season, keeping them from getting far ahead in the standings. All this contrasted sharply with the AAFC. The war was getting increasingly costly thanks to rising salaries and dropping attendance. Nearly every team in both leagues lost money – enough that in December, the NFL officially acknowledged the AAFC as peace talks almost succeeded in ending the war. However, the AAFC wanted four of its teams to be admitted into the NFL, while the NFL was willing to admit only the Browns and 49ers. Although the survival of its Brooklyn and Chicago teams was now in doubt, the AAFC decided to continue the fight. Realignment Commissioner Ingram stepped down, and another admiral, Oliver O. Kessing, was named Commissioner. As the war entered its fourth season, financial problems forced reorganization in both leagues. The Dodgers, the AAFC's least-drawing team, merged with the Yankees as the Rockets (renamed the Hornets) and Colts continued their streaks of annual ownership changes. In the NFL, the champion Philadelphia Eagles lost money and were sold. Plagued by league-low attendance, the Boston Yanks moved to New York in a curious move. Yanks owner Ted Collins had long desired a franchise in Yankee Stadium (thus his team's name), and expected the AAFC and its Yankees to be gone in 1949. Instead, with Yankee Stadium and the Yanks name unavailable, Collins' renamed Bulldogs had to share the Polo Grounds with the Giants on unfavorable terms and compete with two superior rivals. With the AAFC now down to seven teams, it realigned into one division, reduced its schedule to 12 games (still a double round-robin), and changed its postseason to a Shaughnessy playoff. In 1948, the 12–2 49ers had stayed home while the 7–7 Bills played for the title. This would not reoccur, as now the top four teams would qualify for the playoffs. Also, for the first time in pro football, playoff home-field advantage would be based on win–loss record rather than rotating between divisions. The lineup of the rival leagues was now: NFL AAFC 1949 Since 1934, the College All-Star Game had matched the defending NFL champions against an all-star team of recent college graduates. The game was a major event, as Rose Bowl-sized crowds (more than 105,000 in 1947) watched college football's best often hold their own with the pros. Held in late August at Soldier Field, the game was sponsored by the Chicago Tribune—whose sports editor,