All-America Football Conference playoffs

Modern rendition of league logo
Sport	American football
Founded	1944
First season	1946
Ceased	1949
No. of teams	2 (1946, 1947) 3 (1948) 4 (1949)
Country	United States
Last champion	Cleveland Browns (1946–1949)

TheAll-America Football Conference playoffs were the postseason games of theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC), anAmerican football league which challenged the establishedNational Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949.

From 1946 to 1948, the AAFC determined its champion in a title game between the winners of its two divisions. In 1948, a special playoff game was needed to break a first-place tie in one of the divisions. In 1949, the league contracted to a single division, so it determined its champion by a four-team single-elimination tournament.

Just five teams participated in the AAFC playoffs in four years: theCleveland Browns (all four years), theNew York Yankees (three times), theBuffalo Bills (twice), theBaltimore Colts, and theSan Francisco 49ers. TheCleveland Browns won all four AAFC titles, however their domination and the lack of balance that it demonstrated ultimately hurt the league by diminishing attendance.^[1][2][3][4]

AAFC playoff records, as with AAFC records in general, are recognized by thePro Football Hall of Fame but were not included in the NFL's record book until 2025.^[5][6]

The two teams had met twice in the regular season, with Cleveland (12–2) defeating the Yankees (10–3–1) both times by scores of 24–7 on September 26 in Cleveland and 7–0 on October 12 at Yankee Stadium. On what was described as a chilly day of 29-degree weather, the Yankees nearly defied the expectations as 14-point underdogs to lead for most of the fourth quarter on the strength of making a field goal (while Cleveland went 0-for-4 with two kickers) and a touchdown run bySpec Sanders.^[7] With less than five minutes remaining in the game, the Browns were trailing 9-7 beforeOtto Graham led Cleveland to a 76-yard drive that culminated with a pass toDante Lavelli that saw him catch it and run in from the six-yard line to the endzone to give them the lead with 4:13 remaining to give Cleveland the lead they would not relinquish. The Yankees tried to drive down the field, butAce Parker was intercepted by Graham (playing safety) to clinch the championship for Cleveland.^[8]

This was the final game forAce Parker, who retired after the game ended.

Individual shares for Cleveland players were $931. While the AAFC never instituted a trophy for winning the championship (instead giving a lapel pin), the Cleveland players pooled together to commission two trophies: one was given to team majority ownerArthur B. McBride and the other was given to minority owner Daniel Sherby; included was the names of all 38 players. These two trophies are the only ones of a Cleveland football championship to exist (the four NFL championships won by Cleveland were in the era where the trophy was given on a rotating basis; they had a replica trophy created for the 1964 championship decades later); one of the trophies was donated to the organization in 2013 after the grandson of Sherby discovered the trophy in a box in his garage inRaleigh, North Carolina.^[9][10]

Note: Players often played both offense and defense in this period. Although free substitution existed from 1943, what are today considered defensive starters were categorized as "substitutes" in this era. Pro Football Reference listsLloyd Cheatham as under the "BB position", althoughAce Parker, who is not listed as starting in the game, threw all but two passes (withSpec Sanders throwing those passes) for the team.

Hall of Fame inductee

The two teams had met twice in the regular season: Cleveland (12–1–1) defeated New York (11–2–1) at home on October 5 by a score of 26–17 while the two teams tied in the November 23 matchup in New York. In weather conditions that saw the field have bits of ice and snow for a slippery feel (the infield portion of Municipal Stadium was frozen solid), the two teams mutually agreed to only wear regulation cleats rather than sneakers. Cleveland's T-formation offense against New York's single-wing formation saw the two teams combine for 17 points of offense.Marion Motley had a 100-yard rushing game for Cleveland, who never trailed. Cleveland players took $1,191.99 each for their share, while Yankee players received $794.66 each.^[11]

Hall of Fame inductee

The Bills and Colts were each tied for first in the Eastern Division with records of 7–7 due to the last game of the season, in which Baltimore defeated Buffalo 35–15 at Baltimore Municipal Stadium on December 5. One week later at the same venue, the Bills returned the favor and defeated Baltimore to reach the AAFC Championship Game, withGeorge Ratterman tossing for two touchdowns in the span of three minutes to give Buffalo the lead after they trailed by ten to start the fourth.Buckets Hirsch closed the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown offY. A. Tittle.^[12]

The Baltimore crowd was so unsatisfied by the calls of sideline judge Tommy Whelan that players and police were used to escort him to the dressing room when the game was over.^[13]

Cleveland had beaten Buffalo in both of the regular season matchups: 42–13 in Buffalo on September 12 and 31–14 on October 17 in Cleveland. Miserable weather that had snow fall on and off for a good portion of the day leading up to the game, combined with rumors of a merger with the NFL, led to less than 25,000 people attending the game. This was the first time the city of Buffalo had competed in a professional championship game and the first time a pro team was in championship discussion since the1921 NFL Championship controversy 27 years earlier.^[14]

Edgar Jones opened the scoring for Cleveland with 0:10 seconds to go in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, George Young recovered aRex Bumgardner fumble at the 18-yard line and returned it to the end zone to give Cleveland a 14-0 lead that they held at halftime. Two minutes into the third quarter,Otto Graham delivered a touchdown pass to Edgar Jones to increase the score.Marion Motley increased the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown run. The Bills got their only score of the game when they replacedGeorge Ratterman withJim Still (already serving as punter) at quarterback, where he delivered a ten-yard touchdown pass with a few seconds to go in the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw two further Motley touchdown runs and aLou Saban interception return for a touchdown to end the game. Cleveland, nursing a record of 14–0, thoroughly dominated the Bills here to complete the firstperfect season by a football team since theLos Angeles Bulldogs of thethird rendition of the American Football League in 1937 and retroactively is considered the first perfect season by a major professional team. The city of Buffalo would next compete for a professional championship game in1964 with the American Football League.

The winner's share for each Cleveland player was $594.18 while each Buffalo player received $386.22.^[15]

Note: Players often played both offense and defense in this period. Although free substitution existed from 1943, what are today considered defensive starters were categorized as "substitutes" in this era.^[15]

Hall of Fame inductee

The 9–1–2 Browns had both of their ties come at the hands of the 5–5–2 Bills, one in Buffalo to start the season on September 5 and the other in Cleveland on November 13. As it turned out, this was the final game played by the Bills, who would not be voted in alongside the Browns, 49ers andBaltimore Colts to play in the NFL for 1950. Buffalo would have to wait until 1960 with the newBuffalo Bills in theAmerican Football League for professional football.

The matchup of the second-place 49ers (9–3) against the third-place Yankees (8–4) previously had seen the two teams split their regular season matchups: the Yankees beat the 49ers in New York on October 23 while the 49ers had defeated the Yankees on November 27 in San Francisco.

This was the final game played by the AAFC Yankees, who had been merged with theBrooklyn Dodgers for the 1949 season to keep afloat as the "Brooklyn-New York Yankees". The Yankees players would be dispersed among the twoNational Football League teams in New York in theNew York Giants andNew York Bulldogs, who rebranded to become the "New York Yanks" in 1950.

The final AAFC Championship matched two teams that had finished 1-2 in all four AAFC seasons with Cleveland and San Francisco. The two teams split their regular season matchups: The 49ers defeated the Browns 56–28 in San Francisco on October 9 while the Browns defeated the 49ers 30–28 in Cleveland on October 30. On a field of mud and slush, the two teams managed to have zero turnovers and just one penalty combined. Likely the standout play of the game wasMarion Motley scoring a 63-yard touchdown run on a trap play that saw him burst up the middle to give Cleveland a 14-0 lead in the third quarter. The 49ers did respond with a 74-yard drive in the fourth quarter that sawFrankie Albert throw a touchdown pass toPaul Salata. However,Dub Jones ran in for a four-yard touchdown that served as the final touchdown in AAFC history, withLou Groza scoring the last point in league history on the PAT. Browns players received $266.11 each while 49ers players received $172.61 each.^[16]

Hall of Fame inductee

• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)

• All-America Football Conference

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