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Home > Blogs > Dawging the Browns > Archives > 2008 > February > 02 > Entry
Where was he when they moved?
Maybe he’s angling for the elderly football fan vote.
That was my first guess as to why Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown wrote a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking that the statistics from the All-America Football Conference be included in the NFL record book.
Aren’t we still at war? Isn’t the economy tanking? Doesn’t this guy have anything better to do than fire off missives to sports czars about leagues that folded six decades ago?
On closer inspection, however, maybe there’s some merit to this effort.
The 1948 Browns finished 15-0 and won the AAFC championship. But you won’t hear them discussed on the Super Bowl telecast as being among the undefeated teams in NFL history.
Because, for reasons never completely explained, AAFC records were not incorporated into the NFL record book in 1950 when the Browns and two other teams were admitted to the league.
So, as unbeatens go, the NFL only recognizes the ‘72 Dolphins.
“It was agreed upon at that time not to include AAFC records,” Joe Horrigan of the Pro Football Hall of Fame told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. “Whereas, when the NFL merged with the American Football League and took all (10) of its teams, the agreement included bringing along AFL records.”
To say the Browns dominated the AAFC would be the understatement of a lifetime. Paul Brown’s teams won all four available championships from 1946-49. They had an unbeaten streak of 29 games with a roster teeming with future Hall of Famers.
But it’s going to be tough to russle up much support from Goodell, who truly does have better things to worry about, what with Pacman Jones in strip-club trouble again, a void in Los Angeles where an NFL team used to be, the mighty Patriots being cheaters, etc.
And if he even considers this for one minute, Goodell probably will decide the accuracy of AAFC records is open to question. The Browns don’t list individual stats in their media guide for any of those years. Every other year, yes. Not those.
As for Sherrod Brown, where was he — not to mention all the other politicians — when the Browns left town on Art Modell’s magic carpet? Nice effort here, I guess, but perhaps more was needed back then.
Comments
By Professor
February 4, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this
I disagree with your contention that Goodell has more important items to think about - esp. in comparison to elected officials. I do agree with your original point that what Sherrod Brown should be tackling is healthcare for children, the war and definitely Ohio’s economy. But Sherrod Brown’s NFL request will get press coverage.