All-America Football Conference
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The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the rival National Football League from 1946 to 1949. The league was created in June 1944 and began play in 1946.Looking for name recognition and establish credibility, the AAFC chose former University of Notre Dame standout Jim Crowley as its first commissioner on November 21, 1944. As one of the Fighting Irish's legendary Four Horsemen, Crowley also had a distinguished World War II naval career and aided the formative years of the league.
The AAFC started with eight teams playing 14 games per team, an increase from the 12 per year that the rival NFL played. While the AAFC was able to successfully compete against the National Football League in many cities, outdrawing the older league in terms of attendance, #redirect [[Template:Fact]] the continuing dominance of the league's Cleveland Browns would prove to be a problem.
When Crowley stepped down in January 1947, the league chose another naval hero, Admiral Jonas Howard Ingram to replace him. In 1948, the Browns became the first professional football team to complete an entire season undefeated and untied — 24 years before the 1972 Miami Dolphins of the NFL would accomplish the task.
On January 22, 1949, the league's owners named yet another Naval hero, Oliver O. Kessing, to head the league. Unfortunately, the fourth year of competition in the league saw the number of franchises drop to seven and the number of team's games drop to 12, with many AAFC teams in financial trouble due to escalating player salaries.
The elder NFL also found its teams in difficulty, and a merger agreement was reached on December 9, 1949. Three AAFC teams were merged into the older league:
- The Cleveland Browns, winners of all four AAFC championships, who would go on to be the NFL's dominant team of the 1950s,
- The San Francisco 49ers, who would be paired with the Los Angeles Dons#redirect [[Template:Fact]], and
- The original Baltimore Colts, who would play just one season (1950) in the NFL. The Colts name would be resurrected for an NFL expansion franchise, the Baltimore Colts, in 1953 and subsequently relocating to Indianapolis in 1984.
AAFC teams
- Brooklyn Dodgers, 1946-1948 (merged with New York for 1949 season)
- Buffalo Bisons, 1946; renamed Buffalo Bills, 1947-1949
- Chicago Rockets, 1946-1948; renamed Chicago Hornets, 1949
- Cleveland Browns, 1946-1949
- Los Angeles Dons, 1946-1949
- Miami Seahawks, 1946; relocated, becoming Baltimore Colts, 1947-1949
- New York Yankees, 1946-1948; merged with Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming Brooklyn/New York Yankees, 1949
- San Francisco 49ers, 1946-1949
AAFC championship games
| Year | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Cleveland Browns | 14-9 | New York Yankees | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 1947 | Cleveland Browns | 14-3 | New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium |
| 1948 | Cleveland Browns | 49-7 | Buffalo Bills | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 1949 | Cleveland Browns | 21-7 | San Francisco 49ers | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
AAFC Commissioners
- Jim Crowley 1944-1947
- Jonas Howard Ingram 1947-1949
- Oliver O. Kessing 1949
See also
External links
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