American Football League (1940)
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| American Football League (1940) | |
|---|---|
| Sport | American Professional Football |
| Founded | 1940 |
| First Season | 1940 |
| Last Season | 1941 |
| Claim to Fame | 3rd competitor of National Football League |
| No. of teams | 6 (1940), 5 (1941) |
| Country |  United States |
| Last champions | Columbus Bullies |
| Disbanded | 1942 |
Sometimes misleadingly called AFL III[1][2], the 1940-1941 edition of the American Football League was a major professional American football league created when the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs were lured away from the American Professional Football Association (which resulted in the dissolution of that league after it had announced its intention to compete against the National Football League) and joined newly-formed franchises in Boston, Buffalo, and New York in a new league, the third major professional football league to bear the name American Football League (and the fifth overall).
In 1941, the AFL became the first professional football league to play a double round robin schedule.
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[edit] Origin of league
Although the third American Football League was not directly connected to any previous professional football leagues of the same name, its formation was at the cost of an already-existing minor football league of the same name.
By spring of 1940, the recently-renamed American Professional Football Association announced intentions of turning itself into a major league with the addition of a Milwaukee team for the upcoming season over the protests of the Green Bay Packers. As the teams prepared for the upcoming season, the announcement of a rival major league resulted in the fracturing of the AFPA.
On July 14, 1940, a press conference introduced a new American Football League, not a continuation of the former minor league, but a new one with franchises in New York, Boston, and Buffalo. Bill Edwards (former president of the first AFL) was slated to be both the president of the new league and co-owner of the New York Yankees franchise, and Joseph Carr Jr. (son of former NFL president Joe Carr) was touted as a potential backer of the Columbus franchise.[3][4].
The group of business based on the American East Coast behind the formation of the new league had resorted to a trick done by the first two AFLs: they raided the established minor league by enticing APFA members Cincinnati, Columbus, and the new Milwaukee team to join their circuit.[5] The move fractured the APFA as two of its members decided not to field teams for 1940, one (the Los Angeles Bulldogs) had already left the league, and there were only three left with only two months to go before the start of the new season. As the Kenosha Cardinals and St. Louis Gunners applied to join the new league (and were subsequently denied), the APFA went out of business.[6]
While Bill Edwards did not take over the league as previously announced (that job eventually went to former Ohio State University publicity director William D. Griffith)[7], the 1940 season began with six teams owned by people who were, for the most part, in better financial standing than their NFL counterparts (in the NFL, many of the owners had their franchise as their primary investment and source of income; in the AFL of 1940, most of the owners had most of their money invested in other fields, such as the local newspaper).[8][9].
[edit] Teams
Boston Bears. Disbanded in 1941, before the beginning of the second AFL season.[10]
Buffalo Indians. Became the Buffalo Tigers for the 1941 season after a change in ownership.
Cincinnati Bengals. Previously a member of the second AFL, and the American Professional Football Association, the "original Bengals" joined the third AFL with traditional rival Columbus Bullies.[11]
Columbus Bullies. Former APFA member which won the AFL championship both years the league was in existence. Quarterback Jay Arnold, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, led the team in 1940; when Arnold returned to the Eagles in 1941, John LeBay took over the signal calling role.[12]
Milwaukee Chiefs. Former APFA member joined the AFL without being in an official APFA contest.[13]
New York Yankees. The third major league professional football team with the name, it became the New York Americans in 1941 after a change of ownership.[14]
[edit] League standings and All-League teams
[edit] Final 1940 standings
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Bullies | 8 | 1 | 1 | .889 | 134 | 69 |
| Milwaukee Chiefs | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 180 | 59 |
| Boston Bears | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 120 | 79 |
| New York Yankees | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 138 | 138 |
| Buffalo Indians | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 45 | 138 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 53 | 187 |
[edit] 1940 All-League Team
Sherman Barnes, Milwaukee (end)
Ed Karp, Buffalo (tackle)
Jim Karcher, Columbus (guard)
Joe Alexus, Columbus (center)
Alex Drobnitch, Buffalo (guard)
Bob Eckl, Milwaukee (tackle)
Harlan Gustafson, New York (end)
Andy Karpuls, Boston (quarterback)
Bill Hutchinson, New York (halfback)
Nelson Peterson, Columbus (halfback)
Al Novakofski, Milwaukee (fullback)
[edit] Final 1941 standings
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Bullies | 5 | 1 | 2 | .833 | 142 | 55 |
| New York Americans | 5 | 2 | 1 | .714 | 116 | 73 |
| Milwaukee Chiefs | 4 | 3 | 1 | .571 | 105 | 84 |
| Buffalo Tigers | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 72 | 172 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 5 | 2 | .167 | 69 | 120 |
Encouraged by the success of the New York and Columbus franchises, Detroit, Baltimore, and Philadelphia apply to join the league for the 1941 season. While the Detroit application was accepted for play in 1942, the latter two are turned down by a league that is not interested in further expansion.[15]
Promoter Douglas Grant Hertz purchases the New York Yankees, changes their name to the New York Americans, and then announces (in August) the team's withdrawal from the league.[16] The league refuses to acknowledge the "withdrawal." Boston folds before the start of the 1941 season. Buffalo changes the team name upon new ownership assuming control of the team. New York Americans president William B. Cox becomes new AFL league president in 1941.[17]
[edit] 1941 All-League Team
Earl Ohlgren, Milwaukee (end)
Alec Shellogg, Buffalo (tackle)
Ted Livinston, Columbus (guard)
Paul Humphrey, Milwaukee (center)
Tex Akin, Milwaukee (guard)
Bob Eckl, Milwaukee (tackle)
Joe Kruse, Cincinnati (end)
Bob Davis, Columbus (quarterback)
Charlie Armstrong, New York (halfback)
Bill McGannon, Cincinnati (halfback)
John Kimbrough, New York (fullback)
Columbus was league champion again in 1941, with a final record of 5-1-2.
[edit] Demise of the third major league AFL
Although the AFL lost the Boston Bears franchise prior to the beginning of the 1941 season, its owners were optimistic about the league's long-term future. Although the league's average attendance was less than that of the more-established NFL, the AFL seemed to be on as firm a financial footing as the older league. By the end of the 1941 season, a new franchise was awarded to Detroit for the 1942 season. The league was the first major football league to complete a double round robin schedule, in which each team played each other twice.
All the plans for 1942 came to a sudden stop upon the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II on December 7, 1941. With the induction of college and professional players into the U.S. military, it became increasingly apparent to the AFL owners that the global conflict would put the continued success of the league into question.[18]
On September 2, 1942, AFL president William B. Cox announced the suspension of league activities until the end of the war.[19] [20]:
| “ | We do not have the time to go into the football business this fall. I want to stress that there is no financial problem involved. Each team definitely has enough finances to continue. | ” |
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— William B. Cox, September 2, 1942
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Unlike Douglas MacArthur, the league did not return. The NFL was without a competitor until the formation of the All America Football Conference in 1946, one year after the end of World War II.[21]
[edit] References
- ^ Frank P. Josza and John J. Guthrie, Relocating Teams and Expanding Leagues in Professional Sports (Greenwood Publishing Group 1999) ISBN 1-567-20193-8
- ^ NFL Competitors 1920-1975 reprint of 1981 article by Pro Football Researchers Association
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ NFL Competitors: 1926-1975
- ^ Kenosha Cardinals:Life on the Fringe (1983)
- ^ Kenosha Cardinals:Life on the Fringe (1983)
- ^ NFL Competitors: 1926-1975
- ^ Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (HarperCollins 1999) ISBN 0-060-39232-0
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ Kenosha Cardinals: Life on the Fringe (1983)
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ Kenosha Cardinals: Life on the Fringe (1983)
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (HarperCollins 1999) ISBN 0-060-39232-0
- ^ NFL Competitors: 1926-1975
- ^ NFL Competitors: 1926-1975
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ David L. Porter, ed., Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Football (Greenwood Press 1987) ISBN 0-313-25771-X, p. 142
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
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