As the team prepared for its first season in 1946, McBride stepped aside and let Brown run it. The Browns were an immediate success, both financially and on the field. A capacity crowd of 35,964 saw the Browns play their first preseason game at the Akron Rubber Bowl, and the team led all of football in attendance in 1946 and 1947. The Browns, meanwhile, won every AAFC championship between 1946 and 1949. McBride proposed for the Browns to play an inter-league championship game with the National Football League champion Philadelphia Eagles in 1948 and 1949, but the NFL shot down the idea. He also played a role in negotiating peace between the AAFC and NFL after competition for talent drove up player salaries and ate into owners' profits. After the 1949 season, the AAFC dissolved and three of its teams, including the Browns, merged into the more established NFL.