Historic game ball from the Cleveland Brown's first NFL Championship victory over the Los Angeles Rams in 1950. This ball originates from the personal collection of Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame wide receiver Mac Speedie and has been consigned to this auction directly by a family member. It is one of twenty lots from the Mac Speedie Collection offered in this auction, all of which were just recently on public display at the National Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Wilson official NFL football, which bears the facsimile signature of league commissioner Bert Bell, features gold painted lettering on a side panel that reads "World Champions 1950 Cleveland Browns 30 Los Angeles Rams 28." The ball, which is moderately deflated, displays wear commensurate with game use, including abrasions, scuffs, and some chipping to the laces. 

The victory over the Rams in the 1950 NFL championship game was a season-ending vindication for the Cleveland Browns, who joined the NFL after four years of playing in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The fact that the Browns were the most dominant team in the AAFC, and won the league in each of its four seasons (1946-1949), mattered little to most pundits when they joined the NFL in 1950. The Browns were thought to be no better than a minor-league team, and their innovative style of play nothing more than playground hijinks dreamed up by their "high school" coach Paul Brown. The NFL, however, quickly learned that the Browns were not to be taken lightly, especially after they easily defeated the two-time defending league champion Philadelphia Eagles 35-10 on opening day. The Browns finished the year with a 10-2 record, and then avenged their two regular-season losses to the New York Giants by defeating them 8-3 in the divisional round of the playoffs. The NFL championship game proved to be an epic battle, as Cleveland overcame an eight-point deficit by scoring ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter for the win over the Rams. This is one of the most historically significant game balls in the Mac Speedie Collection, as it commemorates not only Cleveland's first NFL Championship, but the start of the Browns' 1950s football dynasty.