American Football Wiki
1950 Cleveland Browns season
Head Coach Paul Brown
Home Field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Results
Record 10–2–0
Place 1st NFL American
Playoff Finish Won NFL Championship (1)
Timeline
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1949 1951

The 1950 Cleveland Browns season was the team's first season with the National Football League after playing the previous four years in the All-America Football Conference, which folded after the 1949 season. The Browns won their first NFL Championship, and their fifth consecutive championship game (the previous four having been in the AAFC).

The Browns' first NFL game was against the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The overwhelming consensus at the time was that the Eagles would blow the Browns off the field; there were still many who thought the Browns were merely the dominant team in a minor league. However, the Browns were determined to prove they belonged. They shredded the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 yards of total offense en route to a 35–10 blowout.

Exhibition Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 12, 1950 vs Green Bay Packers at Toledo W 38–7
10,000
2 August 19, 1950 vs. Baltimore Colts at Cincinnati W 34–7
21,000
3 August 25, 1950 vs. Detroit Lions at Akron W 35-14
23,670
4 August 30, 1950 Chicago Bears W 27–23
51,076
5 September 5, 1950 Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo W 41–31
15,259

Regular season[]

Behind a potent offense that included future Hall of Famers Otto Graham, Marion Motley and Dante Lavelli, the Browns picked up right where they left off in the AAFC. After going 10–2 in the regular season, the Browns defeated the New York Giants 8–3 in a playoff game and then beat Cleveland's previous NFL tenants, the Rams (who were now in Los Angeles), 30–28, in the NFL Championship game. Since the NFL does not recognize the AAFC's records, this technically makes the Browns the most successful expansion team in league history. However, the 1950 Browns were not an expansion team in any sense of the term.

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 16, 1950 at Philadelphia Eagles W 35–10
71,237
2 September 24, 1950 at Baltimore Colts W 31–0
15,201
3 October 1, 1950 New York Giants L 6–0
37,647
4 October 7, 1950 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–17
35,590
5 October 15, 1950 Chicago Cardinals W 34–24
33,774
6 October 22, 1950 at New York Giants L 17–13
41,734
7 October 29, 1950 Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–7
40,714
8 November 5, 1950 at Chicago Cardinals W 10–7
38,456
9 November 12, 1950 San Francisco 49ers W 34–14
28,786
10 November 19, 1950 Washington Redskins W 20–14
21,908
11 Bye week
12 December 3, 1950 Philadelphia Eagles W 13–7
37,490
13 December 10, 1950 at Washington Redskins W 45–21
30,143

Playoffs[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Divisional December 17, 1950 New York Giants W 8–3
33,054
Championship December 24, 1950 Los Angeles Rams W 30–28
29,751

Personnel[]

Roster[]

1950 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

  • 74 Tony Adamle RB/LB
  • 36 Marion Motley FB
  • 90 Rex Bumgardner RB/DB

Wide Receivers

  • 82 Dub Jones WB/DB/RB/KR
  • 84 Ken Carpenter FL/RB
  • 94 Don Phelps KR/PR

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen
  • 76 Lou Groza LT/K
  • 50 Jim Martin G/LB/K
  • 32 Lin Houston
  • 38 Weldon Humble G
  • 34 Abe Gibron G
  • 94 Lou Rymkus T
  • 22 Frank Gatski C/LB

Defensive Linemen

  • 48 Forrest Grigg DT
  • 45 John Kissell DT
  • 53 Len Ford E/DE
  • 52 George Young
Linebackers
  • 70 Emerson Cole
  • 92 Dom Moselle
  • 24 Tommy Thompson LB/C
  • 35 Alex Agase G
  • 20 Hal Herring
  • 30 Bill Willis

Defensive Backs

  • 80 Warren Lahr
  • 85 Ken Gorgal S

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

  • N/A - Vacant

Staff/Coaches[]

1950 Cleveland Browns staff
Front Office
  • Majority Owner/CEO & President - Mickey McBride

Coaches

Offensive Coaches

  • Quarterbacks/Running Backs - Blanton Collier
  • Offensive Guards – Fritz Heisler
  • Offensive Tackles – Weeb Ewbank
  • Offensive Backfield and Ends – Tim Tememario
  Defensive Coaches
  • Defensive Line – Fritz Heisler & Tim Temerario
  • Linebackers – Blanton Collier

Strength & Coditioning

  • Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy
  • Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

Standings[]

NFL American
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 10 2 0 .833 310 144 W-6
New York Giants 10 2 0 .833 268 150 W-6
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 6 0 .500 180 195 W-1
Philadelphia Eagles 6 6 0 .500 254 141 L-4
Chicago Cardinals 5 7 0 .417 233 287 L-1
Washington Redskins 3 9 0 .250 232 326 L-1

Postseason[]

NFL Championship Game[]

The Browns had been the AAFC's most dominant team, winning all four of its championships. The Rams, who left Cleveland after the 1945 season for Los Angeles, were making their second straight appearance in an NFL title game. [1]

  • First Quarter
    • LA-Davis 82 yard pass from Waterfield (Waterfield kick)
    • LA-Hoerner 3 yard run (Waterfield kick)
    • Cle-Dub Jones 31 yard pass from Graham (Groza kick)
  • Second Quarter
    • Cle-Lavelli 35 yard pass from Graham (conversion pass failed)
  • Third Quarter
    • Cle-Lavelli 39 yard pass from Graham (Groza kick)
    • LA-Hoerner 1 yard run (Waterfield kick)
    • LA-Brink 6 yard fumble return (Waterfield kick)
  • Fourth Quarter
    • Cle-Bumgardner 14 yard pass from Graham (Groza kick)
    • Cle- Groza 16 yard field goal

References[]

  1. Harry Jones, Groza's Field Goal Is Signal for Celebration, Cleveland Plain Dealer December 24, 1950, Plain Dealer Browns' History Database Accessed 12 December 2007, http://www.cleveland.com/brownshistory/plaindealer/index.ssf?/browns/more/history/19501224BROWNS.html

External links[]