The Cleveland Browns haven’t won a Super Bowl, but they were once a dominant team. In the 1940s and 50s, the Browns won multiple championships in the AAFC and eventually the NFL. Unfortunately, they don’t have anything to show for it because the NFL didn’t start handing out actual trophies till 1946.
Enter the reality television show “Garage Gold” on the DIY Network. The grandson of a former team minority owner was on the show and they were digging through his garage in North Carolina. That is when they stumbled upon a trophy commemorating the 1946 All-America Football Conference championship.
Since the AAFC did not present trophies, the 38 players on the team had two trophies made, one for owner Arthur B. McBride and one for minority owner Daniel Sherby.
“We did not know that this one existed at all,” Browns alumni relations manager Tony Dick said after returning from North Carolina this week, via the Chronicle-Telegram. “It’s pretty special that we actually have something that’s physical and you can look and it says that we’ve won a championship.”
The Browns are working with the Pro Football Hall of Fame to determine what to do with it and where to display it.
