 Players look on as Cleveland placekicker Lou Groza secures the game for his team with a 16-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining in regulation. | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 24, 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 29,751 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Harry Wismer, Red Grange | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1950 NFL Championship Game was the 18th National Football League (NFL) title game, played on Sunday, December 24 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.[1][2]
In their first NFL season after four years in the rival All-America Football Conference, the Cleveland Browns defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 30–28.[3][4] The championship was the first of three won by Cleveland in the 1950s under head coach Paul Brown behind an offense that featured quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, and ends Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie.
Cleveland began the season with a win against the Philadelphia Eagles, who had won the previous two NFL championships. The Browns won all but two of their regular-season games, both losses coming against the New York Giants. Cleveland ended the season with a 10–2 win–loss record, tied with the Giants for first place in the American Conference, forcing a playoff that the Browns won, 8–3.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, finished the season 9–3, tied with the Chicago Bears for first place in the National Conference, forcing a playoff that the Rams won 24–14.
Thus, the Championship Game would see the Browns play host to the Rams [5] with the Browns being four-point favorites.[6][7]
The game began with a long touchdown pass from Rams quarterback Bob Waterfield to halfback Glenn Davis on the first play from scrimmage, giving Los Angeles an early lead. Cleveland tied the game later in the first quarter with a touchdown from Graham to Dub Jones, but the Rams quickly went ahead again on a Dick Hoerner touchdown run. Cleveland scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second and third quarters, retaking a 20–14 lead. A pair of Rams touchdowns in the third quarter, however, gave Los Angeles a two-possession advantage going into the final period. Cleveland responded with a diving touchdown catch by Rex Bumgardner in the final minutes of the game, followed by a field goal by placekicker Lou Groza with 28 seconds left to win, 30–28.
Lavelli set a then championship-game record with 11 receptions, and Waterfield's 82-yard pass to Davis on the first play of the game was then the longest scoring play in championship history. Los Angeles had 407 total yards to Cleveland's 373, but Cleveland had five interceptions, compared to just one for the Rams. The Browns' Warren Lahr had two interceptions in the game.
After the game, NFL Commissioner Bert Bell called the Cleveland Browns "the greatest team ever to play football".
- ^ Prell, Edward (December 25, 1950). "Browns win title in final 20 seconds". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
- ^ "Browns win pro title; Groza's kick thriller". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. December 25, 1950. p. 25.
- ^ Sell, Jack (December 25, 1950). "Groza's field goal beats Rams, 30-28". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 32.
- ^ Marthey, Larry (December 25, 1950). "Groza gives Browns last-minute 30-28 triumph". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 26.
- ^ The formation of the Browns and the AAFC, combined with poor home attendances and heavy financial losses, had seen the Rams leave Cleveland for Los Angeles four years earlier.
- ^ "Rams, Browns battle for NFL title". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 24, 1950. p. 19.
- ^ "Browns 4-point pick for title". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. December 24, 1950. p. 1, section 4.