The Cleveland Browns were once so dominant that the league they played in folded. Nobody could beat them, and it led the Browns and a few All-America Football Conference rivals to join the NFL.

Cleveland captured the final AAFC title on this date, Dec. 11, 1949. The Browns smoked the San Francisco 49ers, 21-7, to win the league title for the fourth time in as many seasons. Marion Motley ran for a 68-yard touchdown, joining Otto Graham and Edgar Jones in topping 60 rushing yards in the game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Graham, Motley, Mac Speedie and the Browns ran circles around the league behind legendary team founder and innovative coach Paul Brown. They went 23-1-2 in the final two seasons, beating the rival 49ers and Buffalo Bills for the championships.

Those three teams and the Baltimore Colts (a different franchise from the one that now plays in Indianapolis) made the jump from the AAFC to the NFL following the Browns’ win on this day 70 years ago.

Related Paul Brown honored as the top Greatest Game Changer by NFL 100

Other apps just deliver sports. The USA TODAY Sportswire app lets you pick specific team sites to get only the news that you want to know.

newsletter Get 10 hot stories each day Thanks for signing up.

Please check your email for a confirmation. Thanks for signing up.

Please check your email for a confirmation.