[1][2][3] The season began with a number of roster moves, including the addition of linebacker Alex Agase and halfbacks Ara Parseghian and Dub Jones.
Led by quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and ends Mac Speedie and Dante Lavelli, the Browns followed with a string of victories leading up to a November matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
Both teams had perfect records to that point, the 49ers relying heavily on the offensive production of quarterback Frankie Albert and end Alyn Beals to win their first 10 games.
Ohio senator Sherrod Brown wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in 2008 asking the league to officially recognize AAFC team statistics, including the perfect season.
[18] Offensive additions included halfback Ara Parseghian and quarterback George Terlep, but the most significant signing of the year was Dub Jones.
[19] Brown got Jones – who had a long and successful career in Cleveland – in a trade with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the rights to select Bob Chappuis in the 1947 AAFC Draft.
A. Tittle from Louisiana State University, but were forced to send him to the Baltimore Colts as part of an effort to balance talent among the AAFC's teams during the league's third year of play.
[24] Rickey, an executive for baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers, convinced Brown to schedule a late-season road trip during which Cleveland would play three teams in eight days: the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dons and the San Francisco 49ers.
[24] The plan was part of an effort to bring more attention to the AAFC and help attendance by sending its most successful team on a cross-country road trip, a strategy that had worked in baseball.
[24] Quarterbacks Halfbacks Ends Tackles Centers Head coach Assistants Rookies in italics (5) 36 Active, 1 Inactive Cleveland held its training camp at the campus of Bowling Green State University, as it had the previous two years.
The Browns scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, first on an interception return by Cliff Lewis and then on a pair of passes from quarterback Otto Graham to Dean Sensanbaugher and Mac Speedie.
[27] By the time fullback Marion Motley ran for a short touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 35–0, coach Paul Brown had pulled most of the team's starters.
[29] During the game, Baltimore players Hub Bechtol and Lew Mayne, a former Brown, tapped a phone line that went from Cleveland's press box to its sideline.
[30] Los Angeles fullback John Kimbrough scored a touchdown on a short run with time ticking down, and the Dons recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff.
[33] The Rockets opened the scoring with a 74-yard pass from quarterback Jesse Freitas to receiver Eddie Prokop in the first four minutes of the game, and added a field goal by Jim McCarthy near the end of the second quarter.
[34] A Rockets player picked up a handful of sand from the stadium's baseball infield and threw it in Mac Speedie's face during the game, temporarily blinding him.
[38] While the Bills lost, second-string quarterback George Ratterman, who came in for Still in the second quarter, put in a strong performance, completing 13 passes for 174 yards.
[38] End Dante Lavelli returned to the lineup for the Browns' week-eight game against the New York Yankees after recovering from a broken leg sustained in the preseason.
[40] The Yankees avoided a shutout in the final minute of the game, when end Buddy Young got behind Cleveland's defenders and caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Pete Layden.
A. Tittle drove deep into Cleveland territory early in the second quarter, but another turnover on downs gave the ball back to the Browns.
[39] The Browns, meanwhile, were more proficient than the 49ers on defense and in placekicking: the team ranked first in the AAFC in fewest points allowed, and Groza held the league record for the longest field goal.
[45] On the next possession, Los Angeles converted a fourth down deep in their own territory, extending a long drive that ended with another touchdown by Clay.
[45] The Browns planned to stay at the hot springs in Boyes, California to recover as they prepared to face the 49ers for a second time in San Francisco three days later.
[47] Graham was initially considered doubtful for the game because of the knee injury he suffered against the Dons, but team trainer Wally Bock cleared him to play.
[48] Groza kicked a field goal at the beginning of the third quarter, and a fumble by Gafford on the ensuing kickoff led to a touchdown pass from Graham to Gillom, putting the Browns up by 31 points.
[52] Graham finished the season with the most passing yards in the AAFC and was named the league's Most Valuable Player, sharing the honor with Frankie Albert of the 49ers.
[51] Cleveland's top players also made All-Pro teams assembled by the New York Daily News, United Press International and the AAFC itself.
[54] The Cleveland Indians, the city's Major League Baseball club, set an all-time season attendance record and won the World Series.
[55] The Browns' success was also a major draw for fans: the team led professional football in attendance in 1948 with an average of 45,517 people per game, although that was still 10,000 lower than the year before.
[56] The NFL was also facing major financial trouble – nine of its ten teams lost money that year – and the two leagues' competition for talent led to talks about a merger.