All-America Football Conference
Championship Game
1947
12-14-1947
The second All-America Conference
championship was played on December 14, 1947. It once again pitted the
Eastern Conference New York Yankees against the Cleveland Browns of the
Western Conference. The Browns were 12-1-1 in 1947, and had tied and
beaten the Yankees during the regular season. The Yankees defended their
Eastern Conference title by going 11-2-1. The Yankees were led by Spec
Sanders who rushed for 1431 yards, an all-time pro football record, and
19 touchdowns that year (the only 1000 yard rusher in AAFC history).
Paul Brown was the coach of the Browns and Ray Flaharty coached the
Yanks. Cleveland’s Otto Graham led all passers with 2753 yards. The
teams were the same, but the venue was different as the teams met at
Yankee Stadium in New York before 61,879 fans, a record for a
professional title game. Major league baseball commisioner, A.B.
Chandler was a special guest of Yankee owner Dan Topping, who was also
the owner of baseball’s New York Yankees. Among the noted celebrities in
attendance were Cleveland Mayor Thomas Burke, Cleveland Indian general
manager, Bill Veeck, and Wimbeldon champion, Jack Kramer.
In the first quarter, Marion Motley of the Browns got loose on a 51 yard
run to the Yankees’ 13. From there, Graham drove the Browns to the one
where he score on a quarterback sneak. In the second quarter, the
Yankees mounted a a drive led by fullback, Buddy Young, that carried
them to the Browns’ 9 yard line. From there, Harvey Johnson kicked a
field goal. Lou Groza missed on two field goal attempts later in the
second quarter and the score at half was 7-3.
In the third period, Tom Collela intercepted a Spec Sanders pass a
returned it 9 yards to the Yankees’ 41. On the first play, Motley went
up the middle 16 yards to the 25. Graham passed to Edgar “Special
Delivery” Jones to the 14. A few plays later, Jones carried it in on a
four yard run. Lou Saban kicked the extra point and the score was 14-3.
There was no scoring in the final period. The game was devoid of big
plays as Graham failed to connect with receivers, Mac Speedie or Dante
Lavelli. The Yankees backfield mates were stifled, too. Buddy Young
fumbled twice, stopping Yankees’ drives and Spec Sanders was held to 40
yards rushing on 12 carries. An unsung hero was Cleveland punter Horace
Gillom, whose accurate and long punts kept the Yankees at bay on the
afternoon.
Sporting News 1947
The game marked the fifth victory
and one tie for the Browns over the Yankees in the two year history of
the league. The New York fans carried Motley off the field following the
game. Motley gained 109 yards on 13 carries.
