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.
Cleveland made numerous roster moves before the season, adding tackle Derrell Palmer, linebacker Tommy Thompson, and defensive back Warren Lahr, all of whom remained with the team for many years. Prior to the season, it was clear that the AAFC was struggling and might not survive beyond 1949. The regular season was shortened to twelve games and a new playoff system was introduced, with the top four teams competing in a two-week (semifinals, final) postseason.
The Browns began the season with a tie against the Buffalo Bills, but won their next four games. Following their loss to the 49ers in the sixth game of the season, the Browns won all but one of their remaining regular-season games, another tie with the Bills. The team finished atop the AAFC standings and faced the Bills in a league semi-final that they won, 31–21. The Browns then beat the 49ers in the championship game, shortly after AAFC and National Football League (NFL) owners agreed to a deal where the Browns, 49ers, and Baltimore Colts would join the NFL in , and the rest of the AAFC teams would cease to exist.
Browns quarterback Otto Graham, end Mac Speedie, and linebacker Lou Saban were named to sportswriters' All-Pro lists after the season, while head coach Paul Brown was named AAFC coach of the year by Sporting News. Graham led the league in passing for the third time in a row, while Speedie was the league leader in yards and receptions. Fullback Marion Motley was the AAFC's all-time leading rusher. While the Browns were successful in the AAFC, winning all four of its championships, many people doubted that they could match up against NFL teams. Cleveland went on to win the 1950 NFL championship.
Offseason and roster moves The Browns finished the 1948 season with a perfect record and defeated the Buffalo Bills to win the AAFC championship for the third time in a row. Head coach Paul Brown made several adjustments before the 1949 season, bringing in halfback Les Horvath, a former Los Angeles Rams player from Ohio State who had won the Heisman Trophy in 1944 . He also signed tackle Derrell Palmer and linebacker Tommy Thompson. Palmer came in a trade with the New York Yankees and Thompson, a rookie from William & Mary, helped solidify the team's defense for the next five seasons. Defensive back Warren Lahr, who had signed in 1948 out of Western Reserve but sat out the season with a broken leg, saw his first play in 1949 and was a star in the secondary for eleven years.
Even before the season began, signs had emerged that the AAFC was struggling financially. After suffering from poor attendance in the previous season, the Brooklyn Dodgers dissolved and some of its players joined the cross-town New York Yankees as part of a partial merger. Other AAFC teams were allowed to sign players who did not join the Yankees, and the Browns added tackle Joe Spencer. Team owners agreed to several other changes in an attempt to address the league's difficulties. The regular-season schedule was reduced from 14 to 12 games, and the Eastern and Western divisions were abandoned in favor of a single set of standings, with the top four teams participating in playoffs to determine the league champion. The team with the better regular-season record had home-field advantage in the playoffs, the first time that happened in professional football history.
Paul Brown and other AAFC coaches knew the league was unlikely to survive after the 1949 season. AAFC owners had already discussed merging with the National Football League (NFL) the previous year, and most teams in both leagues were losing money. The talks fell apart, however, when the owners could not agree on which of the AAFC's teams would join the NFL. As the league faltered, Brown entertained but ultimately declined offers to leave the Browns and return to Ohio State University, where he had coached in the early 1940s.
Roster and coaching staff 1949 Cleveland Browns rosterQuarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers P/DE
SOffensive linemen C G T/K G T T/DT G
Defensive linemen DT DE DT/T MG/DT DE DE Linebackers OLB/FB MLB/MG MLB/G OLB/K/C OLB/C
Defensive backs CB/RB CB/RB CB/RB/S S/QB Reserve lists RB (IR)
Head Coach Paul Brown
Assistants Blanton Collier (Backfield) Weeb Ewbank (Tackles) Dick Gallagher (Ends) Fritz Heisler (Guards)
rookies in italics
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Gamerecap 1 August 14 Chicago Hornets W 21–0 1–0 Glass Bowl 13,500Recap 2 August 19 San Francisco 49ers T 21–21 1–0–1 Cleveland Stadium 31,157Recap 3 August 26 New York Yankees W 28–21 2–0–1 Rubber Bowl 19,441Recap
Preseason game summaries
The Browns held their training camp at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, as the team had each year since its first season in 1946. Three preseason games were scheduled, against the Chicago Hornets, San Francisco 49ers and New York Yankees.
Week 1: vs. Chicago Hornets
Source: Plain Dealer
The Browns began the preseason with a 21–0 win against the Chicago Hornets in Toledo, Ohio. Three plays after Chicago received the opening kickoff, end Dan Edwards fumbled the ball and the Browns recovered. Cleveland then drove to a 28-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Otto Graham. Ed Sustersic, the Browns' third-string fullback, ran two yards for another touchdown in the second quarter, giving Cleveland a 14–0 lead. Chicago came close to scoring near the end of the first half, driving to Cleveland's two-yard line, but the period ended before the Hornets could score. Sustersic ran for another touchdown in the third quarter, and the Browns' defense held Chicago scoreless for the remainder of the game. Graham passed for 80 yards, mostly on short throws to end Mac Speedie, who finished with four catches for 34 yards. Halfback Dub Jones was the team's leading rusher, with 50 yards on two carries. The defense held Chicago to 122 total yards of passing and rushing, and Browns defensive halfbacks had four interceptions. Warren Lahr accounted for two of the interceptions. Paul Brown pulled Graham toward the end of the game, and Cliff Lewis and Edgar Jones spent time at quarterback.
Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Source: Plain Dealer
The Browns faced the San Francisco 49ers, a perennial rival and one of the top teams in the AAFC, in their second preseason game. The 49ers took the lead seven minutes into the first period when Otto Graham attempted a lateral pass that was deflected by tackle Lou Rymkus and rolled backward into the Browns' own end zone. San Francisco end Gail Bruce fell on the ball and scored a touchdown. The 49ers scored again in the second quarter on a long pass from quarterback Frankie Albert to end Alyn Beals, extending their lead to 14–0. Cleveland came back, however, with a 66-yard drive that included a 46-yard touchdown pass from Graham to Dub Jones. The Browns advanced to the 49ers' 2-yard line in the final minute of the first half, but failed to score because of a fumble recovered by San Francisco. Cleveland scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and took a 21–14 lead; the first was a pass to end Dante Lavelli and the second a 35-yard rush by halfback Ara Parseghian. The score remained that way until the final minute of the fourth quarter, when a touchdown pass from Albert to Johnny Strzykalski tied the game. After the game, Brown said he considered the game a loss and "wasn't at all satisfied" with several players' performances.
Week 3: vs. New York Yankees
Source: Plain Dealer
The Browns faced the New York Yankees in their third and final preseason game. Cleveland scored a touchdown on its first possession, a 53-yard drive that ended with a four-yard scoring rush by Graham. The Yankees' ensuing drive stalled and they punted back to the Browns. Cleveland's Cliff Lewis returned the kick 74 yards to the Yankees' 20-yard line, setting up a second touchdown on a pass from Graham to Lavelli. New York scored a touchdown on its next possession in the first quarter, a long pass from quarterback Don Panciera to end Dan Garza, narrowing Cleveland's lead to 14–7. The Browns, however, added another touchdown in the second quarter, bringing their lead to 21–7 at halftime. Panciera responded with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Lowell Tew in the third quarter and scored again in the fourth, but a fourth Cleveland touchdown in the final period sealed the 28–21 victory for the Browns. Browns tackle and placekicker Lou Groza sat out the game with a pulled leg muscle, and team captain Lou Saban kicked the team's extra points. Marion Motley, the regular starting fullback, played sparingly because of an injury. Graham and Lewis both played at quarterback and amassed 15 completions for 176 yards. The team's halfbacks and fullbacks gained 191 yards.
Regular season Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 5 at Buffalo Bills T 28–28 0–0–1 War Memorial Stadium 31,839Recap 2 September 11 Baltimore Colts W 21–0 1–0–1 Cleveland Stadium 21,621Recap 3 September 18 New York Yankees W 14–3 2–0–1 Cleveland Stadium 26,312Recap 4 September 25 at Baltimore Colts W 28–20 3–0–1 Memorial Stadium 36,837Recap 5 October 2 Los Angeles Dons W 42–7 4–0–1 Cleveland Stadium 30,465Recap 6 October 9 at San Francisco 49ers L 28–56 4–1–1 Kezar Stadium 59,720Recap 7 October 14 at Los Angeles Dons W 61–14 5–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 27,427Recap 8 October 30 San Francisco 49ers W 30–28 6–1–1 Cleveland Stadium 72,189Recap 9 November 6 Chicago Hornets W 35–2 7–1–1 Cleveland Stadium 16,506Recap 10 November 13 Buffalo Bills T 7–7 7–1–2 Cleveland Stadium 22,511Recap 11 November 20 at New York Yankees W 31–0 8–1–2 Yankee Stadium 50,711Recap 12 November 24 at Chicago Hornets W 14–6 9–1–2 Soldier Field 5,031Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Buffalo Bills
Source: Pro Football Reference
The Browns began the regular season by tying the Buffalo Bills, the team they had beaten to win the 1948 AAFC championship. Cleveland began the scoring in the first quarter with a touchdown pass from Graham to Edgar Jones, but Buffalo tied the score in the second quarter with a touchdown of its own on a rush by Ollie Cline. The Bills then added three touchdowns in the third quarter, two of them on short rushes by quarterback George Ratterman. Down 28–7 entering the fourth quarter, the Browns managed three touchdowns in the period to even the score. The first two were passes from Graham to Jones, while the third was a short pass from Graham to Mac Speedie with less than two minutes left in the game to tie the score at 28 points each. Groza, who suffered a pulled leg muscle in the preseason, continued to sit out, and Saban handled the Browns' kicking duties. Graham struggled with his passing early in the game, and Cleveland fumbled numerous times. Punter Horace Gillom fumbled a snap, and halfback Bill Boedeker had two fumbles early in the third quarter. Graham ended the game with 27 completions in 40 attempts for 330 yards, most of them during the fourth quarter. The tie ended a winning streak that extended through the 1948 season, when the Browns won all of their games. The team, however, preserved its streak of 25 games without a loss.
Week 2: vs. Baltimore Colts
Source: Pro Football Reference