1951 NFL Championship Game
The 1951 NFL Championship Game was the National Football League's 19th championship game, played December 23 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 23, 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 59,475 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | |||||||||||||||||||
| Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Len Ford, Frank Gatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie, Bill Willis Rams: Dan Reeves (owner), Tex Schramm (administrator), Joe Stydahar (coach), Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch, Andy Robustelli, Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield | |||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | DuMont | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Harry Wismer & Earl Gillespie | ||||||||||||||||||
It was a rematch of the previous year's game in Cleveland, with the Los Angeles Rams (8–4) of the National Conference meeting the defending league champion Cleveland Browns (11–1) of the American Conference. In the league championship game for the third straight year, the Rams were seeking their first NFL title since moving to California in early 1946 (the Cleveland Rams won the 1945 title, then left a month later). The Browns were favored to win this title game on the road by six points.
This was the first NFL championship game to be televised coast-to-coast, and was blacked out by the league in the southern California area. The DuMont Network purchased the championship game TV rights from the NFL in May for five years (1951–55) for $475,000.
The home underdog Rams upset the Browns 24–17 for their second NFL championship before a then-record crowd for the title game of 59,475. The "World Championship" banner awarded to the Rams was given as a gift to Tom Bergin after the game in gratitude for hosting the post-game dinner. As of 2016 it still hangs in the Tom Bergin's Irish pub in Los Angeles, the only one in private ownership. This was also the first time that the Browns under Paul Brown did not finish the season with a championship after 4 wins in the AAFC and a championship in their first NFL season in 1950.
This was the Rams' only NFL championship as a California team until their victory in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals, which is coincidentally the team founded by Brown. The Rams won their first NFL championship during their final season in Cleveland, and also won Super Bowl XXXIV during their fifth season in St. Louis.