P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Cleveland Browns	12	9	1	2	339	171	.900
*San Francisco 49ers	12	9	3	0	416	227	.750
*Brooklyn-New York Yankees	12	8	4	0	196	206	.667
*Buffalo Bills	12	5	5	2	236	256	.500
Chicago Hornets	12	4	8	0	179	268	.333
Los Angeles Dons	12	4	8	0	253	322	.333
Baltimore Colts	12	1	11	0	172	341	.083

Playoffs

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Playoffs
	Cleveland Browns	31	Buffalo Bills	21
	San Francisco 49ers	17	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	7
	Championship Game
	Cleveland Browns	21	San Francisco 49ers	7
	Shamrock Bowl All-Star Game		Rice Stadium, Houston
17.12.1949	All-Stars	12	Cleveland Browns	7

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
26.08.1949	Chicago Hornets	17	Buffalo Bills	14
28.08.1949	San Francisco 49ers	31	Baltimore Colts	17
	Week 2
02.09.1949	Los Angeles Dons	49	Baltimore Colts	17
04.09.1949	San Francisco 49ers	42	Chicago Hornets	7
05.09.1949	Buffalo Bills	28	Cleveland Browns	28
	Week 3
09.09.1949	Los Angeles Dons	21	Chicago Hornets	23
11.09.1949	Cleveland Browns	21	Baltimore Colts	0
11.09.1949	Buffalo Bills	14	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	17
	Week 4
16.09.1949	Chicago Hornets	35	Baltimore Colts	7
18.09.1949	Cleveland Browns	14	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	3
18.09.1949	San Francisco 49ers	42	Los Angeles Dons	14
	Week 5
22.09.1949	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	10	Los Angeles Dons	7
25.09.1949	Baltimore Colts	20	Cleveland Browns	28
25.09.1949	Buffalo Bills	28	San Francisco 49ers	17
	Week 6
30.09.1949	Chicago Hornets	24	San francisco 49ers	42
02.10.1949	Cleveland Browns	42	Los Angeles Dons	7
02.10.1949	Buffalo Bills	28	Baltimore Colts	35
	Week 7
07.10.1949	Chicago Hornets	24	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	38
09.10.1949	San Francisco 49ers	56	Cleveland Browns	28
09.10.1949	Los Angeles Dons	42	Buffalo Bills	28
	Week 8
14.10.1949	Los Angeles Dons	14	Cleveland Browns	61
16.10.1949	San Francisco 49ers	51	Buffalo Bills	7
16.10.1949	Baltimore Colts	21	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	24
	Week 9
23.10.1949	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	24	San Francisco 49ers	3
23.10.1949	Buffalo Bills	17	Los Angeles Dons	14
23.10.1949	Baltimore Colts	7	Chicago Hornets	17
	Week 10
28.10.1949	Chicago Hornets	14	Los Angeles Dons	24
30.10.1949	Cleveland Browns	30	San Francisco 49ers	28
30.10.1949	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	21	Baltimore Colts	24
	Week 11
06.11.1949	Cleveland Browns	30	Chicago Hornets	2
06.11.1949	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	14	Buffalo Bills	17
06.11.1949	Baltimore Colts	10	San Francisco 49ers	28
	Week 12
13.11.1949	Cleveland Browns	7	Buffalo Bills	7
13.11.1949	Los Angeles Dons	24	San Francisco 49ers	41
13.11.1949	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	14	Chicago Hornets	10
	Week 13
20.11.1949	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	0	Cleveland Browns	31
20.11.1949	Buffalo Bills	10	Chicago Hornets	0
20.11.1949	Baltimore Colts	10	Los Angeles Dons	21
	Week 14
24.11.1949	Chicago Hornets	6	Cleveland Browns	14
24.11.1949	Los Angeles Dons	16	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	17
27.11.1949	San Francisco 49ers	35	Brooklyn-New York Yankees	14
27.11.1949	Baltimore Colts	14	Buffalo Bills	38

Championship Game

Sunday, December 11, 1949, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio. Att: 22, 550

San Francisco 49ers 7 Cleveland Browns 21 – The Cleveland Browns won their fourth AAFC Championship in-a-row, and the last ever Championship Game of the AAFC, beating the San Francisco 49ers 21-7 on the back of three Runs by E. Jones, Motley and D. Jones, with Salata receiving a pass for a touchdown from Albert for San Francisco’s only score

At Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
San Francisco 49ers	0	0	0	0	7
Cleveland Browns	7	0	7	7	21
Scorers					Score
1st Quarter
Cle – E. Jones 2 Run (Groza Kick)					0-7
2nd Quarter
No Scoring
3rd Quarter
Cle – Motley 63 Run (Groza Kick)					0-14
4th Quarter
SF – Salata 23 Pass from Albert (Vetrano Kick)					7-14
Cle – D. Jones 4 Run (Groza Kick)					7-21

Shamrock Bowl All-Star Game

Saturday, December 17, 1949, Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas, Att: 12,000

AAFC All-Stars 12 Cleveland Browns 7 – The Shamrock Bowl All-Star Game was the last ever game played by the All-America Football Conference, as the league merged with the National Football League after the season. It was organised as a Charity Event by Glenn McCarthy, who had tried to purchase a franchise in the league after the season, and before it merged with the NFL. It was the only All-Star Game played by the AAFC, and was a Charity Event in aid of the Hally Hall Home for the Aged, the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund, and the National Kids Day Foundation, and is also notable for being one of the first racially-integrated sports events in Houston. The AAFC All-Stars won the game 12-7 with two touchdowns either side of a Cleveland Browns one. Mutryn ran in the first, and Dub Jones replied for Cleveland with a pass from Graham. Baldwin won the game for the All-Stars with a 23 yard reception from Albert.

At Rice Stadium, Houston	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
AAFC All-Stars	6	6	0	0	12
Cleveland Browns	0	7	0	0	7
Scorers					Score
1st Quarter
AAFC – Mutryn 2 Run (Albert Missed Kick)					6-0
2nd Quarter
Cle – Dub Jones 40 Pass from Graham (Groza Kick)					6-7
AAFC – Baldwin 23 Pass from Albert (Albert Missed Kick)					12-7
3rd Quarter
No Scoring					12-7
3rd Quarter
No Scoring					12-7

The All-American football Conference of 1946-1949 was a successful rival to the NFL, so much so, that the two leagues agreed to merge in 1950, although in essence it was a takeover of the three most successful AAFC clubs by the NFL – San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns & Baltimore Colts.

The League was won by the Cleveland Browns all four seasons – in 1946 they defeated New York Yankees 14-9, and in 1948 defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Championship game 49-7 before beating the San Francisco 49ers in the 1949 Championship Game 21-7

Of particular note for Irish American Football fans, is the last ever game, the Shamrock Bowl Charity All-Star Game, the only one played by the AAFC. It was organised by Glenn McCarthy, who had tried to purchase the Cleveland Browns and move them to Houston after the 1949 season, and before it merger with the NFL in 1950. It was played in aid of three charities, and was also notable for the fact it was one of the first ever racially integrated sports events ever played in Houston.

Glenn McCarthy was a Houston Oil millionaire who opened the Shamrock Hotel in Houston on St. Patrick’s Day 1949. He was several generations removed from his Irish ancestors from Co. Cork, and was one of the richest men in America, and probably the richest in Texas. He was known as  “King of the wildcatters”, a term applied to the early Irish in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, in reference to people who find oil in places not proven to have oil [Ref: 2]

Oilman Glenn McCarthy, left [Ref: 7]

References

Websites

[1] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Standings (1946-1949) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/all-america-football-conference-aafc-standings-1946-1949/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[2] McHugh (2019) “The Magnificent Shamrock Hotel” Ireland’s Own [Internet] Available from: https://www.irelandsown.ie/the-magnificent-shamrock-hotel/ [Accessed 12 March 2020]

Bibliography

[3] Crippen, Kenneth R. & Reaser, Matt, Eds. (2018) “The All-America Football Conference”. Part 6: Linescores. 1949. pg. 134-146. Published by McFarland & Co, Jefferson, North Carolina.

[4] Crippen, Kenneth R. & Reaser, Matt, Eds. (2018) “The All-America Football Conference”. Part 5: Conference Statistics. 1949. pg. 70. Published by McFarland & Co, Jefferson, North Carolina.

Images

[5] Wikipedia (2018) All-America Football Conference Logo [Internet] Available from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/All-America_Football_Conference_%28logo%29.png [Accessed 8 October 2018]

[6] Houston Chronicle (2020) Shamrock Bowl 1949 Programme [Internet] Available from: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/04/36/52/1174165/3/920×920.jpg [Accessed 12 March 2020]

[7] Houston Chronicle (2020) Oilman Glenn McCarthy, left [Internet] Available from: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/04/36/52/1174166/3/375×250.jpg [Accessed 12 March 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Eoin O’Fearghaill

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 12 March 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and World Gridiron Archive 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.