Important game ball from the fourth and final All-America Football Conference (AAFC) championship game between the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers in 1949, which was also the final game in league history. 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 AAFC football, which bears the facsimile signature of league commissioner Oliver Kessing, features gold painted lettering on a side panel that reads "All American Conference Champions 1949 Cleveland Browns 21 San Francisco '49ers' 7." On the panel directly below are the black-ink signatures of several Cleveland players. Unfortunately, all the signatures have faded beyond legibility. 

1949 marked the final season of the AAFC, which first began play in 1946. Fittingly, the league's most dominant team during its four-year run once again captured the league title, as the Browns defeated the 49ers 21-7. Just as they did in 1948, the Browns won their fourth straight league title with a punishing ground game, amassing 217 rushing yards in the win. Browns quarterback Otto Graham attempted only 17 passes and Dante Lavell led all receivers with four catches. Mac Speedie contributed one catch for 37 yards in his final AAFC game. All items relating to the short-lived AAFC are scarce. The fact that this is a game ball from not only the AAFC's last title game, but the final game in league history, makes it especially significant. The ball, which is moderately deflated, displays wear commensurate with game use, including numerous abrasions, scuffs, and crazing to the leather.