In 1949, the best Pro Football team was not in the National Football League.  They were in the All American Football
Conference, and they were the Cleveland Browns.  This was proven in the following year, when the Browns won the 1950 NFL Championship.  They were led by, and named after, their legendary head coach Paul Brown.  His coaching techniques were way ahead of its time, and his attention to detail was second to none.  Don Shula, who would join the team in 1951, and who later would become the winningest coach in NFL history, credits Brown to be the one from whom he learned his coaching skills. In 1949, Cleveland would once again dominate the AAFC with a 9-1-2 record, the only loss coming against the San Francisco 49ers. And if the 49ers thought they had the upper hand over the Browns after their impressive 56-28 win, their hopes were dashed when the Browns beat them in the AAFC Championship Game 21-7.  This would be the fourth year in a row that Cleveland would win the AAFC Title, and the last year for the AAFC, as they would be merged with the NFL in 1950.