1950 NFL season
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The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games - both home and away - televised. The Washington Redskins became the second team to put their games on TV. Other teams arranged to have selected games televised.
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[edit] The AAFC-NFL merger
The NFL and the AAFC merged prior to the season. Three AAFC teams - Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts - joined the NFL intact. The players of the former AAFC New York Yankees team were divided up between the New York Giants and the New York Bulldogs (who changed their name to New York Yanks). A special draft was then held by the league's 13 teams to allocate the rest of the AAFC players.
The 13 teams were realigned into the American and National conferences. The merged league briefly flirted with the name "National-American Football League", but restored the name "National Football League" a few months later.
The merger allowed the former 4-time AAFC champion Browns, the 49ers, and the Colts to survive. Without the agreement, those teams along with the entire AAFC would have folded due to financial difficulties. Instead, the Browns went on to defeated the Rams in the NFL Championship Game.
[edit] Major rule changes
- The free substitution rule (any or all of the players may be replaced by substitutes after any play) was restored on a permanent basis. This changed paved the way for player specialization in pro football, including three separate units for each team: offensive team, defensive team, and special teams.
- If a backwards pass or fumble goes out of bounds before it is recovered, the team that had control of the ball last maintains possession.
[edit] Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
| American Conference | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 310 | 144 |
| New York Giants | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 268 | 150 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 254 | 141 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 180 | 195 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 233 | 287 |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 232 | 326 |
| National Conference | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 466 | 309 |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 279 | 207 |
| New York Yanks | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 366 | 367 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 321 | 285 |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 244 | 406 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 213 | 300 |
| Baltimore Colts | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 213 | 462 |
[edit] Playoffs
- Home team in capitals
American Conference Playoff Game
- CLEVELAND 8, N.Y. Giants 3
National Conference Playoff Game
- LOS ANGELES 24, Chi. Bears 14
NFL Championship Game
- CLEVELAND 30, Los Angeles 28
[edit] References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 193299436X)
- NFL History 1941-1950 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0062701746)
