1951 NFL Championship Game

Game summary

After a missed field-goal attempt by Cleveland on its opening drive, the Rams were the first to score, with a 1-yard run by fullback Dick Hoerner in the second quarter. The Browns answered back with an NFL Championship record 52-yard field goal by Lou Groza, following the first of two interceptions by Rams QB Bob Waterfield, who would later be replaced by Norm van Brocklin. The Browns later took the lead with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Otto Graham to Dub Jones, which accounted for the halftime score of 10–7.

In the third quarter, Ram Larry Brink landed a hard tackle on Graham, causing him to fumble the ball, which Andy Robustelli picked up on the Cleveland 24 and returned it to the two-yard-line. On third down from the one, "Deacon" Dan Towler ran the ball in for a touchdown to give the Rams a 14–10 lead.

After Graham threw an interception in two of the Browns' next three possessions, the Rams increased their lead with a 17-yard field goal by former local UCLA great Bob Waterfield early in the fourth quarter. The Browns answered back with an 8-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Ken Carpenter to tie the game at 17–17.

Twenty-five seconds later, Tom Fears beat defenders Cliff Lewis and Tommy James, and received a Norm Van Brocklin pass at midfield and raced to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown. Van Brocklin had entered the game at quarterback for Bob Waterfield, whose two first-half interceptions accounted for two of the Rams' three turnovers.

The go-ahead touchdown from Van Brocklin to Fears was followed by Graham's third interception of the game and two more empty possessions by the Browns and thus secured the Rams' first NFL title in Los Angeles. Their second title in Los Angeles came in February 2022.

The next NFL title for the franchise came 48 years later, when the St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in January 2000.

Scoring summary

• First quarter
  • no scoring
• Second quarter
  • LA – Dick Hoerner 1-yard run (Bob Waterfield kick). Rams 7–0
  • CLE – Lou Groza 52-yard field goal. Rams 7–3
  • CLE – Dub Jones 17-yard pass from Otto Graham (Groza kick). Browns 10–7
• Third quarter
  • LA – Dan Towler 1-yard run (Waterfield kick). Rams 14–10
• Fourth quarter
  • LA – Bob Waterfield 17-yard field goal, 17–10 LA
  • CLE – Ken Carpenter 5-yard run (Groza kick). Tied 17–17
  • LA – Tom Fears 73-yard pass from Norm Van Brocklin (Waterfield kick). Rams 24–17

Officials

• Referee: Ronald Gibbs
• Umpire: Samuel Wilson
• Head linesman: Dan Tehan
• Back judge: Norman Duncan
• Field judge: Lloyd Brazil
• Alternate: Emil Heintz
• Alternate: Cletus Gardner

The NFL added the fifth official, the back judge, in ; the line judge arrived in , and the side judge in .

Players' shares

The gross receipts for the game, including $75,000 for radio and television rights, was just under $326,000, the highest to date, passing the previous record of $283,000 five years earlier in 1946. Each player on the winning Rams team received $2,108, while Browns players made $1,483 each.

References

Bibliography

• NFL Chronology: 1951. NFL.com. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
• Brown, Paul; with Clary, Jack (1979). PB, the Paul Brown Story. New York: Atheneum.
• Hession, Joseph (1987). The Rams: Five Decades of Football. San Francisco: Foghorn Press.
• MacCambridge, Michael (2005). America's Game. New York: Anchor Books
• Powers, Ron (1984). Supertube: The Rise of Television Sports. New York: Coward-McCann.
• Rader, Benjamin G. (1984). In its Own Image: How Television Has Transformed Sports. New York: The Free Press. pp. 83–99.
• Riffenburgh, Beau, (1997). "Championships & Playoffs." Eds Silverman, Matthew, et al. Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins. 178–262.

References

1. Smith, Wilfrid. (December 23, 1951). "Browns defend pro crown against Rams today". Chicago Sunday Tribune.
2. Smith, Wilfrid. (December 24, 1951). "Rams beat Browns, 24-17, for pro title". Chicago Daily Tribune.
3. (December 23, 1951). "Browns are favored to turn back Rams for pro title today". Milwaukee Journal.
4. MacCambridge, 2005, p. 73.
5. Hall, Dan. (May 22, 1951). "Hallucinations". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
6. (May 22, 1951). "Pro Football and DuMont Sign a $475,000 TV Pact". [[The New York Times]].
7. (December 18, 1951). "Fans Rush for Tickets to NFL Playoff Game". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
8. Rader, 1984, p. 35.
9. Kuechle, Oliver E.. (December 24, 1951). "Los Angeles wins pro title by beating Cleveland, 24-17". Milwaukee Journal.
10. (December 24, 1951). "Rams collect $2,108 each". Milwaukee Journal.