On Tuesday April 1st in Palm Beach Florida, at the Annual NFL Owners meeting the majority owners voted to add the statistics and championships from the long defunct All American Football Conference to the history records of the NFL. The AAFC existed as a viable NFL competitor from 1946-1949. Three teams from this league exist in the NFL today. The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and the Indianapolis Colts all joined the NFL at the start of the 1950 NFL season. The Cleveland Browns did win the NFL Championship in 1950. But one championship of the Cleveland Browns was overlooked by history until this week’s vote.

The 1948 Cleveland Browns had a record of 15-0 and were All American Football Conference Champions. They even did a stretch or three consecutive road wins from November 21st -November 28th.  That would be unheard of today in the NFL. They defeated the New York Yankees on November 21st in New York 34-21, then they beat the Los Angeles Dons in Los Angeles 31-24 on November 25th, and then the Browns took down the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco 31-28 on November 28th. There is only one other team in NFL history to have zero losses, zero ties and win the championship in a single season.

In 1934 and 1942 the Chicago Bears went undefeated but lost the NFL Championship game in both years. The 2007 New England Patriots also went undefeated but fell to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Only the 1972 Super Bowl Champion Miami Dolphins went undefeated and win the championship. That was until the NFL Owners vote on April 1st, now the 15-0 AAFC Champion Cleveland Browns will be recognized by the NFL as well. The Cleveland Browns now have eight World Championships recognized by NFL to go with the 1948 undefeated season. And that recognition was long overdue by the NFL. But those championships were always remembered by Cleveland Browns fans. This week’s NFL Owners vote made it official.