The Cleveland Browns had quickly asserted themselves in the
first year of the All-America Football Conference, winning their first seven
games of the 1946 season and most by lopsided scores. Head Coach Paul Brown’s
team was strong on both sides of the ball. But they had finally been tripped up
by the San Francisco
49ers and, on November 3 they faced another tough Western Division opponent –
although one they had beaten two weeks earlier.
The Los Angeles Dons had solid financing and a well-known
name in entertainer Don Ameche as the club president. Head Coach Dudley DeGroot
had led the NFL Redskins to the league title game the previous year. There was
much veteran talent and the Dons were adept at scoring points, but the defense
had shown a tendency to give up too many points in turn. After starting off at
3-0-1, they had lost three straight to come into the game against the Browns at
3-3-1.
There was a crowd of 24,800 at the Memorial Coliseum, which was
the largest of the season thus far for Los
Angeles . On the first play from scrimmage, HB Chuck
Fenenbock (pictured above) ran for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Dons the early lead. Lou
Groza got the Browns on the board later in the first quarter with a 25-yard
field goal.
In the second quarter, Cleveland
went ahead after DB Tom Colella recovered a fumble at the LA 16. The Browns
scored four plays later with HB Bill Lund sweeping around right end from five
yards out and Groza added the extra point to make the score 10-7.
The Dons drove to another field goal attempt, but the try by
Bob Nelson from 26 yards was wide. The Browns scored again when QB Otto Graham
passed to end Mac Speedie for a 79-yard touchdown. However, Groza missed the
extra point, snapping a string of 22 consecutive successful conversions, and
while Cleveland
carried a 16-7 lead into halftime, it would have repercussions in the end.
LA’s defense played inspired football in the second half and
the ground game on offense wore Cleveland
down. Early in the fourth quarter, the Browns gambled by faking a punt on
fourth-and-nine at their own 21. Colella gained just two yards, giving the ball
back to LA in excellent field position. Five plays later, end Dale Gentry ran
for an eight-yard touchdown. Joe Aguirre kicked the extra point and Cleveland ’s lead was
narrowed to 16-14.
Another Cleveland
fumble set up the winning score for LA. Taking over at the Cleveland 43, the Dons battled for 15 plays
to reach the three yard line, from where Aguirre kicked the game-winning 11-yard
field goal on fourth down with 20 seconds left to play.
The Browns made a last-gasp effort to pull out the win with
Graham completing two passes, but he was sacked on the last play and time ran
out. The Dons came away with a stunning 17-16 upset win.
The Dons outgained the Browns by 291 yards to 284 and significantly
outperformed them on the ground with 220 yards to just 43. Cleveland had the edge in first downs (13 to
12) and both teams turned the ball over three times. Mac Speedie (pictured at left) had the
biggest individual performance, catching 4 passes for 134 yards and the one
long TD.
It was the second straight loss for the Browns but they
righted the ship in a rematch with the 49ers the next week that they won 14-7,
and they didn’t lose again. Cleveland
topped the Western Division with a 12-2 record and defeated the New York
Yankees for the first AAFC title.
The Dons, meanwhile, ended a three-game losing streak with
the upset of the Browns. They won three of their next four contests and finished
third in the division at 7-5-2.
