Browns 28, Colts 7
It should’ve been obvious that Lou Saban would become a coach when his playing days were over.
When the Browns returned to practice to prepare for their game against the Colts, Saban gathered his teammates together for a players only meeting. Such meetings are usually reserved for when teams are in trouble. The Browns were riding high, and Saban wanted to make sure they continued to do so. Thinking like a coach, he cautioned his teammates not to take Baltimore (4–5) lightly and, whether consciously or unconsciously, begin anticipating the visit by the 49ers in two weeks. Saban warned the players, who trailed the 49ers by a half game in the western standings, that if they didn’t take care of business against the Colts, who were fighting for first place in the east despite a losing record, they’d enter the showdown with San Francisco trailing by a game and a half and fighting for their lives. He reminded the squad that in late August, despite thoroughly dominating the Colts statistically, the Browns had lost to them on the Scott High School field in Toledo. It was the only time they’d tasted defeat in 1948, and even though it was an exhibition game, it hadn’t tasted good. As an added incentive, Saban reminded his teammates of the championship game checks most of them had cashed at the conclusion of the 1946 and ’47 seasons. If they wanted to cash another one in a couple of months, they needed to focus on their next opponent and worry about the 49ers later. He was satisfied with the assurance he got that there would be no looking past the Colts.
Saban was a key member of a defense that was allowing just 11.5 points per game through eight contests. The Browns had allowed 12 touchdowns and three field goals, and three of the touchdowns had been scored with the game already decided in Cleveland’s favor. After such star players as Otto Graham, Lou Rymkus and Marion Motley had played both offense and defense in 1946 and ’47, Paul Brown was able to field a two-platoon team in 1948. Although some players still contributed on both sides of the ball, Brown generally put 11 players on the field whose sole responsibility was stopping the opponent’s offense. Using the terminology of the era, “Jumbo” John Yonakor and George Young were the ends; Chubby Grigg and Chet Adams the tackles; Bill Willis and Weldon Humble the guards; Saban the defensive center; and Cliff Lewis, Tommy James, Tom Colella and Tony Adamle comprised the defensive backfield.
Paul Brown and linebacker and team captain Lou Saban. Saban would retire young to begin a coaching career that would include two American Football League championships with the Buffalo Bills.
“The amazing thing about that group has been the play of Grigg and Adams at the tackles,” said Brown. “Both of them have been turning in outstanding jobs all year, and have a lot to do with the good record we have made against the running attacks. Grigg has been one of the surprises of our team, and he was one of the fellows the Chicago Rockets practically gave us in one of our deals last year. You can never tell how some of these fellows will perform when they get with a winning team.”1 Paced by Grigg and Adams, the Browns were allowing an average of 245 yards per game, just 105 on the ground. Both numbers were the best in the AAFC. Grigg was a young pup of 22, Adams had turned 33 in late October. Despite the concerns Bob Yonkers had expressed about Adams’ old legs, he was holding up well under the pounding of his eighth professional season.
Among the reasons the Browns didn’t dare take the Colts lightly was the passing of quarterback Y.A. Tittle. The day after Baltimore’s 35–17 loss at Buffalo, the Colts announced that Tittle had sprained his ankle during the game. He was expected to be ready for the Browns, but a decision on his status wouldn’t be made until later in the week.
Added depth was allowing the Browns, and other teams, to take full advantage of the relatively new unlimited substitution rule that paved the way for today’s two-platoon football. One coach who didn’t like the rule was Jimmy Phelan of the Los Angeles Dons. While his team was in the midst of a two-game east coast road trip, playing the Dodgers and Yankees, Phelan spoke to a New York football writers luncheon on November 1. Phelan had attended Cornell University’s football game in which the Big Red made, by Phelan’s count, 296 lineup changes. Cornell had separate offensive and defensive units. The Big Red were hoping to duplicate the success of the Big Nine’s Michigan Wolverines, who won the league’s 1947 championship with separate offensive, defensive and kicking units.
“How can you expect the spectators to follow what’s going on if you have different teams running on and off the field at all times?” Phelan asked the writers. “I think the rules committee should change the rules and permit only three changes at a time. If you were on offense and you lost the ball, you could change, for example, to defensive quarterback and one end and also insert your line-backing specialist.”2 Phelan expressed the opinion that “wholesale changes” should be permitted only at the start of a quarter.
On November 2, Brown confirmed that he was interested in obtaining Stan Heath, the star quarterback of the University of Nevada. Heath’s career began at Wisconsin in 1946. He was dismissed due to poor grades. An attempt to enroll at Marquette University in Milwaukee wasn’t successful, and he wound up at Nevada in 1947. The Wolfpack was undefeated in early November of 1948, thanks largely to Heath’s record-setting performances. In its most recent game, Nevada had bludgeoned Oklahoma City University, 79–13. Heath took a seat after playing just 11 minutes of that blowout. In those 11 minutes, Heath threw 18 passes and completed 13 for 327 yards and six touchdowns.
“I don’t know what Heath’s status is, but if he’s eligible for the draft, we’d be interested in him,” said Brown. “I had him a little bit at Great Lakes, but he wasn’t around long enough for me to get a good look at him. He sure is hotter than blazes this season.”3 The Browns already owned the AAFC’s draft rights to Heath’s favorite target, end Scott Beasley.
“We drafted Beasley last December, but, of course, will have to take our chances of out-bidding the National League team that has draft rights to him. I consider him to be one of the better receivers in college football,”4 Brown said.
Heath said he would forego his final year of college eligibility and turn professional. “I’m married and I’ve got to make some money,” said the quarterback who figured to be at the center of the next high-profile bidding war between the AAFC and NFL. “I feel my best chance to get a good job with a pro team will be at the end of this season.”5 Heath wouldn’t comment on reports that San Francisco and Green Bay were the highest bidders to date in the battle for his services. He did say he preferred to play with a team that used the T-formation, which the 49ers did. The Packers, coached by old warhorse Curly Lambeau, still used the old fashioned single wing, which may have given the 49ers the upper hand in their effort to sign Heath.
NFL commissioner Bert Bell made it clear that Heath wouldn’t be playing for the Packers, or any other team in his league, in 1949. Bell said he had documentation that Heath’s class wouldn’t graduate until 1950, and NFL rules prohibited players whose college classes hadn’t graduated from playing in the league.
Whitey Lewis knew why Heath planned to leave Nevada with eligibility remaining. With all the rumors about the future of the AAFC swirling around, Heath was going to turn professional while there were still two leagues to fight for his services. If he waited until after his senior season, the AAFC was likely to have either folded or merged with the NFL, and Heath would have to play for the team that drafted him and accept whatever salary he was offered.
The 1948 season was a homecoming for Browns defensive halfback Tommy James. Not only was he playing near his hometown, but he was reunited with his high school and college head coach. James played for Brown at Massillon, and again at Ohio State in 1942. He alternated with Paul Sarringhaus at left defensive halfback with the Buckeyes. He played with the Detroit Lions in 1947.
“I’m back home again,” James said a few days before the Baltimore game. “It is where I belonged all the time, but I didn’t want to come here a year ago because of all the publicity some of the boys were getting for leaving Ohio State and joining the Browns.”6 Cleveland’s professional team wasn’t particularly popular in Ohio’s capital. Many Columbus residents were still furious with Brown for not returning to coach the Buckeyes after the war. They were just as furious with players such as James, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, and Bill Willis, who also decided not to return to Ohio State, even though they had college eligibility remaining, but chose instead to sign with the Browns and get paid for their talents.
A somewhat different story of James’ arrival in Cleveland was written by Bob Yonkers in the Press. During training camp, in a profile on James, Yonkers said the Massillon product wanted to play for the Browns in 1947, and signed reluctantly with the Lions when Brown made it clear he wasn’t welcome in Cleveland. James approached Brown and told him he planned to forego his remaining college eligibility and turn professional. Since he knew Brown, Cleveland seemed the logical place for James to ply his trade. Brown looked his former player up and down.
“How much do you weigh?” Brown inquired of James.
“About 195, maybe 200,” was the response.
“You’re too fat!” Brown barked. “You’re way out of condition. You can’t run as fast as you should carrying all that excess lard. Get into shape and then look me up.”7 Yonkers’ story provides a good example of the way Brown cowed and intimidated his players. One glance from Brown’s steely eyes could make men twice his size cower in fear. He wasn’t one to mince words, and the fact James had helped him win games in high school and college meant nothing. Brown cared only about what James could do for him in 1947, and one look at the player’s physique told him the answer was: nothing.
A chastened James knew he didn’t have sufficient time to get into the type of condition that would give him a chance to make the Browns, so he signed with Detroit, where the demands wouldn’t be so great. He played in only two games before breaking an arm. “I was convinced by then that Brown had the right idea,” James confessed. “You’ve got to stay in shape to play this game. I’m fastest when I get under the 180 mark.”8 James reported to Bowling Green at 178 pounds in 1948. Brown was happy to have him.
James shifted from left to right defensive halfback when Colella returned from an injury early in the 1948 season. “I found it a little rugged at first,” James admitted. “I had always played the safety position before, and the shift to the right had me confused a little. The big thing I notice about pro football is that you have to be on the alert all the time. You never know when one of these pro teams is going to throw a pass. One of the things that seems to help me is following Mac Speedie and Dante Lavelli around in practice all week. When you attempt to keep them covered in drills, guarding some of the other ends in the league seems to come easy.”
Said Brown of a player he’d coached as a high schooler, collegian, and professional, “Tommy always was a pretty good man on defense at Massillon and Ohio State. But his play this year has surprised even those of us who knew him in high school and college. I think we’re definitely improved at defensive right half over last year. He’s a sure, hard tackler. He’s a courageous fellow for a little guy.”9 James wasn’t all that little for the era. He stood 5'9" and weighed 178, thanks to Brown’s prodding. He did, however, occasionally have problems covering the AAFC’s taller receivers. Brown could force players to lose weight, but he couldn’t increase their height.
Another Brown enjoying a stellar season was fullback Marion Motley, and he had linebacker Tony Adamle partially to thank. Adamle, from Ohio State and Cleveland’s Collinwood high school (Brown’s preference for Ohio players on display again) had taken Motley’s position on defense. Brown’s theory that Motley’s legs would be relatively fresh in the fourth quarter of games if he was freed from double duty was proving to be accurate. Adamle had no objection to switching from fullback, the position he played in high school, to linebacker.
“It doesn’t make any difference to me where I play, just as long as I’m playing,” said Adamle. “I get just as much fun out of making a tackle as I used to get out of scoring a touchdown. And what chance did I have of playing regularly on offense as long as Marion Motley’s on the team? He’s the best fullback in football, absolutely the best.” Motley was leading the AAFC in rushing heading into the Browns’ rematch with Baltimore.
“Defending against a running game is pretty easy,” said Adamle of playing defense. “The tough part of the job is pass defense. I cover my section of the flat territory and bump the end as he comes out. Sometimes, you run into a tricky end who refuses to let you get near him, and while you’re fooling around with him, a halfback is likely to dash out and catch the pass.”10
Brown’s assessment of Adamle’s play through eight games? “He’s one of the more valuable players on our team.”11
On November 6, the day before the Browns tangled with the Colts, Stan Heath’s Nevada team tangled with Santa Clara. The results were slightly different than the mauling of Oklahoma City University the previous week. Santa Clara, according to the United Press account of the game, was “much the best team Nevada had met” in 1948. Santa Clara had beaten Oklahoma University and Stanford, and put an end to Nevada’s unbeaten season with a 14–0 victory on its home field. Heath completed 15 of 38 passes for 113 yards and six fewer touchdowns than he’d thrown against Oklahoma City University.
By week’s end, the Colts confirmed that Tittle would start against the Browns, despite his sore ankle. Offensive linemen Ernie Blandin (the former Brown) and Dick Barwegan were also hurt. Blandin was expected to play, Barwegan wasn’t. Coming off a bye week, the Browns were as healthy as could be expected halfway through a professional football season.
“We’re in unusually good shape for this time of year,” said Brown. “I hope we can stay this way. We still have a long way to go, and we’re going to need a lot of help in a couple of weeks.” Amplifying on Saban’s earlier remarks, Brown sounded a note of caution about the Colts. “Remember what happened to Dewey last Tuesday,”12 he said.
Last Tuesday (November 2) had been election day, and President Harry Truman, given no chance to defeat Republican Thomas E. Dewey by the pundits and the pollsters, had pulled off possibly the biggest political upset in American history, winning another four years in the White House by a substantial majority. If Truman could defeat Dewey, then the Colts could defeat the Browns. They’d done it in the pre-season.
They wouldn’t do it in the regular season, however. A monsoon in the early October meeting in Baltimore had essentially evened the playing field between the two teams, with the Browns sloshing their way to a 14–10 victory. Under much better conditions in Municipal Stadium on November 7, Cleveland’s superiority was on display from the opening kickoff for the 32,314 witnesses. The Browns scored on a pair of short drives and a pair of long drives. The margin of victory would’ve been greater had Groza, who wasn’t enjoying the type of season that earned him the nickname “The Toe,” not missed two field goals. The Browns’ 28–7 triumph was their 12th straight, establishing a new AAFC record. They owned the previous record of 11 straight wins.
Dub Jones, the player the Browns acquired from Brooklyn who Harold Sauerbrei didn’t think would even make the team, established himself as an offensive threat against Baltimore. Jones had lost his job as a defensive halfback, but was given a chance to redeem himself after making some “impressive runs” in Sauerbrei’s words, in previous games. He carried the ball seven times against the Colts and gained 43 yards. Graham had another weapon in his arsenal.
The Browns started the scoring after the defense held on downs at Baltimore’s 29-yard line in the first quarter. Just minutes into the game, Colts coach Cecil Isbell inexplicably gambled and tried to convert on fourth down just 29 yards from his own goal line. The gamble failed, and the Browns made Isbell regret it. Edgar Jones scored from four yards out for a 7–0 lead. In the second period, Tittle guided the Colt offense to the Cleveland 16. A five-yard loss, followed by a penalty for intentional grounding, moved the ball back to the Browns’ 29, where they again held Baltimore on downs. Cleveland quickly navigated the 71 yards to pay dirt, with Motley rambling the last 22 for the score. The Browns were up by 14 at halftime.
Taking the second half kickoff at their own 15, the Browns moved 85 yards to increase their advantage to 21–0. Graham passed four yards to Edgar Jones for the touchdown. In the final period, Lin Houston recovered a Colt fumble on Baltimore’s 20. Ara Parseghian scooted 15 yards for the score and a 28–0 lead. The Colts broke the shutout on a 69-yard screen pass from Tittle to halfback Billy Hillenbrand. The Colts scored two touchdowns against the Browns in 1948, on screen passes of 78 and 69 yards from Tittle to Hillenbrand. The passes covered no more than five yards. Hillenbrand covered the rest, darting through the generally stingy Browns defense for roughly 140 yards after the catch.
Baltimore did enjoy one shining moment that November afternoon. In the second period, the Browns went from a first-and-10 to a fourth-and-45. The Colt defense pushed the Browns back 30 yards in three plays, and the officials added a five-yard penalty for delaying the game as Graham tried to figure a way out of his predicament. He couldn’t, and the Browns punted.
Aside from that mishap, Cleveland dominated. The Browns out-gained the visitors, 414–272. Graham completed 15 of 27 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown. Tittle threw 34 passes and completed 18 for 183 yards, one score and two interceptions. The Browns had the better of it on the ground, gaining 190 yards and allowing the Colts just 89.
“We just haven’t enough men in the backfield to handle Speedie and Lavelli,” Isbell lamented afterward. “If they allowed us 13 players on the field, maybe we could do it.”13
Isbell, a four-time all-pro tailback with the Green Bay Packers from 1938 to 1942, was asked who would win the next week’s showdown between the Browns and 49ers. Isbell’s Colts had lost to both teams twice in 1948. “Well, it ought to be quite a ball game,” Isbell answered. “I think the Browns will win it, though. The 49ers are tough, but I think the Browns will win. But, you know how it is. Anything can happen.”14
Asked to elaborate, Isbell said he favored the Browns because, in his opinion, Graham was a better passer than 49ers quarterback Frankie Albert, although not necessarily a better leader. Isbell also felt Cleveland had better receivers, better defensive backs, and a better defensive line to put pressure on Albert. The Browns also enjoyed better depth.
“I think the Browns can contain the San Francisco offense,” Isbell said. “We almost did. We had them 10–0 and were still leading in the last quarter. But the Browns will have to do a lot of scoring. San Francisco will score a lot of points. They have too much backfield speed, the most in football right now.”15
Isbell wasn’t asked what he was thinking when he ordered Tittle to go for a first down on fourth down from his own 29-yard line minutes into the game. The foolish decision allowed the Browns to put their guests into an early hole that they wouldn’t be able to crawl out of.
Brown gathered his players in their locker room and commended them for their afternoon’s work. Then he reminded them, “The big one’s coming up. We’ve got to get it.”
“We’ll get it, all right!” was the response.
“All in all, I was very pleased,” Brown said. “If the boys can stop Tittle who, by the way, is a great passer, maybe they can stop Frankie Albert. Tittle showed me today he is one of the best. And remember, he was playing under that handicap—that sore ankle.”16
Just as the Browns didn’t look past the Colts, the 49ers didn’t look past the AAFC’s worst team, the Rockets. San Francisco tuned up for the showdown in Cleveland with a 44–21 thumping of Chicago before a crowd of 25,306 in Kezar Stadium. The Yankees routed the Dons in Yankee Stadium, 38–6, as just 17,386 watched. Not far away, in Ebbets Field, only 7,805 fans were on hand to see the Bills beat the Dodgers, 26–21. Brooklyn was proving not to be capable of supporting a professional football team, as AAFC commissioner Jonas Ingram believed it could, although, in defense of the fans, Branch Rickey hadn’t given them much of a team to support.
The western standings after 10 weeks:
The only team in the league capable of defeating the defending champions was on its way to Cleveland. In the words of San Francisco assistant coach Jim Lawson, who scouted the game against Baltimore, “It’ll be a hell of a battle next Sunday.”17