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1948 Cleveland Browns season

1948 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArthur B. McBride
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWGAR
Results
Record14–0
Division place1st AAFC Western
Playoff finishWon AAFC Championship
(vs. Bills) 49–7
AP All-ProsOtto Graham
Marion Motley
Mac Speedie

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.[1][2][3][4]

The season began with a number of roster moves, including the addition of linebacker Alex Agase and halfbacks Ara Parseghian and Dub Jones. Following training camp and two preseason games, the Browns began the regular season with a win against the Buffalo Bills. Led by quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and ends Mac Speedie and Dante Lavelli, the Browns followed with a string of victories leading up to a November matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams had perfect records to that point, the 49ers relying heavily on the offensive production of quarterback Frankie Albert and end Alyn Beals to win their first 10 games. The Browns beat the 49ers 14–7, and followed two weeks later with another narrow victory over San Francisco, their closest competition in the AAFC in 1948.[5]

By the end of the season, the Browns had a perfect 14–0 record and led the league's Western Division, setting up a championship-game matchup with the Bills, who had won a playoff to take the Eastern Division. Cleveland beat Buffalo 49–7 in December to win the championship and preserve its unbeaten record.[6][7][8][9][10] After the season, Graham, Motley and Speedie were included in many news organizations' All-Pro teams, alongside several other teammates.[11] Graham was named the co-Most Valuable Player of the league alongside Albert.[12][13][14][15] Browns games were televised for the first time in 1948.[16]

The season is recognized as perfect by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although the National Football League (NFL), which absorbed the Browns when the AAFC dissolved in 1949, does not recognize it. Ohio senator Sherrod Brown wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in 2008 asking the league to officially recognize AAFC team statistics, including the perfect season. The 2007 New England Patriots were vying to complete a 19–0 season at the time and join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to register a perfect record.[17]

  1. ^ Webster, Gary (October 29, 2015). Just Too Good: The Undefeated 1948 Cleveland Browns. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-9821-5. OCLC 908375504. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "8 Underappreciated Undefeated Seasons". Mental Floss. December 29, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ^ Jesse, Drake (October 10, 2020). "The Greatest Cleveland Browns Team Of All-Time (1948 Browns)". Browns Nation. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "Top Moments: No. 22 - Browns win all four AAFC championships from 1946-1949". www.clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "Throwback Thursday: 1948 Browns cap grueling Thanksgiving week with pivotal win". www.clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "Cleveland Browns - 1948 Season Recap". RetroSeasons. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  7. ^ "1948 AAFC CHAMPIONSHIP: PERFECT ENDING" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 18 (6): 1–3. 1996 [1996].
  8. ^ "All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Standings (1946-1949) | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site". pfhof. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  9. ^ "AAFC Championship 1948". goldenrankings.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  10. ^ "The 1940s and Pro Football's Other Undefeated Teams | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site". pfhof. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Brown's Graham, Speedie Named On AP All-Pro Team". The Sandusky Register. December 12, 1947. p. 19. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  12. ^ Robinson, Sam. "The Forgotten NFL Quarterback Who Dominated the Pre-Super Bowl Era". HISTORY. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  13. ^ "ESPN Classic - Graham won seven pro titles". www.espn.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Remembering the greatness of Otto Graham, whose statue will be unveiled Saturday". www.clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Goldstein, Richard (September 9, 2002). "Frankie Albert, a Pioneering Quarterback, Is Dead at 82". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Webster, Gary (2018). The League That Didn't Exist: A History of the All-American Football Conference, 1946-1949. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4766-6534-4. OCLC 1073034931.
  17. ^ Grossi, Tony (February 2, 2008). "Browns put together a forgotten perfect season in 1948". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

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