1948: Bills Rally Past Colts in AAFC East Division Playoff

The Baltimore Colts hosted the Buffalo Bills on December 12, 1948 in a playoff to determine the winner of the All-America Football Conference’s Eastern Division. The Colts had forced the playoff a week earlier by defeating the Bills soundly by a score of 35-15 in the regular season finale, with the clubs thus finishing in a dead heat at 7-7. The records were mediocre, to be sure, and they benefited from the collapse of the New York Yankees, who dominated the division in the AAFC’s first two seasons. But it still meant a chance to play in the league championship game – even if that meant facing off against the powerful, and undefeated, Cleveland Browns.

The Bills, coached by Red Dawson, actually had a better record in 1947, when they finished second to New York. QB George Ratterman (pictured above) was the key player on offense and had a productive receiver in end Al Baldwin, who caught 54 passes during the regular season. HB Chet Mutryn was an outstanding all-purpose back who led the AAFC with 2288 total yards and 96 points and FB Lou Tomasetti ran effectively between the tackles.

Baltimore, under Head Coach Cecil Isbell, was the more surprising participant in the contest. The Colts were coming off a 2-11-1 campaign in ’47. Added to holdover HB Billy Hillenbrand and end Lamar Davis were a fine rookie crop that included QB Y.A. Tittle, HB Bob Pfohl, DHB Jack Leight, and FB/PK Rex Grossman. The team had won three of its last four games, including the convincing win over Buffalo, and appeared to have the momentum heading into the playoff.

There were 27, 327 fans on hand at Babe Ruth Stadium. The Colts took the early lead on a 16-yard field goal by Rex Grossman in the first quarter. George Ratterman tossed a five-yard jump-pass to end Bill O’Connor to give Buffalo the lead at 7-3, which was the score at halftime as the defenses controlled the game.

The Colts appeared to take command in the third quarter. A 71-yard drive ended with FB Bus Mertes running for a touchdown from nine yards out. Baltimore then put together an 88-yard series that also ended with a Mertes TD, this from a yard. Both were followed by Grossman extra points and the home team was up by 17-7 heading into the final period.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s Ratterman passed to HB Bill Gompers, who was all alone for a 66-yard touchdown, and with Graham Armstrong’s PAT, that narrowed the score to 17-14.

A key play occurred with five minutes left on the clock when Chet Mutryn caught a short pass from Ratterman, but then dropped the ball. Tackle John Mellus recovered what he – and many of those present – thought was a fumble for the Colts, but sideline judge Tommy Whelan ruled it an incomplete pass. Six plays later, with the Baltimore defense reeling following the disputed incompletion, the Bills scored when Ratterman connected with Al Baldwin for a 25-yard touchdown. Armstrong tacked on the extra point.

Buffalo’s lead was padded when LB Ed “Buckets” Hirsch intercepted a Tittle pass and returned it 20 yards for a TD. The final score was 28-17 as the Bills won the Eastern Division title.

Police had to escort the officials to the locker room after the game due to the partisan crowd that was angered over the incomplete pass call. The AAFC’s deputy commissioner, O.O. Kessing, spoke with the official, Whelan, afterward and quoted him as saying of the disputed call, “That’s the way I saw it and I’d call it that way seven days a week.”

The Colts outgained Buffalo (393 yards to 297) and had far more first downs (24 to 11). Both teams were productive on the ground, with the Colts rushing for 176 yards to Buffalo’s 162. Each team turned the ball over three times – although a turnover-that-wasn’t was the most discussed play of the game.

George Ratterman completed 10 of 18 passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, and was at his best with the game on the line in the late going. Lou Tomasetti led the Bills with 56 rushing yards on 12 attempts and Chet Mutryn was right behind with 54 yards on 11 carries. Bill Gompers had 52 yards on 14 rushes and, with his 66-yard scoring catch, led the club in pass receiving yards. Al Baldwin and Bill O’Connor each caught three passes, for 21 and 20 yards, respectively, and one TD apiece.

For the Colts, Y.A. Tittle was successful on 17 of 36 throws for 217 yards with no TDs and one intercepted. Bus Mertes, who scored the two third quarter touchdowns, ran for 73 yards on 15 attempts and Bob Pfohl contributed 63 yards on 16 carries. Billy Hillenbrand, who ran six times for five yards, was the top receiver with 7 catches for 75 yards. Lamar Davis had 73 yards on his 5 pass receptions.

The come-from-behind win over the Colts did not translate into an upset in the AAFC Championship game for Buffalo. As expected, the Bills were routed by the Browns, 49-7, who won their third consecutive league title. Buffalo went 5-5-2 in 1949 and made the postseason again in the restructured league’s final season, again falling to the Browns in the first playoff round. Baltimore, however, dropped to the cellar with a 1-11 record. 

1949: Hornets Edge Bills in AAFC Season-Opening Game

The All-America Football Conference’s Chicago franchise had undergone significant alteration coming into the 1949 season. The league had installed new ownership and the nickname was changed from Rockets to Hornets. Ray Flaherty was brought in to coach the team, and he had experienced success with the NFL Redskins and AAFC Yankees. Most importantly, there were many new players on the roster, including ten alone who had come from the defunct Brooklyn Dodgers. For a team that was coming off a miserable 1-13 record, it could only be an improvement.

The Hornets opened the regular season on August 26 against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills had nearly been sold and relocated to Houston in the offseason, but strong community support kept the team in place. Head Coach Red Dawson’s club was coming off a 7-7 campaign in ’48 that was good enough to tie for first place in the mediocre Eastern Division and had advanced to the league title game, only to be pummeled by the mighty Cleveland Browns. QB George Ratterman had skillfully guided the productive offense, but he was holding out in a salary dispute and was thus unavailable for the first game of the new season. Untested backup QB Jim Still started in his place.

There were 23,800 in attendance at Soldier Field for the Friday night game. The Hornets unveiled a single-wing attack, taking advantage of the presence of tailbacks Bob “Hunchy” Hoernschmeyer (pictured at top), who was returning to the team after a hiatus with the Dodgers; Johnny Clement, formerly of the NFL Steelers; and Bob Chappuis, another Brooklyn refugee.

It was the Bills getting on the board first on a touchdown pass from Jim Still to end Al Baldwin that covered 18 yards. Not only did it put the visitors ahead by 7-0 after Chet Adams added the extra point, but it marked an AAFC-record seventh straight game, stretching back to the previous season, in which Baldwin (pictured below) had scored a TD.

The Hornets scored twice in the second quarter on big plays to take the lead. Bob Hoernschemeyer passed to wingback Ray Ramsey on a play that covered 63 yards for a touchdown. Johnny Clement then connected with wingback Paul Patterson for a 35-yard TD. With both PATs successfully added, Chicago led at halftime by a 14-7 tally.

Neither club scored during the third quarter. Buffalo had difficulty moving on offense while the Hornets proved to be adept at turning the ball over. The Bills got a break in the fourth quarter when a bad snap on a punt gave them possession on the Chicago 38. The series culminated in a 13-yard run by HB Chet Mutryn that, with the successful extra point, tied the score.

Late in the fourth quarter the Hornets had the ball in scoring territory and Jim McCarthy booted a 21-yard field goal that broke the deadlock. Chicago held on to win by a final tally of 17-14.

The Hornets significantly outgained Buffalo (305 yards to 193), with the Bills only able to generate 66 yards through the air. The visitors had the edge in first downs (9 to 7) and Chicago turned the ball over six times (two interceptions and four fumbles) to three suffered by Buffalo.

It was an encouraging – if sloppy – start for the Hornets, who were thrashed by the 49ers the following week but won their next two and had a 4-3 record before the bottom fell out. They lost their remaining games and ended up at 4-8, tying them for fifth in the division-less AAFC with the Los Angeles Dons.

Bob Hoernschmeyer and Johnny Clement continued to handle the bulk of the playing time at tailback. Hoernschmeyer threw more passes (167 to 114) for more yards (1063 to 906) but Clement was more accurate (50.9 to 41.3). Each passed for six touchdowns. Hoernschmeyer also led the team in rushing with 456 yards, with Clement next at 388.

Buffalo had George Ratterman back in the fold in short order and, after getting off to a 1-4-1 start that cost Coach Ramsey his job, finished strong. The Bills ended up with a 5-5-2 record that placed them fourth and gave them a spot in the playoffs. They lost to the Browns in the first round.

Al Baldwin’s streak of games with touchdown receptions ended the week following the opening game. He ranked second for the year in the AAFC with 53 pass receptions, 719 yards, and 7 scoring catches (tied with Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie of the Browns). 

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.