All-America Football Conference 1949

All-America_Football_Conference_logo

 PWLTPFPAPct
*Cleveland Browns12912339171.900
*San Francisco 49ers12930416227.750
*Brooklyn-New York Yankees12840196206.667
*Buffalo Bills12552236256.500
Chicago Hornets12480179268.333
Los Angeles Dons12480253322.333
Baltimore Colts121110172341.083
All-America Football Conference Final Standings 1949 [Ref: 3]

Playoffs

DateHome Team Away Team 
 Playoffs   
 Cleveland Browns31Buffalo Bills21
 San Francisco 49ers17Brooklyn-New York Yankees7
 Championship Game   
 Cleveland Browns21San Francisco 49ers7
 Shamrock Bowl All-Star Game Rice Stadium, Houston 
17.12.1949All-Stars12Cleveland Browns7
All-America Football Conference Playoffs & All-Star Game 1949 [Ref: 2]

Regular Season Results

DateHome Team Away Team 
 Week 1   
26.08.1949Chicago Hornets17Buffalo Bills14
28.08.1949San Francisco 49ers31Baltimore Colts17
 Week 2   
02.09.1949Los Angeles Dons49Baltimore Colts17
04.09.1949San Francisco 49ers42Chicago Hornets7
05.09.1949Buffalo Bills28Cleveland Browns28
 Week 3   
09.09.1949Los Angeles Dons21Chicago Hornets23
11.09.1949Cleveland Browns21Baltimore Colts0
11.09.1949Buffalo Bills14Brooklyn-New York Yankees17
 Week 4   
16.09.1949Chicago Hornets35Baltimore Colts7
18.09.1949Cleveland Browns14Brooklyn-New York Yankees3
18.09.1949San Francisco 49ers42Los Angeles Dons14
 Week 5   
22.09.1949Brooklyn-New York Yankees10Los Angeles Dons7
25.09.1949Baltimore Colts20Cleveland Browns28
25.09.1949Buffalo Bills28San Francisco 49ers17
 Week 6   
30.09.1949Chicago Hornets24San francisco 49ers42
02.10.1949Cleveland Browns42Los Angeles Dons7
02.10.1949Buffalo Bills28Baltimore Colts35
 Week 7   
07.10.1949Chicago Hornets24Brooklyn-New York Yankees38
09.10.1949San Francisco 49ers56Cleveland Browns28
09.10.1949Los Angeles Dons42Buffalo Bills28
 Week 8   
14.10.1949Los Angeles Dons14Cleveland Browns61
16.10.1949San Francisco 49ers51Buffalo Bills7
16.10.1949Baltimore Colts21Brooklyn-New York Yankees24
 Week 9   
23.10.1949Brooklyn-New York Yankees24San Francisco 49ers3
23.10.1949Buffalo Bills17Los Angeles Dons14
23.10.1949Baltimore Colts7Chicago Hornets17
 Week 10   
28.10.1949Chicago Hornets14Los Angeles Dons24
30.10.1949Cleveland Browns30San Francisco 49ers28
30.10.1949Brooklyn-New York Yankees21Baltimore Colts24
 Week 11   
06.11.1949Cleveland Browns30Chicago Hornets2
06.11.1949Brooklyn-New York Yankees14Buffalo Bills17
06.11.1949Baltimore Colts10San Francisco 49ers28
 Week 12   
13.11.1949Cleveland Browns7Buffalo Bills7
13.11.1949Los Angeles Dons24San Francisco 49ers41
13.11.1949Brooklyn-New York Yankees14Chicago Hornets10
 Week 13   
20.11.1949Brooklyn-New York Yankees0Cleveland Browns31
20.11.1949Buffalo Bills10Chicago Hornets0
20.11.1949Baltimore Colts10Los Angeles Dons21
 Week 14   
24.11.1949Chicago Hornets6Cleveland Browns14
24.11.1949Los Angeles Dons16Brooklyn-New York Yankees17
27.11.1949San Francisco 49ers35Brooklyn-New York Yankees14
27.11.1949Baltimore Colts14Buffalo Bills38
All-America Football Conference Regular Season Results 1949 [Ref: 2]

Championship Game

Sunday, December 11, 1949, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio. Att: 22, 550

San Francisco 49ers 7 Cleveland Browns 21 – The Cleveland Browns won their fourth AAFC Championship in-a-row, and the last ever Championship Game of the AAFC, beating the San Francisco 49ers 21-7 on the back of three Runs by E. Jones, Motley and D. Jones, with Salata receiving a pass for a touchdown from Albert for San Francisco’s only score

At Cleveland Municipal Stadium Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
San Francisco 49ers 0 0 0 0 7
Cleveland Browns 7 0 7 7 21
Scorers Score
1st Quarter  
Cle – E. Jones 2 Run (Groza Kick) 0-7
2nd Quarter  
No Scoring  
3rd Quarter  
Cle – Motley 63 Run (Groza Kick) 0-14
4th Quarter  
SF – Salata 23 Pass from Albert (Vetrano Kick) 7-14
Cle – D. Jones 4 Run (Groza Kick) 7-21

Shamrock Bowl All-Star Game

Saturday, December 17, 1949, Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas, Att: 12,000

AAFC All-Stars 12 Cleveland Browns 7 – The Shamrock Bowl All-Star Game was the last ever game played by the All-America Football Conference, as the league merged with the National Football League after the season. It was organised as a Charity Event by Glenn McCarthy, who had tried to purchase a franchise in the league after the season, and before it merged with the NFL. It was the only All-Star Game played by the AAFC, and was a Charity Event in aid of the Hally Hall Home for the Aged, the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund, and the National Kids Day Foundation, and is also notable for being one of the first racially-integrated sports events in Houston. The AAFC All-Stars won the game 12-7 with two touchdowns either side of a Cleveland Browns one. Mutryn ran in the first, and Dub Jones replied for Cleveland with a pass from Graham. Baldwin won the game for the All-Stars with a 23 yard reception from Albert.

At Rice Stadium, Houston Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
AAFC All-Stars 6 6 0 0 12
Cleveland Browns 0 7 0 0 7
Scorers Score
1st Quarter  
AAFC – Mutryn 2 Run (Albert Missed Kick) 6-0
2nd Quarter  
Cle – Dub Jones 40 Pass from Graham (Groza Kick) 6-7
AAFC – Baldwin 23 Pass from Albert (Albert Missed Kick) 12-7
3rd Quarter  
No Scoring 12-7
3rd Quarter  
No Scoring 12-7

Shamrock-Bowl-AAFC-1949-poster

The All-American football Conference of 1946-1949 was a successful rival to the NFL, so much so, that the two leagues agreed to merge in 1950, although in essence it was a takeover of the three most successful AAFC clubs by the NFL – San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns & Baltimore Colts.

The League was won by the Cleveland Browns all four seasons – in 1946 they defeated New York Yankees 14-9, and in 1948 defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Championship game 49-7 before beating the San Francisco 49ers in the 1949 Championship Game 21-7

Of particular note for Irish American Football fans, is the last ever game, the Shamrock Bowl Charity All-Star Game, the only one played by the AAFC. It was organised by Glenn McCarthy, who had tried to purchase the Cleveland Browns and move them to Houston after the 1949 season, and before it merger with the NFL in 1950. It was played in aid of three charities, and was also notable for the fact it was one of the first ever racially integrated sports events ever played in Houston.

Glenn McCarthy was a Houston Oil millionaire who opened the Shamrock Hotel in Houston on St. Patrick’s Day 1949. He was several generations removed from his Irish ancestors from Co. Cork, and was one of the richest men in America, and probably the richest in Texas. He was known as  “King of the wildcatters”, a term applied to the early Irish in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, in reference to people who find oil in places not proven to have oil [Ref: 2]

Glenn-McCarthy-AAFC-Shamrock-Bowl-1949

Oilman Glenn McCarthy, left [Ref: 7]

References

Websites

[1] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Standings (1946-1949) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/all-america-football-conference-aafc-standings-1946-1949/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[2] McHugh (2019) “The Magnificent Shamrock Hotel” Ireland’s Own [Internet] Available from: https://www.irelandsown.ie/the-magnificent-shamrock-hotel/ [Accessed 12 March 2020]

Bibliography

[3] Crippen, Kenneth R. & Reaser, Matt, Eds. (2018) “The All-America Football Conference”. Part 6: Linescores. 1949. pg. 134-146. Published by McFarland & Co, Jefferson, North Carolina.

[4] Crippen, Kenneth R. & Reaser, Matt, Eds. (2018) “The All-America Football Conference”. Part 5: Conference Statistics. 1949. pg. 70. Published by McFarland & Co, Jefferson, North Carolina.

Images

[5] Wikipedia (2018) All-America Football Conference Logo [Internet] Available from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/All-America_Football_Conference_%28logo%29.png [Accessed 8 October 2018]

[6] Houston Chronicle (2020) Shamrock Bowl 1949 Programme [Internet] Available from: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/04/36/52/1174165/3/920×920.jpg [Accessed 12 March 2020]

[7] Houston Chronicle (2020) Oilman Glenn McCarthy, left [Internet] Available from: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/04/36/52/1174166/3/375×250.jpg [Accessed 12 March 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Eoin O’Fearghaill

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 12 March 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and World Gridiron Archive 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.

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