play a year after the end of World War II. The Cleveland Browns emerged as the league’s premier team quickly with former Ohio State Coach Paul Brown leading the way. The Browns featured an All-Star roster with quarterback Otto Graham leading the way along with Marion Motley, Lou “The Toe” Groza, and Bill Willis all of whom would put together Hall of Fame careers.
The Browns arrived just as Cleveland lost its NFL franchise as the Rams left for Los Angeles after winning the 1945 NFL Championship Game. The Browns started the year with a 44-0 win over the Miami Seahawks at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. The Browns started the season with wins in their first seven games, after losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Dons, the Browns ended the season with wins in their last five games to finish 12-2 and win the Western Division by three games over the 49ers.
The New York Yankees were led by former Washington Redskins coach Ray Flaherty. After struggling in the early going, the Yankees won seven of their last eight games to finish the season at 10-3-1 to easily win the Eastern Division, as the rest of the division was below .500.
The Yankees got on the board first with a 21-yard field goal by Harvey Johnson that was the only scoring in the first quarter at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Browns got the first touchdown to take the lead in the second quarter on a two-yard run by Marion Motley. Spec Sanders got the only score in the third quarter as the Yankees regained the lead 9-7, as Lou Groza was having a rough day missing three field goals for the Browns. In the fourth quarter, Chat Adams did not do any better missing a field goal as Cleveland continued to struggle. Finally, the Browns got a 16-yard pass from Otto Graham to Dante Lavelli to take the lead for good with 4:31 left, as the 41,181 fans went home happy with the Browns winning the first AAFC Championship 14-9.
The Browns would come to dominate the AAFC, winning the championship four straight seasons, before the league merged with the NFL, with the Browns, 49ers and Baltimore Colts joining the NFL.