Highlighted Year: Bob Reinhard, 1947

Tackle/Fullback/Punter, Los Angeles Dons

 Age: 27 (Oct. 17)

2^nd season in pro football & with Dons

College: California

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 230

Prelude:

A stellar tackle and punter in college, Reinhard was chosen by the Chicago Cardinals in the fifth round of the 1942 NFL draft. He went into the military for the duration of World War II and in 1946 joined the Dons of the new AAFC. Reinhard started all 14 games and received consensus second-team All-AAFC honors.

1947 Season Summary

Appeared in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Punting

Punts – 28 [9]

Yards – 1279 [9]

Average – 45.7 [1]

Punts blocked – 1 [7, tied with four others]

Rushing

Attempts – 41

Yards – 150

Yards per attempt – 3.7

TDs – 0

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 3

Yards – 34

Yards per catch – 11.3

TDs – 1

Passing

Attempts – 4

Completions – 2

Yards – 21

TD passes – 0

Interceptions – 0

Interceptions

Interceptions – 1

Return yards – 0

TDs – 0

Kickoff Returns

Returns – 3

Yards – 42

Average per return – 14.0

TDs – 0

Scoring

TDs – 1         

Points – 6

Dons went 7-7 to finish third in the AAFC Western Division.

Aftermath:

Reinhard remained with the Dons for the next two seasons and continued to excel as a tackle, if no longer handling punting duties, receiving consensus first-team All-AAFC recognition in 1948 and second-team honors in ’49. With the demise of the AAFC he moved on to the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL in 1950, his last season, in which he received second-team All-NFL recognition. For his three years as a punter with the Dons, Reinhard averaged 44.6 yards on 78 punts. Reinhard’s brother Bill also played for the Dons.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1947: Dons Edge Out Rockets in Season-Opening AAFC Game

The second All-America Football Conference season commenced with the Los Angeles Dons traveling to Chicago to face the Rockets on August 29, 1947.

The Dons were coached by Dudley DeGroot, formerly of the NFL Redskins, and were coming off of a 7-5-2 record in 1946, although in the tough Western Division that put them behind the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. There was plenty of veteran talent on the roster and QB Charlie O’Rourke (pictured above) led the AAFC in completion percentage and outperformed Angelo Bertelli, the highly-touted Heisman Trophy winner out of Notre Dame.

Jim Crowley, once one of Notre Dame’s “Four Horsemen” and more recently the commissioner of the AAFC, was making his debut as head coach of the Rockets. It was hoped he could stabilize a club that went through multiple coaches in ’46 on the way to a 5-6-3 tally. There was promising young talent on the team, including all-purpose tailback Bob “Hunchy” Hoernschemeyer and HB Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch.

There were 41,182 fans in attendance for the Friday night game at Soldier Field. Five minutes into the first quarter, LA scored first on a long pass from Charlie O’Rourke to end Joe Aguirre that covered 31 yards. Ben Agajanian kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The Rockets responded with an 85-yard series that featured a 39-yard run by QB Al Dekdebrun and concluded with Dekdebrun tossing a four-yard TD throw to “Hunchy” Hoernschemeyer in the end zone. John Rokisky converted to tie the score.

In the second quarter, the Dons struck back with an eight-play, 52-yard possession. FB John Kimbrough finished it off with a two-yard touchdown carry around left end and Agajanian again booted the point after. Chicago once more came back with a score. Hoernschemeyer threw to end Max Morris to reach the LA 22 and, from there, FB Bill Daley blasted up the middle for a TD. Rokisky’s extra point tied the game at 14-14, which remained the tally at the half.

The Rockets moved ahead in the third quarter thanks to a razzle-dazzle play that involved Dekdebrun tossing 12 yards to “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, and he lateraled to HB Ray Ramsey who went the rest of the way for a 24-yard touchdown. Rokisky again booted the point after and the home team held a 21-14 edge. Later in the period, Agajanian kicked a 40-yard field goal for the Dons to narrow the margin to 21-17.

The game’s pivotal play came on the last play of the quarter when DHB Bob Kelly went high to intercept a Dekdebrun pass and returned it 22 yards to give the Dons the ball at the Chicago 46. O’Rourke completed a 19-yard pass to end Dale Gentry and Kimbrough and HB Bert Pigott ran the ball effectively to reach the three yard line, from where Kimbrough ran over left tackle for a touchdown. Agajanian added the extra point and Los Angeles held on to win by a final score of 24-21.

Chicago led in total yards (304 to 279) while the Dons had the edge in first downs (13 to 12). Each team turned the ball over twice. Charlie O’Rourke was the passing star for the Dons, setting up all three of the team’s TDs with his throws. Bill Daley (pictured at left) ran the ball effectively for the Rockets, who gained 129 yards on the ground, and scored once.

The next week the Dons swung a huge three-team trade involving the Rockets to obtain tailback Glenn Dobbs from the Brooklyn Dodgers, the AAFC’s reigning MVP. Chicago parted with Hoernschemeyer, who ended up in Brooklyn, and LA jettisoned Bertelli, who went to the Rockets. Dobbs struggled in his transition from the single-wing to T-formation and O’Rourke continued to see most of the action at quarterback. The Dons struggled as well, losing three of their next four games on the way to a disappointing 7-7 record that was once again well behind the Browns and 49ers. Coach DeGroot was forced to resign after the eleventh game. Jim Crowley also failed to last the year in Chicago as the Rockets collapsed to a dismal 1-13.

Highlighted Year: Chet Mutryn, 1947

Halfback, Buffalo Bills

Age: 26

2^nd season in pro football & with Bisons/Bills

College: Xavier (OH)

Height: 5’9”   Weight: 180

Prelude:

Mutryn, who played basketball and baseball as well as football in college, was a two-time Little All-American. Proficient on defense and as a kicker in addition to starring at tailback, he set school records with 12 touchdowns and 96 points scored in 1942. He was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 20^th round of the ’43 NFL draft but, following service in the US Navy during World War II, he signed with the Cleveland Browns of the new AAFC in 1946. Mutryn was dealt to the Buffalo Bisons prior to the season where he was reunited with Clem Crowe, his coach at Xavier who was now an assistant with Buffalo. In his first AAFC season, Mutryn rushed for 289 yards, averaging 5.1 yards-per-carry, and caught seven passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns. His role increased with the re-named Bills in 1947.

1947 Season Summary

Appeared in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 140 [7]

Yards – 868 [4]

Yards per attempt – 6.2 [2]

TDs – 9 [2, tied with Mickey Colmer]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 10

Yards – 176

Yards per catch – 17.6

TDs – 2 [16, tied with fourteen others]

Interceptions

Interceptions – 1

Return yards – 11

TDs – 0

Kickoff Returns

Returns – 21 [2, tied with Monk Gafford]

Yards – 691 [1]

Average per return – 32.9 [1]

TDs – 1 [1, tied with five others]

Longest return – 87 yards

Punt Returns

Returns – 13 [4, tied with Billy Hillenbrand]

Yards – 187 [4]

Average per return – 14.4

TDs – 0

All-Purpose yards – 1933 [2]

Kicking

PATs – 1 [11, tied with five others]

PAT attempts – 2 [11, tied with Chet Adams & Frankie Albert]

Scoring

PATs – 1

TDs – 12 [2]  

Points – 73 [3]

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-AAFC: League, NY Daily News

Bills went 8-4-2 to finish second in the AAFC Eastern Division.

Aftermath:

Mutryn followed up with strong all-around seasons in 1948 and ’49. He rushed for 823 yards and a league-leading 10 TDs in ’48 while catching 39 passes for 794 yards (20.4 avg.) and again led the AAFC by averaging 26.3 yards returning kickoffs. He topped the circuit with 2288 all-purpose yards and 96 points on his 16 touchdowns. Mutryn again led the league in all-purpose yards with 1330 in 1949, which included 696 rushing yards and 333 on pass receptions. With the demise of the AAFC, he joined the Baltimore Colts, who transferred to the NFL, and gained 1187 total yards, primarily with 355 rushing yards and 379 on 36 catches in 1950, after which he retired. Overall, Mutryn gained 3031 yards on 583 rushing attempts (5.2 avg.), 1850 on 121 pass receptions, averaged 26.1 yards on 73 kickoff returns, and 13.1 yards returning 41 punts. He accumulated 7320 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns. Of those totals, 2676 rushing yards on 475 attempts, 1471 yards on 85 pass receptions, a 27.7-yard kickoff return average and 14.1 punt return average resulting in 6133 total yards and 38 TDs came in the AAFC with Buffalo. He received first-team All-AAFC honors three times.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

Highlighted Year: Bill Kellagher, 1947

Fullback/Defensive Back, Chicago Rockets

Age: 27

2^nd season in pro football & with Rockets

College: Fordham

Height: 5’11” Weight: 205

Prelude:

Kellagher was a member of the Fordham team that appeared in the 1941 Cotton Bowl. Following service as a Marine during World War II, he joined the Rockets of the new AAFC in 1946. As a fullback on offense, he rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes.

1947 Season Summary

Appeared in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 42

Yards – 243 [20]

Yards per attempt – 5.8

TDs – 0

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 3

Yards – 22

Yards per catch – 7.3

TDs – 0

Interceptions

Interceptions – 6 [1, tied with Tom Colella & Len Eshmont]

Return yards – 77 [7]

TDs – 0

Rockets went 1-13 to finish fourth in the AAFC Western Division.

Aftermath:

Kellagher played one more season for the Rockets, gaining 97 yards on 33 carries and scoring a TD, and had no interceptions on defense. He moved to the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1949 but was a late preseason cut and spent his final season with the Bethlehem Bulldogs of the minor league AFL, rushing for 158 yards. For his three years in the AAFC, Kellagher gained 518 yards on 124 rushing attempts (4.2 avg.) and caught five passes for 58 yards, scoring four touchdowns. His six interceptions in 1947 were also his AAFC career total.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1947: Browns Defeat Yankees for Second AAFC Championship

The second Championship game of the All-America Football Conference on December 14, 1947 featured the same two teams as the first, the Cleveland Browns and New York Yankees. The Browns had beaten New York in four of five meetings thus far in the AAFC’s two-year existence, which included the ’46 title game and the first regular season matchup in ’47 in Cleveland. They rallied to overcome a 28-0 deficit and salvage a tie a few weeks earlier in New York.

The powerful Browns, coached by the innovative Paul Brown, had compiled a 12-1-1 record in topping the Western Division once again. QB Otto Graham (pictured above) was named MVP by the league and was the AAFC’s top passer while end Mac Speedie, with 67 catches and 1146 yards, was the preeminent receiver and had an able counterpart in end Dante Lavelli. FB Marion Motley rushed for 889 yards with an impressive 6.1-yard average. The league’s highest-scoring team, Cleveland was equally tough on defense.

New York, under the direction of Head Coach Ray Flaherty, operated a single-wing offense that featured tailback Spec Sanders, the AAFC’s leading rusher (1432 yards) and scorer (19 touchdowns, 114 points). Diminutive and fast HB Buddy Young added another 712 yards on the ground and the line was good on both sides of the ball. The Yankees put together an 11-2-1 record in topping the Eastern Division.  

There were 61,879 fans in attendance at Yankee Stadium on a cold day with the temperature near freezing. The turf was frozen, which seemed to affect the home team more than the visitors from Cleveland, and the teams agreed to wear cleats rather than sneakers.

The Yankees had the first possession and quickly found that Cleveland had made defensive adjustments to prevent a repeat of New York’s 28-point first half performance in the previous meeting. Late in the first quarter, following an exchange of punts, the Browns put together a 67-yard drive that was highlighted by a 51-yard carry by Marion Motley and culminated in a touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Otto Graham, who had also completed five of his first six passes. Lou Groza kicked the extra point.

The Yankees came right back as the game headed into the second quarter. Buddy Young (pictured at left) and Spec Sanders spearheaded an advance that reached the Cleveland five yard line before stalling, primarily as a result of the poor footing, and Harvey Johnson kicked a 12-yard field goal. Cleveland had two more chances to score, but Groza missed two field goals and the score remained 7-3 at halftime.

In the third quarter, DHB Tom Colella intercepted a Sanders pass and returned it to the New York 41. Motley ran for 16 yards, tosses by Graham to HB Edgar “Special Delivery” Jones and HB Lewis Mayne picked up another 19 yards and, three plays later, Jones ran four yards for a TD. Lou Saban, who had booted 10 extra points during the regular season, successfully converted.

As the game headed into the fourth quarter, the Yankees drove to the Cleveland 18, but Young fumbled a lateral and Saban recovered at the 31. Another New York series highlighted by a 22-yard carry by Sanders reached the 23 but was blunted by a penalty for unnecessary roughness that moved the Yankees out of range for a score. Cleveland held on to win by a final score of 14-3.

The Browns had the edge in total yards (284 to 212) and first downs (15 to 13). The Yankees turned the ball over three times, to one suffered by Cleveland. The Browns gained 172 yards on the ground, with 109 generated by FB Marion Motley (pictured below) on 13 carries. Otto Graham completed 14 of 21 passes for 112 yards, giving up no interceptions, and also ran the ball four times for 21 yards and a touchdown. Mac Speedie had four pass receptions for 25 yards and Dante Lavelli gained 37 yards on his three catches.

Suffering from a bad ankle, Spec Sanders was held to just 40 yards on 12 carries and failed to score a touchdown for the first time all season. He also completed 7 of 17 passes for 89 yards and was intercepted once. Buddy Young rushed for 69 yards on 16 attempts and caught two passes for a team-leading 25 yards, but fumbled twice.

“Neither team could play its best on that field,” said Paul Brown. “However, we tried to take advantage of the conditions by creating one-against-one situations on our pass patterns, and this worked pretty well on Otto Graham’s flat tosses.”

“I can’t overemphasize how much that slick footing cost us,” summed up Coach Flaherty for the Yankees.

The Browns went on to an even better season in 1948, compiling a perfect 14-0 record and winning a third AAFC Championship. They met Buffalo, not the Yankees, for the title as New York dropped to 6-8 and a third place finish in the Eastern Division.

Highlighted Year: Ben Agajanian, 1947

Placekicker, Los Angeles Dons

Age: 28

6^th season in pro football, 1^st in AAFC & with Dons

College: New Mexico

Height: 6’1”   Weight: 210

Prelude:

Agajanian suffered the loss of four toes on his right (kicking) foot in a workplace accident while in college, but went on to have a long career as a pioneering placekicking specialist. After gaining honorable mention All-American honors as a college senior, he played minor league pro football with the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in 1942 and, while enlisted in the military, was stationed in California and thus able to play with teams in the PCPFL and (minor-league) AFL in 1943 and ’44. He also played end during this time in addition to kicking. In 1945 he joined the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL who in turn dealt him to the Steelers after two games and, while still considered an end, he suffered a broken arm with Pittsburgh that caused him to become a placekicker exclusively. He was successful in all four of his field goal attempts in ’45 but returned to the PCPFL in 1946.

1947 Season Summary

Appeared in 13 of 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Kicking

Field goals – 15 [1]

Most field goals, game – 3 at Brooklyn 11/23

Field goal attempts – 24 [1]

Field goal percentage – 62.5 [1]

PATs – 39 [2, tied with Lou Groza]

PAT attempts – 40 [4]

Longest field goal – 53 yards at Baltimore 10/19

Scoring

Field Goals – 15

PATs – 39

Points – 84 [2]

Dons went 7-7 to finish third in the AAFC Western Division.

Aftermath:

Agajanian had a lesser year with the Dons in 1948, succeeding on just 5 of 15 field goal tries, but then returned to the NFL and the New York Giants in ’49, where he was good on 8 of 13 attempts for a league-leading percentage of 61.5. He retired to tend to his business interests but came back with the Los Angeles Rams in 1953 and then to the Giants for four seasons (1954 to ’57) where he kicked 38 field goals in 71 attempts (53.5 %) and was part of the 1956 NFL Championship team. Sitting out the next two seasons, he again returned to pro football with the Los Angeles Chargers of the new AFL in 1960 and booted 13 field goals in 24 attempts. He moved on to the Dallas Texans for three games in 1961 and finished out the year back in the NFL with the Packers. Stints with the Raiders in 1962 and Chargers in ’64 closed out his career at age 45, having been one of two players to see action in the AAFC, NFL, and AFL (the other was LB Hardy Brown). Overall in those three leagues, Agajanian kicked 104 field goals in 204 attempts (51.0 %) and converted 343 of 351 extra point tries to compile 655 points . He went on to become kicking coach for the Dallas Cowboys and also mentored many placekickers at all levels over the ensuing years.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1947: Improved Bills Upset Yankees in Season-Opening AAFC Contest

The New York Yankees, defending champions of the All-America Football Conference’s Eastern Division, opened their second season on August 31, 1947 at Buffalo. New York, running a single-wing offense under Head Coach Ray Flaherty, had gone 10-3-1 before losing a close-fought title game to the Cleveland Browns to cap the AAFC’s first year. The Yankees lost veteran tailback Ace Parker to retirement but still had the league’s best running tailback in Spec Sanders. They also had plenty of talent across the board and had also added a talented rookie in the diminutive (5’5”, 170) but fast HB Buddy Young out of Illinois.

Buffalo was 3-10-1 in 1946 but had made some changes. While still coached by Red Dawson, the team’s nickname had been changed from Bisons to Bills. A promising rookie quarterback had been signed in George Ratterman (pictured above), mostly a backup to Heisman Trophy-winning Johnny Lujack at Notre Dame but a star in the College All-Star Game upset of the Chicago Bears, the defending NFL Champions (Young also was a key player for the All-Stars). He had good ends to throw to in holdover Fay King and newcomer Al Baldwin, and there was talent at running back, most notably up-and-coming HB Chet Mutryn.

There were 32,385 fans at War Memorial Stadium in what was at the time the largest pro football crowd in Buffalo history. A Sanders pass to FB Eddie Prokop reached the Buffalo four yard line to set up New York’s first touchdown of the game as Prokop then carried for the remaining four yards. However, later in the first quarter Buffalo LB Vic Kulbitski intercepted a Sanders pass to set up the home team’s first TD. Ratterman passed to Mutryn for 19 yards and finished the series with a one-yard quarterback sneak.

The teams traded touchdowns again in the second quarter, this time with Buffalo scoring first when Ratterman connected with King on a 39-yard pass play. Sanders ran for a 17-yard TD and, with all extra points successfully added, the halftime tally was even at 14-14.

In the third quarter, Buddy Young showed off his speed in the open field as he took a pass from Sanders for a 50-yard touchdown. Following the long scoring play, the Bills responded with a scoring drive. End Alton Coppage made two outstanding catches of Ratterman passes, the second moving the ball to the New York one from where HB George Koch powered in for the TD.

With the score tied at 21-21 heading into the fourth quarter, tailback Frank Sinkwich passed the Yankees into scoring territory and Harvey Johnson kicked a 15-yard field goal to put New York ahead.

Ratterman led the Bills back on a drive that concluded with a fourth down scoring pass of eight yards to Mutryn in the corner of the end zone with six minutes remaining. The touchdown proved to be decisive, but the finish was dramatic as the Yankees again drove into Buffalo territory with time running down. A pass from Sanders moved them to the 10 yard line but a throw intended for FB Lloyd Cheatham at the three fell incomplete as time ran out. The Bills pulled off the upset by a score of 28-24.

George Ratterman had a successful debut, completing 9 of 13 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. For the Yankees, Buddy Young (pictured at left) rushed for 81 yards on 13 carries and added the 50-yard pass receiving TD.

The Bills continued to both play and draw well and were in contention until losing badly to the Yankees in New York by a score of 35-13 in the next-to-last week of the season. They finished second with a record of 8-4-2. New York was 11-2-1 to again top the East – and again fell to the powerful Browns.

Ratterman went on to have a solid rookie season, throwing for 1840 yards with 22 touchdowns. Chet Mutryn rushed for 868 yards while averaging 6.2 yards per carry and leading the AAFC in kickoff returns (32.9 avg).

Spec Sanders had a spectacular season, rushing for 1432 yards and scoring 19 touchdowns while generating 2265 all-purpose yards. Buddy Young put together a fine first year, running for 712 yards on 116 carries (6.1 avg.) and catching 27 passes for 303 more yards. His rushing total placed fifth in the league, behind the fourth-ranked Mutryn who also finished second to Sanders in total yards with 1933.

MVP Profile: Otto Graham, 1947

Quarterback, Cleveland Browns


Age: 26 (Dec. 6)
2nd season in pro football & with Browns
College: Northwestern
Height: 6’1” Weight: 190

Prelude:
A single-wing tailback in college, Graham chose to sign with the Browns of the new AAFC rather than the NFL Detroit Lions, who had drafted him in the first round in 1944, after coming out of the Navy. An outstanding athlete, he first played pro basketball before joining the Browns for the 1946 season. Mobile and an accurate passer, Graham threw for 1834 yards as a rookie and led the AAFC with 17 TD passes as the Browns won the league championship.

1947 Season Summary
Appeared in all 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 269 [2]
Completions – 163 [2]
Yards – 2753 [1]
Completion percentage – 60.6 [1]
Yards per attempt – 10.2 [1]
TD passes – 25 [1]
Most TD passes, game – 3 at Buffalo 11/2, vs. San Francisco 11/16, at Baltimore 12/7
Interceptions – 11 [7, tied with Bob Hoernschemeyer]
Passer rating – 109.2 [1]

Rushing
Attempts – 19
Yards – 72
Yards per attempt – 3.8
TDs – 1

Interceptions
Interceptions – 1
Return yards – 0
TDs – 0

Punt Returns
Returns – 10 [9, tied with Bill Bass & Earle Parsons]
Yards – 121 [11, tied with Andy Dudish]
Average per return – 12.1
TDs – 0

Scoring
TDs – 1
Points – 6

Postseason: 1 G (at NY Yankees, AAFC Championship)
Pass attempts – 21
Pass completions – 14
Passing yardage – 112
TD passes – 0
Interceptions – 0

Rushing attempts – 4
Rushing yards – 21
Average gain rushing – 5.3
Rushing TDs – 1

Awards & Honors:
AAFC MVP: League
1st team All-AAFC: League, AP, NY Daily News

Browns went 12-1-1 to finish first in the Western Division while leading the AAFC in total offense (5547 yards), passing offense (2990), scoring (410 points), and touchdowns (56). Defeated New York Yankees for AAFC Championship (14-3).

Aftermath:
The Browns won AAFC titles again in 1948 and ’49, and Graham led the league in passing yards in both seasons (2753 and 2713 yards), as well as completion percentage (60.6) and TD passes (25) in ’48, when he was the AAFC co-MVP with San Francisco’s Frankie Albert. He was a consensus first-team All-AAFC selection both years. The Browns moved to the NFL in 1950 and won another championship. They lost title games in 1951 and ’52, but Graham was a consensus first-team All-Pro in ’51 and led the league in pass attempts (364), completions (181), yards (2816), and TD passes (20) as well as interceptions (24). Cleveland won the Championship games following the 1954 and ’55 seasons (the latter after Graham was coaxed out of retirement to play one more year) and he led the league in completion percentage in each of his last three years as well as yards (2722) and yards per attempt (10.6) in 1953, and TD percentage (8.1) and yards per attempt (9.3) in ’55. Altogether, over 10 seasons (four in the AAFC, 6 in the NFL) Graham averaged 9.0 yards per attempt (a record 8.6 in the NFL alone) while throwing for 23,584 yards (10,085 in AAFC, 13,499 in NFL) with 174 TDs (86 in AAFC, 88 in NFL). He also ran for 882 yards and scored 44 TDs, with a high of 8 in 1954. He was a first-team All-league selection three times in the AAFC as well as three more times in the NFL and was chosen for the first five Pro Bowls. Perhaps most significantly of all, he quarterbacked Cleveland to a championship game in all ten years, winning seven of them. The Browns retired his #14 and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1965.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/10/14]