Posted on Dec 9, 2020
It's the 65th anniversary of the Browns upsetting the Eagles in 'World Series of Professional...
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On December 9, 1949, the NFL merged the Cleveland Browns, the San Francisco '49ers, and the Baltmore Colts from the All American Football Conference. The Cleveland Browns would become the first franchise team to win an NFL championship in its initial season. From the article:
"It's the 65th [70th] anniversary of the Browns upsetting the Eagles in 'World Series of Professional Football'
By Evan Burian
Special to The Morning Call |
Sep 17, 2015 at 7:58 PM
Beth
Sixty five years ago, in 1950, the Philadelphia Eagles played the Cleveland Browns in what was called the "World Series of Professional Football."
It was the biggest game in the history of the NFL at the time because it pitted an Eagles team that was the NFL champion in 1948 and 1949, against a Browns team that was the All-American Football Conference champion all four years — 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949 — of the league's existence. Although technically not a championship game, the contest had all the anticipation and hype of this era's Super Bowl.
On Saturday night, Sept. 16, 1950, the Cleveland Browns upset the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-10, in the opening game of the 31st National Football League season before 71,237 fans in Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium (later JFK Stadium).
The Otto Graham-led Cleveland victory over the Eagles in 1950 had the same shock value among football fans of that era as when the Joe Namath-led New York Jets upset of the 18-point favorite Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, 19 years later, in January 1969.
The Browns' victory sealed the merging of three AAFC teams — Cleveland, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts — into the gridiron establishment of the NFL.
The Eagles
Philadelphia, coached by Earle "Greasy" Neale played in three straight NFL championship games from 1947 to 1949 and won the title the last two. The 1950 Eagles were paced by quarterback Tommy Thompson and four future Pro Football Hall of Famers in Steve Van Buren, the NFL's greatest runner at that time, end Pete Pihos, center/linebacker Alex Wojciechowicz, and center/linebacker Chuck Bednarik, who was only in his second NFL season after starring at Bethlehem High School and earning All-American honors in 1947 and 1948 at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Eagles also had two other Lehigh Valley connections in Bethlehem's John "Bull" Schweder and Allentown's Ray Dini.
Like Bednarik before him, Schweder was also a Bethlehem Red Hurricane star and a Penn Quaker All-American guard in 1949 who, only a junior, was drafted by the Eagles in 1949 as a "future player." Although on the Eagles roster for the Browns game, Schweder played the rest of the 1950 season for Baltimore.
Dini, who was a "T"-formation quarterback for coach J. Birney Crum at Allentown High School and with the Bethlehem Bulldogs, signed with the Eagles for the 1950 season. However, a preseason knee injury ended his pro career.
The Browns
Cleveland was coached by Paul Brown, who guided the Browns to the AAFC championship all four years — 1946-49 — of the league's existence. The Browns dominated the AAFC, winning 52 of 59 league games over four years. At one point, the Browns went 29 games straight without a loss. The 1948 edition of the Brown, Orange and White had a 15-0 record.
The Browns were led by five future Pro Football Hall of Famers in quarterback Graham, center/linebacker Frank Gatski, tackle/place-kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza, end Dante Lavelli, and fullback/linebacker Marion Motley.
Besides being a detailed coach and utilizing a sophisticated passing game, Brown was also an organization man who brought to the pro game year-round coaching, scouting, film evaluation and classroom study for his players.
The Game
The Eagles, who played their home games in baseball's Shibe Park (renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953), the home of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies which only had a seating capacity of 33,000, moved the game into Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium, site of the annual Army-Navy classic, which had a capacity of 100,000, because of the ticket demand for this historic game.
Unfortunately for the Eagles they were not at full strength for the game as the great Van Buren, holder of six NFL rushing records, along with halfback Bosh Pritchard and tackle Al Wistert were injured earlier in the NFL champion vs. the College All-Star game in Chicago and still not ready for duty.
Another problem for the Eagles, and of a greater magnitude, was their over-confidence. The Eagles had been hearing for four years how inferior the play was in the AAFC to the NFL brand of action.
Neale did not even scout the Browns, while Brown sent assistant coaches to scout the Eagles as early as the 1949 NFL championship game in Los Angeles, when Philly defeated the Rams for the crown.
The Browns were ready for the Eagles' famed "5-4" defense with their own high-octane passing attack.
The Eagles scored first on Cliff Patton's 13-yard field goal. But, then Graham went to the air and hit halfback Dub Jones with a 59-yard TD pass to make the score, 7-3, Browns after the first period.
The Browns upped their lead to, 14-3, by halftime on a 26-yard scoring strike from Graham to end Dante Lavelli.
In the third quarter, Graham threw a 12-yard TD toss to his other end, Mac Speedie.
The Eagles scored in the fourth quarter when Pihos caught a pass from substitute QB Bill Mackrides. The Browns, however, answered with two more touchdowns to make the final score 35-10.
Graham, who completed 21 of 38 passes for 346 yards and three TDs plus scored another TD himself, received the Robert J. Feench Memorial Trophy as the game's most valuable play
Epilogue
After dethroning the defending champion Eagles in the first game, Graham then led the Browns to the 1950 NFL championship with a 30-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Cleveland. The star field general played pro ball from 1946 to 1955 and every year he led the Browns to the championship game, winning seven out of 10 titles. Paul Brown called Graham "the greatest pro quarterback in history."
For the 1950 campaign, the Eagles slipped to a third-place tie with Pittsburgh with a 6-6 record and Neale was replaced as coach after the season.
The Eagles did not play in or win another NFL championship until 1960 when they were coached by Lawrence "Buck" Shaw, and led by Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, with Bednarik leading the defense as the last of the "Sixty-minute Men."
Freelance writer Evan Burian of Emmaus is the author of six books including Football Legends of Pennsylvania."
"It's the 65th [70th] anniversary of the Browns upsetting the Eagles in 'World Series of Professional Football'
By Evan Burian
Special to The Morning Call |
Sep 17, 2015 at 7:58 PM
Beth
Sixty five years ago, in 1950, the Philadelphia Eagles played the Cleveland Browns in what was called the "World Series of Professional Football."
It was the biggest game in the history of the NFL at the time because it pitted an Eagles team that was the NFL champion in 1948 and 1949, against a Browns team that was the All-American Football Conference champion all four years — 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949 — of the league's existence. Although technically not a championship game, the contest had all the anticipation and hype of this era's Super Bowl.
On Saturday night, Sept. 16, 1950, the Cleveland Browns upset the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-10, in the opening game of the 31st National Football League season before 71,237 fans in Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium (later JFK Stadium).
The Otto Graham-led Cleveland victory over the Eagles in 1950 had the same shock value among football fans of that era as when the Joe Namath-led New York Jets upset of the 18-point favorite Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, 19 years later, in January 1969.
The Browns' victory sealed the merging of three AAFC teams — Cleveland, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts — into the gridiron establishment of the NFL.
The Eagles
Philadelphia, coached by Earle "Greasy" Neale played in three straight NFL championship games from 1947 to 1949 and won the title the last two. The 1950 Eagles were paced by quarterback Tommy Thompson and four future Pro Football Hall of Famers in Steve Van Buren, the NFL's greatest runner at that time, end Pete Pihos, center/linebacker Alex Wojciechowicz, and center/linebacker Chuck Bednarik, who was only in his second NFL season after starring at Bethlehem High School and earning All-American honors in 1947 and 1948 at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Eagles also had two other Lehigh Valley connections in Bethlehem's John "Bull" Schweder and Allentown's Ray Dini.
Like Bednarik before him, Schweder was also a Bethlehem Red Hurricane star and a Penn Quaker All-American guard in 1949 who, only a junior, was drafted by the Eagles in 1949 as a "future player." Although on the Eagles roster for the Browns game, Schweder played the rest of the 1950 season for Baltimore.
Dini, who was a "T"-formation quarterback for coach J. Birney Crum at Allentown High School and with the Bethlehem Bulldogs, signed with the Eagles for the 1950 season. However, a preseason knee injury ended his pro career.
The Browns
Cleveland was coached by Paul Brown, who guided the Browns to the AAFC championship all four years — 1946-49 — of the league's existence. The Browns dominated the AAFC, winning 52 of 59 league games over four years. At one point, the Browns went 29 games straight without a loss. The 1948 edition of the Brown, Orange and White had a 15-0 record.
The Browns were led by five future Pro Football Hall of Famers in quarterback Graham, center/linebacker Frank Gatski, tackle/place-kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza, end Dante Lavelli, and fullback/linebacker Marion Motley.
Besides being a detailed coach and utilizing a sophisticated passing game, Brown was also an organization man who brought to the pro game year-round coaching, scouting, film evaluation and classroom study for his players.
The Game
The Eagles, who played their home games in baseball's Shibe Park (renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953), the home of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies which only had a seating capacity of 33,000, moved the game into Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium, site of the annual Army-Navy classic, which had a capacity of 100,000, because of the ticket demand for this historic game.
Unfortunately for the Eagles they were not at full strength for the game as the great Van Buren, holder of six NFL rushing records, along with halfback Bosh Pritchard and tackle Al Wistert were injured earlier in the NFL champion vs. the College All-Star game in Chicago and still not ready for duty.
Another problem for the Eagles, and of a greater magnitude, was their over-confidence. The Eagles had been hearing for four years how inferior the play was in the AAFC to the NFL brand of action.
Neale did not even scout the Browns, while Brown sent assistant coaches to scout the Eagles as early as the 1949 NFL championship game in Los Angeles, when Philly defeated the Rams for the crown.
The Browns were ready for the Eagles' famed "5-4" defense with their own high-octane passing attack.
The Eagles scored first on Cliff Patton's 13-yard field goal. But, then Graham went to the air and hit halfback Dub Jones with a 59-yard TD pass to make the score, 7-3, Browns after the first period.
The Browns upped their lead to, 14-3, by halftime on a 26-yard scoring strike from Graham to end Dante Lavelli.
In the third quarter, Graham threw a 12-yard TD toss to his other end, Mac Speedie.
The Eagles scored in the fourth quarter when Pihos caught a pass from substitute QB Bill Mackrides. The Browns, however, answered with two more touchdowns to make the final score 35-10.
Graham, who completed 21 of 38 passes for 346 yards and three TDs plus scored another TD himself, received the Robert J. Feench Memorial Trophy as the game's most valuable play
Epilogue
After dethroning the defending champion Eagles in the first game, Graham then led the Browns to the 1950 NFL championship with a 30-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Cleveland. The star field general played pro ball from 1946 to 1955 and every year he led the Browns to the championship game, winning seven out of 10 titles. Paul Brown called Graham "the greatest pro quarterback in history."
For the 1950 campaign, the Eagles slipped to a third-place tie with Pittsburgh with a 6-6 record and Neale was replaced as coach after the season.
The Eagles did not play in or win another NFL championship until 1960 when they were coached by Lawrence "Buck" Shaw, and led by Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, with Bednarik leading the defense as the last of the "Sixty-minute Men."
Freelance writer Evan Burian of Emmaus is the author of six books including Football Legends of Pennsylvania."
It's the 65th anniversary of the Browns upsetting the Eagles in 'World Series of Professional...
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Great article, SGT (Join to see)! My favorite player of the early Cleveland Browns days was Lou "The Toe" Groza! He's the one who put place kickers on the map!
Ironically, it was not Otto Graham that won the championship game for the Browns. Granted, he was responsible for the drive that brought Cleveland to the Rams nine yard line, but it was Groza's sixteen yard field goal (with 28 seconds remaining) that won the game for the Browns!
Here's a photo of Groza and one of the game winning kick!
CSM Chuck Stafford PVT Mark Zehner SGT Mark Anderson MSG Felipe De Leon Brown
Ironically, it was not Otto Graham that won the championship game for the Browns. Granted, he was responsible for the drive that brought Cleveland to the Rams nine yard line, but it was Groza's sixteen yard field goal (with 28 seconds remaining) that won the game for the Browns!
Here's a photo of Groza and one of the game winning kick!
CSM Chuck Stafford PVT Mark Zehner SGT Mark Anderson MSG Felipe De Leon Brown
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CSM Chuck Stafford
LTC Stephen C. I'm only 25, so I don't know the "Toe", but my favorite Brownie would be Brian Sipe of the Cardiac Kids era -- I "heard" he was great
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LTC Stephen C.
CSM Chuck Stafford, I can remember watching Sipe play, and I may have even watched Groza play, but I don't remember it specifically. I used to watch professional football and baseball games with my father as a youngster. I saw many of the old time greats play. Some I remember specifically watching play and some I don't.
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SGT (Join to see)
LTC Stephen C. - CSM Chuck Stafford I remember seeing Groza play in the mid 1960s when I was a child. We always watched the Browns on Sunday and Ohio State on Saturdays. Ohio State won its first National title under Paul Brown. By the way Groza, like many in his day, served during WWII. He was a surgical technician with the 96th Infantry Division. He saw and treated a lot of wounded. He was in both Leyte in the Philippines and Okinawa.
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