| 1950 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Mickey McBride |
| General manager | Paul Brown |
| Head coach | Paul Brown |
| Home field | Cleveland Stadium |
| Local radio | WERE |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–2 |
| Division place | 1st NFL American |
| Playoff finish | Won Conference Playoff (vs. Giants) 8–3 Won NFL Championship (vs. Rams) 30–28 |
| Pro Bowlers | Tony Adamle, FB Otto Graham, QB Lou Groza, T/K Weldon Humble, G Marion Motley, FB Mac Speedie, E Bill Willis, LB |
| AP All-Pros | Marion Motley Mac Speedie |
The 1950 Cleveland Browns season was the team's first in the National Football League (NFL) after playing the previous four years in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), which folded after the 1949 season. The Browns finished the regular season with a 10–2 win–loss record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship. It was Cleveland's fifth consecutive championship victory, the previous four having come in the AAFC.
Cleveland added 12 new players to its roster before the season began, several of whom came from other AAFC teams that had dissolved as part of a selective merger of the Browns, the Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers into the NFL in 1949. They included guard Abe Gibron, who went on to a 10-year football career, and Len Ford, a defensive end who had a Hall of Fame career with the Browns. The team's top draft choice was halfback Ken Carpenter.
After winning all five of their preseason games, the Browns faced the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in their first regular-season game. Many sportswriters and owners considered the Browns inferior despite their success in the AAFC, calling them the dominant team in a minor league, but Cleveland defeated Philadelphia 35–10, the first of 10 victories on the season. Cleveland's only two losses came against the New York Giants, with whom the team shared a 10–2 record at the end of the regular season.
The tie forced a playoff to determine whether the Browns or Giants would win the American Conference and play in the championship game. Cleveland won the playoff 8–3 in freezing weather at Cleveland Stadium. A week later, on Christmas Eve, the Browns faced the Rams at home in the championship. Cleveland fell behind 28–20 in the fourth quarter against the Rams' potent offense, but quarterback Otto Graham engineered a comeback with a touchdown pass to Rex Bumgardner and a long drive that set up a winning field goal by Lou Groza with 28 seconds left to play. It was the first of six straight NFL championship appearances for the Browns. Cleveland fullback Marion Motley led the NFL in rushing, and seven Browns were selected to play in the first-ever Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game.
The 1950 Browns ranked #25 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary. They were the highest ranked team from a season before the 1960s.[1][2]