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The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts.
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national champion.
William Karnet Willis was an American professional football middle guard and guard who played for eight seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). Known for his quickness and strength despite his small stature, Willis was one of the dominant defensive football players of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was named an All-Pro in every season of his career and reached the NFL's Pro Bowl in three of the four seasons he played in the league. His techniques and style of play were emulated by other teams, and his versatility as a pass-rusher and coverage man influenced the development of the modern-day linebacker position. When he retired, Cleveland coach Paul Brown called him "one of the outstanding linemen in the history of professional football".
Louis Roy Groza, nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional football offensive tackle and placekicker while playing his entire career for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Groza was professional football's career kicking and points leader when he retired after the 1967 season. He played in 21 seasons for the Browns, helping the team to win eight league championships in that span. Groza's accuracy and strength as a kicker influenced the development of place-kicking as a specialty; he could kick field goals from beyond 50 yards (46 m) at a time when attempts from that distance were a rarity. He set numerous records for distance and number of field goals kicked during his career.
Fletcher Joseph Perry was an American professional football fullback who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1948 to 1960, the Baltimore Colts from 1961 to 1962, and returned to the 49ers in 1963 for his final year in football. He was exceptionally fast, a trait uncommon for a fullback and one which earned him the nickname, "the Jet". The first African-American to be named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), he became one of American football's first black stars.
Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli, nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1956. Starring alongside quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, kicker Lou Groza and fellow receiver Mac Speedie, Lavelli was an integral part of a Browns team that won seven championships during his 11-season career. Lavelli was known for his sure hands and improvisations on the field. He was also renowned for making catches in critical situations, earning the nickname "Mr. Clutch". Browns head coach Paul Brown once said of him: "Lavelli had one of the strongest pairs of hands I've ever seen, when he went up for a pass with a defender, you could almost always count on him coming back down with the ball."
The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both home and away – televised. The Washington Redskins became the second team to put their games on TV. Other teams arranged to have selected games televised.
Mac Curtis Speedie was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) for seven years before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Canada. He later served for two years as head coach of the American Football League's Denver Broncos. A tall and quick runner whose awkward gait helped him deceive defenders and get open, Speedie led his league in receptions four times during his career and was selected as a first-team All-Pro six times. His career average of 800 yards per season was not surpassed until two decades after his retirement, and his per-game average of 50 yards went unequalled for 20 years after he left the game.
Weldon Gaston "Hum" Humble was an American football guard who played five seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Texans in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
The 1948 Cleveland Browns season was the team's third in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). After winning the AAFC crown in 1946 and 1947, the league's first two years of existence, the Browns repeated as champions in 1948 and had a perfect season, winning all of their games.
The 1949 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth and final season in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns finished the regular season with a 9–1–2 win–loss–tie record and beat the San Francisco 49ers to win their fourth straight league championship. In the season's sixth game on October 9, the 49ers stopped the Browns' professional football record unbeaten streak at 29 games. It began two years earlier on October 19, 1947, and included two league championship games and two ties.
The 1950 Cleveland Browns season was the team's first in the National Football League (NFL) after playing the previous four years in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), which folded after the 1949 season. The Browns finished the regular season with a 10–2 win–loss record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship. It was Cleveland's fifth consecutive championship victory, the previous four having come in the AAFC.
Horace Albert "Big Horse" Gillom was an American professional football player who was a punter and end in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He played ten seasons for the Cleveland Browns between 1947 and 1956. Cleveland head coach Paul Brown, who coached Gillom in high school, college and professionally, called him his best all-around high school player and once said there "has never been a better punter than Horace".
Martin Owen Ruby was an offensive tackle and defensive tackle for the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), New York Yanks of the National Football League (NFL), and the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). He lived in Waco, Texas, while he was a professional player.
Chester Frank Adams was a professional American football tackle and placekicker who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and All-America Football Conference (AAFC), mainly with the Cleveland Rams and Cleveland Browns. He was selected to the NFL's All-Star game twice. In 1978, he was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
Derrell Palmer was an American football tackle who played eight seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and in the National Football League (NFL), mainly with the Cleveland Browns.
Joe Emerson Spencer was an American football tackle and coach who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He is often mistaken for the notorious advertising sales rep, Joe Spencer. He was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948 and the Cleveland Browns in 1949 before playing two seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Forrest Porter "Chubby" Grigg, Jr. was an American football tackle who played seven seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) in the 1940s and 1950s. Grigg grew up in Texas and attended the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. After graduating from college, he joined the AAFC's Buffalo Bisons, where he played for a year. Grigg was then sent to the Chicago Rockets in 1947, but stayed only one season before joining the Cleveland Browns in 1948. The Browns won all of their games and the AAFC championship that season. Cleveland again won the AAFC championship in 1949 before the league dissolved and the Browns were absorbed by the more established NFL. Grigg continued to play for the Browns in 1950 and 1951. The team won the NFL championship in 1950, and reached the title game but lost it the following year. Grigg spent a final season with the Dallas Texans before retiring from football.
Lewis Elwood "Mickey" Mayne was an American football halfback who played three seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between 1946 and 1948. Mayne played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts.
The 1946 AAFC season was the first season of the All-America Football Conference, a new professional league established to challenge the market dominance of the established National Football League. The league included eight teams, broken up into Eastern and Western divisions, which played a 14-game official schedule, culminating in a league championship game.
References
- "The Shamrock Bowl" from Mark Bolding's website