At the close of the 1949 season, the Cleveland Browns were due to face the San Francisco 49ers in the final game ever played by the soon-to-become-defunct All-America Football Conference teams. The annual league championship rested on the outcome.
Otto Graham, the Browns’ renowned quarterback, would be leading his team’s attack on that fateful day. Unfortunately, due to injuries suffered earlier in the season, both his knees were being literally held together with bailing wire and scotch tape. Little effort would thus be required to render him utterly powerless, and haulable off on a stretcher, by means of over-aggressive joint-twisting tackles.
Buck Shaw, the 49ers’ head coach, sternly warned his players before the game that anyone intentionally further crippling Graham would be off the squad from that day forward. While bringing him down was required action as always, unfair destruction could not be the prime motive.
The coach’s compelling point was that winning the game as a result of wiping out Graham would produce a hollow victory. He wanted to preserve the dignity of conquering the Cleveland legions with Otto at the forefront.
As things turned out, quarterback Graham played the full game and led his team to the league title. Nevertheless, the story stands as a monumental tribute to the sportsmanship of Buck Shaw. It’s a shame such qualities are not more paramount in football.
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