Year | Winner, Score | Runner-up, Score | Game |
1946 | Cleveland Browns 14 | New York Yankees 9 | (AAFC Championship) |
1947 | Cleveland Browns 14 | New York Yankees 3 | (AAFC Championship) |
1948 | Buffalo Bills 28 | Baltomore Colts 17 | (Tie-breaker playoff) |
Cleveland Browns 49 | Buffalo Bills 7 | (AAFC Championship) | |
1949 | Cleveland Browns 31 | Buffalo Bills 21 | (Semi-finals) |
San Francisco 49ers 17 | NY/Brooklyn Yanks 7 | (Semi-finals) | |
Cleveland Browns 21 | San Francisco 49ers 7 | (AAFC Championship) | |
AAFC All-Stars 12 | Cleveland Browns 7 | (Shamrock Bowl) * |
NOTE: In 1950, The AAFC folded and Cleveland, Baltimore, San Francisco were merged into the NFL. The New York-Brooklyn team was renamed the New York Yankees and they too were merged into the NFL. The Los Angeles Dons were merged into the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, The Buffalo Bills were merged into the Cleveland Browns and the Chicago Hornets were bought out by the NFL and disbanded.
* The Shamrock Bowl was the very last AAFC Game ever played. Here is a passage from Duey Graham (Otto's Son) that he will put into his book about his famous father. "The Shamrock Bowl, played a week before Christmas, was supposed to be a vacation for the Browns players and staff, especially with the wives along. It was anything but for the jobless AAFC all-stars hoping to make a good impression on the NFL scouts. Without two leagues fighting over them, even veteran players were looking at pay cuts unless they had multiyear agreements. The All America Football Conference meant to make the league's final game an event to remember. It wasn’t. The bundled and uncomfortable Hollywood trio of Jack Benny (from Waukegan), Dinah Shore and Phil Harris provided pre-game entertainment to 12,000 rain drenched fans. This was the last game in old Rice stadium before a 50,000 seat replacement was built. The Kilgore Rangerettes wisely canceled their routine and just as the Freddy Martin Orchestra struck up the first chord of ‘Good old summer time’ at one o’clock, the first lightning clap rattled the stadium. The band and game played on. In a contest dominated by the weather, neither team scored in the first quarter. Quarterback George Ratterman of the AAC All-Stars was replaced by Frankie Albert in the second, who drove his squad 69 yards for the first score, but the kick was blocked. The Browns answered on their next drive when Motley broke free on a draw up the middle for 59 yards to the Stars 25. Held for no gain on the next two ground plays, Otto Graham tossed a slant pattern to Dub Jones who sat at the one for the catch and slid full speed behind the left goal post. Lou Groza put the Browns ahead by one. Frankie Albert took advantage of a lull in the storm by driving the Stars 91-yards and scoring on a 13-yard play action slant to Alton Baldwin. The skies opened up again after halftime and the only scoring opportunity for the Browns came on a recovered a Buddy Young fumble on the 8 in the last quarter. The All-Stars held but there were hardly any fans left to care. Otto was 8 of 19 for 104 yards in the 12 to 7 loss."
Championship Game Notes:
1946-Cleveland Browns 14 - New York Yankees 9
Otto Graham, Cleveland (16-27-213 yards, 1 TDP passing)
Marion Motley, Cleveland (13-98 yards, 1 TD rushing)
Dante Lavelli, Cleveland (6-87 yards, 1 TD receiving)
Spec Sanders, New York (14-55 yards, 1 TD rushing)
1947-Cleveland Browns 14 - New York Yankees 3
Otto Graham, Cleveland (14-21-112 yards passing, 1 TD rushing))
Marion Motley, Cleveland (33-109 yards rushing)
Buddy Young, New York (16-69 rushing, 2-25 yards receiving)
1948-Cleveland Browns 49 - Buffalo Bills 7
Otto Graham, Cleveland (11-24-118 yards, 1 TDP passing)
Marion Motley, Cleveland (14-133 yards, 3 TDs rushing)
George Ratterman, Buffalo (5-18, 104 yards passing)
1949-Cleveland Browns 21 - San Francisco 49ers 7
Otto Graham, Cleveland (7-17, 128 yards passing, 9-62 yards
rushing))
Marion Motley, Cleveland (8-75 yards, 1 TD rushing)
Edgar Jones, Cleveland (16-63 yards, 1 TD rushing)
Frankie Albert, San Francisco (9-24, 108 yards, 1 TDP passing, 8-41
yards rushing
Year | Player, Team | Pos |
1946 | Glen Dobbs, New York | TB |
1947 | Otto Graham, Cleveland | QB |
1948 | Otto Graham, Cleveland | QB |
Frankie Albert, San Francisco | QB | |
1949 | Otto Graham, Cleveland | QB |
NOTE: In 1949, The Sporting News named Cleveland Brown's coach Paul Brown the Coach of the Year in ALL of Pro Football (including the NFL).
Passing Leaders | |||||
Year | Player, Team | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDPs |
1946 | Otto Graham, Cleveland | 95 | 174 | 1834 | 17 |
Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn | 135 | 269 | 1886 | 13 | |
1947 | Otto Graham, Cleveland | 163 | 269 | 2753 | 25 |
1948 | Frankie Albert, San Francisco | 154 | 264 | 1990 | 29 |
Otto Graham, Cleveland | 173 | 333 | 2713 | 25 | |
1949 | Otto Graham, Cleveland | 161 | 285 | 2785 | 19 |
Rushing Leaders | |||||
Year | Player, Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TDs |
1946 | Spec Sanders, New York | 140 | 709 | 5.1 | 6 |
1947 | Spec Sanders, New York | 231 | 1432 | 6.2 | 18 |
1948 | Marion Motley, Cleveland | 157 | 964 | 6.1 | 5 |
1949 | Joe Perry, San Francisco | 115 | 783 | 6.8 | 8 |
Receiving Leaders | |||||
Year | Player, Team | Rec. | Yds | Avg | TDs |
1946 | Dante Lavelli, Cleveland | 40 | 843 | 21.1 | 8 |
Alyn Beals, San Francisco | 40 | 586 | 14.7 | 10 | |
1947 | Mac Speedie, Cleveland | 67 | 1146 | 17.1 | 6 |
1948 | Mac Speedie, Cleveland | 58 | 816 | 14.1 | 4 |
Billy Hillenbrand, Baltimore | 50 | 870 | 19.4 | 6 | |
1949 | Mac Speedie, Cleveland | 62 | 1028 | 16.6 | 7 |
Scoring/Kicking Leaders | |||||
Year | Player, Team | TDs | FGs | PATs | PTs |
1946 | Lou Groza, Cleveland (Kicking) | 0 | 13 | 45 | 84 |
Spec Sanders, New York | 12 | 0 | 0 | 72 | |
1947 | Spec Sanders, New York | 19 | 0 | 0 | 114 |
Ben Agajanian, Los Ang (Kicking) | 0 | 15 | 39 | 84 | |
1948 | Chet Mutryn, Buffalo | 16 | 0 | 0 | 96 |
Joe Vetrano, Buffalo (Kicking) | 1 | 5 | 62 | 83 | |
1949 | Alyn Beals, San Francisco | 12 | 0 | 1 | 73 |
Joe Vetrano, Buffalo (Kicking) | 0 | 3 | 56 | 65 | |
Interceptions | |||||
Year | Player, Team | No. | Yds | Avg | TDs |
1946 | Tom Colella, Cleveland | 10 | 110 | 11.0 | 0 |
1947 | Tom Colella, Cleveland | 6 | 130 | 21.7 | 1 |
Bill Kellagher, Chicago | 6 | 77 | 12.8 | 0 | |
Len Eshmont, San Francisco | 6 | 72 | 12.0 | 0 | |
1948 | Otto Schnellbacher, New York | 11 | 239 | 21.7 | 1 |
1949 | Jim Cason, San Francisco | 9 | 152 | 16.9 | 0 |
Punt Returns | |||||
Year | Player, Team | No. | Yds | Avg | TDs |
1946 | Chuck Fenenbock, Los Angeles | 16 | 299 | 18.7 | 0 |
1947 | Billy Hillenbrand, Baltimore | 13 | 201 | 15.5 | 0 |
Glenn Dobbs, Los Angeles | 19 | 215 | 11.3 | 0 | |
1948 | Rex Bumgardner, Buffalo | 16 | 336 | 21.0 | 2 |
Herman Wedemeyer, Los Angeles | 23 | 368 | 16.0 | 0 | |
1949 | Sammy Cathcart, San Francisco | 18 | 306 | 17.0 | 0 |
Jim Cason, San Francisco | 21 | 351 | 16.7 | 0 | |
Kick Returns | |||||
Year | Player, Team | No. | Yds | Avg | TDs |
1946 | Monk Gafford, Brklyn-Miami | 10 | 305 | 30.5 | 0 |
Chuck Fenenbock, Los. Angeles | 17 | 479 | 28.2 | 1 | |
1947 | Chet Mutryn, Buffalo | 21 | 691 | 32.9 | 1 |
1948 | Monk Gafford, Brooklyn | 23 | 559 | 24.3 | 0 |
1949 | Ray Ramsey, Chicago | 14 | 407 | 29.1 | 0 |
Billy Grimes, Los Angeles | 16 | 411 | 25.7 | 0 | |
Punting | |||||
Year | Player, Team | Avg. | |||
1946 | Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn | 47.8 | |||
1947 | Mickey Colmer, Brooklyn | 44.7 | |||
1948 | Glenn Dobbs, Los Angeles | 49.1 | |||
1949 | Frankie Albert, San Francisco | 48.2 |
Passing | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDPs |
Otto Graham, Cleveland (1946-49) | 592 | 1061 | 10085 | 86 |
Frankie Albert, San Francisco (1946-49) | 515 | 963 | 6948 | 88 |
George Ratterman, Buffalo (1947-49) | 438 | 831 | 6194 | 52 |
Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn-LA (1946-49) | 446 | 934 | 5876 | 45 |
Y.A. Tittle, Baltimore (1948-49) | 309 | 578 | 4731 | 30 |
Bob Hoernschemeyer, Chi-Brk-Chi (1946-49) | 308 | 688 | 4109 | 32 |
Charlie O'Rourke, LA-Bal (1946-49) | 219 | 418 | 3088 | 28 |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 204 | 418 | 2771 | 23 |
Wilson Schwenk, Cle-Bal-NY (1947-49) | 189 | 367 | 2564 | 17 |
Sammy Vacanti, Chi-Baltimore(1947-49) | 154 | 368 | 2338 | 18 |
Jesse Freitas, SF-Chi-Buffalo (1946-49) | 123 | 253 | 1884 | 21 |
Bob Chappuis, Brk-Chicago (1948-49) | 102 | 227 | 1442 | 8 |
Al Dekdebrun, Buf-Chi-NY (1946-47,49) | 83 | 161 | 1222 | 13 |
Angelo Bertelli, Los Ang-Chicago (1946-48) | 76 | 166 | 972 | 8 |
Pete Layden, NY Yankees (1948-49) | 45 | 115 | 841 | 9 |
Rushing | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | Att | Yds | TDs | |
Marion Motley, Cleveland (1946-49) | 489 | 3024 | 26 | |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 540 | 2900 | 34 | |
Chet Mutryn, Buffalo (1946-49) | 475 | 2676 | 25 | |
John Strzylalski, San Francisco (1946-49) | 429 | 2454 | 14 | |
Bob Hoernschemeyer, Chi-Bkl (1946-49) | 506 | 2109 | 10 | |
Norm Standlee, San Francisco (1946-49) | 375 | 1734 | 17 | |
Mickey Colmer, Brooklyn-NY (1946-49) | 398 | 1537 | 15 | |
Edgar Jones, Cleveland (1946-49) | 289 | 1509 | 18 | |
Buddy Young, NY Yankees (1947-49) | 262 | 1452 | 19 | |
Lou Tomasetti, Buffalo (1946-49) | 323 | 1430 | 12 | |
Joe Perry, San Francisco (1948-49) | 192 | 1345 | 18 | |
John Kimbrough, Los Angeles (1946-48) | 329 | 1224 | 17 | |
Len Eshmont, San Francisco (1946-49) | 232 | 1181 | 7 | |
James Bus Mertes, LA-Baltimore (1946-49) | 301 | 1120 | 6 | |
Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn-LA (1946-49) | 262 | 1039 | 12 | |
Bob Kennedy, NY Yankees (1946-49) | 253 | 1017 | 9 | |
Vic Kulbitski, Buffalo (1946-48) | 193 | 1006 | 3 | |
Eddie Prokop, NY-Chicago (1946-49) | 226 | 935 | 8 | |
Julie Rykovoch, Buf-Chicago (1947-48) | 188 | 839 | 10 | |
Receiving | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | Rec | Yds | TDs | |
Mac Speedie, Cleveland (1946-49) | 211 | 3554 | 24 | |
Alyn Beals, San Francisco (1946-49) | 177 | 2510 | 46 | |
Lamar Davis, Mia-Baltimore (1946-49) | 147 | 2103 | 12 | |
Dante Lavelli, Cleveland (1946-49) | 142 | 2580 | 29 | |
Alton Baldwin, Buffalo (1947-49) | 132 | 2103 | 22 | |
Fay King, Buffalo-Chicago (1946-49) | 115 | 1583 | 20 | |
Billy Hillenbrand, Baltimore (1947-49) | 110 | 2053 | 18 | |
Chet Mutryn, Buffalo (1946-49) | 85 | 1471 | 10 | |
Saxon Judd, Brooklyn (1946-48) | 84 | 897 | 7 | |
Bruce Alford, NY Yankees (1946-49) | 76 | 1262 | 9 | |
Dale Gentry, Los Angeles (1946-48) | 74 | 1002 | 5 | |
Jack Russell, NY Yankees (1946-49) | 73 | 1154 | 13 | |
Len Ford, Los Angeles (1948-49) | 67 | 1175 | 8 | |
Danny Edwards, Brk-Chicago (1948-49) | 65 | 749 | 3 | |
Joe Aguirre, Los Angeles (1946-49) | 63 | 1040 | 16 | |
Mickey Colmer, Brk-New York (1946-49) | 63 | 899 | 6 | |
Nick Susoeff, San Francisco (1946-49) | 61 | 610 | 4 | |
Buddy Young, NY Yankees (1947-49) | 60 | 733 | 8 | |
Ray Ramsey, Chi-Brooklyn (1947-49) | 52 | 1134 | 15 | |
Elroy Hirsh, Chicago (1946-48) | 44 | 730 | 7 | |
Scoring | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | TDs | FGs | PATs | PTs |
Alyn Beals, San Francisco (1946-49) | 46 | 0 | 2 | 278 |
Lou Groza, Cleveland (1946-49) | 0 | 30 | 165 | 259 |
Joe Vetrano, San Francisco (1946-49) | 2 | 16 | 187 | 247 |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 40 | 0 | 0 | 240 |
Chet Mutryn, Buffalo (1946-49) | 37 | 0 | 1 | 223 |
Interceptions | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | Int's | Yds | TDs | |
Cliff Lewis, Cleveland (1946-49) | 24 | 216 | 0 | |
Tommy Colella, Cle-Brooklyn (1946-49) | 21 | 323 | 1 | |
Eddie Carr, San Francisco (1947-49) | 16 | 290 | 2 | |
Otto Schnellbacher, NY Yankees (1948-49) | 15 | 265 | 1 | |
Jim Cason, San Francisco (1946-49) | 14 | 198 | 0 | |
Kickoff Returns | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | KRs | Yds | TDs | |
Chet Mutryn, Buffalo (1946-49) | 54 | 1494 | 1 | |
Monk Gafford, Brk-Mia-Brk (1946-48) | 55 | 1469 | 0 | |
Chuck Fenenbock, Los Ang-Chi (1946-48) | 49 | 1242 | 1 | |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 44 | 1205 | 2 | |
Ray Ramsey, Chi-Brooklyn (1947-49) | 40 | 1046 | 0 | |
Billy Hillenbrand, Chi-Baltimore (1946-48) | 42 | 1042 | 0 | |
Punt Returns | ||||
Player, Team (Years Played) | PRs | Yds | TDs | |
Chuck Fenenbock, Los Ang-Chi (1946-48) | 50 | 678 | 0 | |
Jim Cason, San Francisco (1946-49) | 43 | 660 | 0 | |
Cliff Lewis, Cleveland (1946-49) | 61 | 649 | 0 | |
Billy Hillenbrand, Chi-Baltimore (1946-48) | 44 | 612 | 1 | |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 36 | 549 | 1 | |
Chet Mutryn, Buffalo (1946-49) | 35 | 492 | 1 |
Total Offense (Passing + Rushing) | Com-Att-Yds-TDPs | Att-Yds-TDs | Yds-TDs |
Player, Team (Years Played) | Pass | Rush | Total |
Otto Graham, Cleveland (1946-49) | 592-1061-10085-86 | 99-200-11 | 10285-97 |
Frankie Albert, San Francisco (1946-49) | 515-963-6948-88 | 219-767-20 | 7715-108 |
Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn-Los Ang. (1946-49) | 446-934-5876-45 | 262-1039-12 | 6915-57 |
Bob Hoernschemeyer, Chi-Brk-Chi (1946-49) | 308-688-4109-32 | 506-2109-10 | 6218-42 |
George Ratterman, Buffalo (1947-49) | 438-831-6194-52 | 65-18-8 | 6212-60 |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 204-418-2771-23 | 540-2900-33 | 5671-56 |
All Purpose Yards (Rush+Receiving+Returns) | Att-Yds-TDs | Rec-Yds-TDs | KR-Yds-TDs | PR-Yds-TDs | Int-Yds-TDs | Yds-TDs |
Player, Team (Years Played) | Rushing | Receiving | Kick returns | Punt returns | Int returns | Total |
Chet Mutryn, Buffalo (1946-49) | 475-2676-25 | 85-1471-10 | 54-1494-1 | 35-492-1 | 1-11-0 | 6143-37 |
Spec Sanders, New York (1946-48) | 540-2900-33 | 18-272-3 | 44-1205-2 | 36-549-1 | 6-158-1 | 5084-40 |
Marion Motley, Cleveland (1946-49) | 489-3024-26 | 45-644-4 | 42-974-0 | 0-0-0 | 2-48-1 | 4690-31 |
Billy Hillenbrand, Chi-Baltimore (1946-48) | 216-889-11 | 110-1987-17 | 42-1042-0 | 44-612-1 | 4-85-0 | 4615-31 |
John Strzylalski, San Francisco (1946-49) | 429-2454-14 | 56-922-11 | 24-508-0 | 26-316-0 | 8-101-0 | 4301-25 |
Mac Speedie, Cleveland (1946-49) | 0-0-0 | 211-3554-24 | 2-0-0 | 2-14-0 | 0-0-0 | 3568-24 |
Ray Ramsey, Chi-Brooklyn (1947-49) | 124-524-2 | 52-1134-15 | 40-1046-0 | 24-277-1 | 14-269-0 | 3250-18 |
Bob Hoernschemeyer, Chi-Brk-Chi (1946-49) | 506-2109-10 | 13-188-3 | 30-797-0 | 9-117-0 | 2-18-0 | 3229-13 |
1946 | |
End | Alyn Beals, San Francisco |
End | Dante Lavelli, Cleveland |
Tackle | Martin Ruby, Brooklyn |
Tackle | Bruiser Kinard, NY Yankees |
Guard | Bruno Banducci, San Francisco |
Guard | Bill Willis, Cleveland |
Center | Bob Nelson, Los Angeles |
Quarterback | Otto Graham, Cleveland |
Halfback | Glen Dobbs, Brooklyn |
Halfback | Spec Sanders, NY Yankees |
Fullback | Marion Motley, Cleveland |
1947 | |
End | Mac Speedie, Cleveland |
End | Dante Lavelli, Cleveland |
Tackle | Nate Johnson, NY Yankees |
Tackle | Lou Rymkus, Cleveland |
Guard | Bruno Banducci, San Francisco |
Guard | Bill Willis, Cleveland |
Center | Bob Nelson, Los Angeles |
Quarterback | Otto Graham, Cleveland |
Halfback | Chet Mutryn, Buffalo |
Halfback | Spec Sanders, NY Yankees |
Fullback | Marion Motley, Cleveland |
1948 | |
End | Mac Speedie, Cleveland |
End | Alyn Beals, San Francisco |
Tackle | Bob Reinhard, Los Angeles |
Tackle | Lou Rymkus, Cleveland |
Guard | Dick Barwegon, Baltimore |
Guard | Bill Willis, Cleveland |
Center | Bob Nelson, Los Angeles |
Quarterback | Otto Graham, Cleveland |
Halfback | Chet Mutryn, Buffalo |
Halfback | John Strzykalski, San Francisco |
Fullback | Marion Motley, Cleveland |
1949 | |
End | Mac Speedie, Cleveland |
End | Alyn Beals, San Francisco |
Tackle | Bob Reinhard, Los Angeles |
Tackle | Arnie Weinmeister, Brooklyn/NYY |
Guard | Bob Reinhard, Los Angeles |
Guard | Bill Willis, Cleveland |
Center | Lou Saben, Cleveland |
Quarterback | Otto Graham, Cleveland |
Halfback | Chet Mutryn, Buffalo |
Halfback | Frankie Albert, San Francisco |
Fullback | Joe Perry, San Francisco |
Position | Player, Team |
End | Mac Speedie, Cleveland |
End | Alyn Beals, San Francisco |
End | Dante Lavelli, Cleveland |
End | Billy Hillenbrand, Baltimore |
End | Alton Baldwin, Buffalo |
Tackle | Bob Reinhard, Los Angeles |
Tackle | Lou Rymkus, Cleveland |
Tackle | Arnie Weinmeister, Brooklyn/NYY |
Guard | Bill Willis, Cleveland |
Guard | Bruno Banducci, San Francisco |
Guard | Dick Barwegon, Baltimore |
Center | Bob Nelson, Los Angeles |
Center | Lou Saben, Cleveland |
Quarterback | Otto Graham, Cleveland |
Quarterback | Frankie Albert, San Francisco |
Quarterback | George Ratterman, Buffalo |
Halfback | Chet Mutryn, Buffalo |
Halfback | Spec Sanders, NY Yankees |
Halfback | Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn-LA |
Halfback | John Strzykalski, San Francisco |
Fullback | Marion Motley, Cleveland |
Fullback | Joe Perry, San Francisco |
Kicker | Lou Groza, Cleveland |
Kicker | Joe Vetrano, San Francisco |
Return Spec. | Chuck Fenenbock, Los Angeles |
Return Spec | Herman Wedemeyer, LA-Baltimore |
Punter | Glenn Dobbs, Brooklyn-LA |
Punter | Frankie Albert, San Francisco |
Other AAFC Links:
Stan Grosshandler's All American Football Conference Page
Extinct Sports Leagues Home Page
©1998 Steve Dimitry, all rights reserved.
Email: sdimitry@verizon.net