For some players, the All American Football League™ will be a stepping-stone into, or back into the NFL. After winning six games their debut season, the Raiders won a total of three times in the 1961 and 1962 seasons. But since Walsh was an assistant to Davis, who in turn learned the trade from Gillman, Walsh's coaching tree is thus an offshoot of Gillman's coaching tree. Off the field, national television of all league games, with all teams sharing in the TV revenue, as well as sharing of gate revenue with visiting teams, was initiated by the American Football League. In 1961, his team began play in the NFL as the Minnesota Vikings. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney was quoted as saying to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that "They don't have to call us 'Mister' anymore". Some were players who could not find success playing in the NFL, while another source was the Canadian Football League. A third AAFC team, the Baltimore Colts (an unrelated predecessor to the 1953-1983 Baltimore Colts or to the current Indianapolis Colts franchise), played only one year in the NFL, disbanding at the end of the 1950 season. Despite having a national television contract, the AFL often found itself trying to gain a foothold, only to come up against roadblocks. All of these innovations pioneered by the AFL, including its more exciting style of play and colorful uniforms, have essentially made today's professional football more like the AFL than like the old-line NFL. Another example is cited by the University of Kansas website, which describes the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl, won by KU, and goes on to say "Two Kansas players, quarterback John Hadl and fullback Curtis McClinton, signed professional contracts on the field immediately after the conclusion of the game. Oakland took part in a 1961 supplemental draft meant to boost the weaker teams in the league, but it did little good. The AFL played a 14-game schedule for its entire existence, starting in 1960. Playing at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, the Ticats defeated the Bills 38–21 playing a mix of AFL and CFL rules. American football live on Scoreboard.com - football scores, results, livescore, standings and statistics. Led by Bills players such as Cookie Gilchrist, the players successfully lobbied to have the game moved to Houston's Jeppesen Stadium. CHAPTER 1 - 1959: In 1958, Texas oilman H. L. Hunt's son and heir, Lamar Hunt, wanted to bring professional football to Texas.He was rebuffed in his efforts to establish an NFL franchise there, and in 1959, decided to form a new professional football league, which he called the American Football League. [16][17] A special allocation draft was held in January 1960, to allow the Raiders to stock their team, as some of the other AFL teams had already signed some of Minneapolis' original draft choices. stadium - american football league stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. The AFL did not play an All-Star game after its first season in 1960, but did stage All-Star games for the 1961 through 1969 seasons. A December 5, 2009, story by Ken Belson in The New York Times quotes league officials as stating that AFL "Legacy" gear made up twenty to thirty percent of the league's annual $3 billion merchandise income. The return of football to Kansas City was the first time that city had seen professional football since the NFL's Kansas City Blues of the 1920s; the arrival of the Chiefs, and the contemporary arrival of the St. Louis Football Cardinals, brought professional football back to Missouri for the first time since the temporary St. Louis Gunners of 1934. [23], A series of events throughout the next few years demonstrated the AFL's ability to achieve a greater level of equality with the NFL. One was including the names on player jerseys. The AFL took advantage of the burgeoning popularity of football by locating teams in major cities that lacked NFL franchises. Partly to honor Bartle, the franchise officially became the Kansas City Chiefs on May 26. During a league meeting on November 22, a 10-man ownership group from Boston, Massachusetts (led by Billy Sullivan) was awarded the AFL's eighth team. In the late 1950s, many players released by the NFL, or un-drafted and unsigned out of college by the NFL, went North to try their luck with the CFL, and later returned to the states to play in the AFL. Their stars were honed in the AFL, many of them since the Titans days. Constantly lacking the money to build a quality team, the Steelers had only posted eight winning seasons, and just one playoff appearance, since their first year of existence in 1933. [30] The Cincinnati Bengals began play in the 1968 season, finishing last in the Western Division. The Raiders beat the Chiefs 41–6 in a division playoff to qualify for the AFL Championship Game. Cincinnati Bengals – 1937. They had also only narrowly beaten the favored Oakland Raiders 27–23 in the AFL championship game. However, on November 17, 1968, when NBC cut away from a game between the Jets and Raiders to air the children's movie Heidi, the ensuing uproar helped disprove the notion that fans still considered the AFL an inferior product. League expansion was approved at a meeting held on June 7, and on August 16 the AFL's ninth franchise was officially awarded to Robbie and television star Danny Thomas. The American Football League started play in 1960. They also finished with a 1–13 record in 1969, tied with the Chicago Bears for the worst record in the NFL. After winning six games in their debut season, the Raiders won a total of three times in the 1961 and 1962 seasons. The championship game is called Tazón México (Mexico Bowl), and it is currently played on the second Sunday in May. Additionally, the Bengals now play in the AFC North and the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Oilers) play in the AFC South. One was including the names on player jerseys. They held a series of secret meetings in Dallas to discuss their concerns over rapidly increasing player salaries, as well as the practice of player poaching. The Patriots traveled to San Diego as the Chargers completed a three-game season sweep over the weary Patriots with a 51–10 victory. The transformation of the struggling Titans into the New York Jets under new ownership, including the signing of University of Alabama star quarterback Joe Namath, further solidified the league's reputation among the major media. [30] A similar situation occurred when the New York Jets and the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals both drafted University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath. The Jets won, 16–7, in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in American sports history. The older league also adopted the practice of using the stadium scoreboard clocks to keep track of the official game time, instead of just having a stopwatch used by the referee. [51][52] The remaining 13 NFL teams became part of the National Football Conference. The AFL's original lineup consisted of an Eastern division of the New York Titans, Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and the Houston Oilers, and a Western division of the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and Dallas Texans. Hunt next secured an agreement from Howsam to bring a team to Denver. The AFL also appealed to fans by offering a flashier style of play (just like the ABA in basketball), compared to the more conservative game of the NFL. [12], In 1963, the Texans became the second AFL team to relocate. On August 22 the league officially was named the American Football League. Ralph Wilson, who owned a minority interest in the NFL's Detroit Lions at the time, initially announced he was placing a team in Miami, but like the Seattle situation, was also rebuffed by local ownership (like Seattle, Miami would later get a pro football team of its own as well); given five other choices, Wilson negotiated with McGroder and brought the team that became the Bills to Buffalo. [45][46][47][48] With the win, the AFL finally achieved parity with the NFL and legitimized the merger of the two leagues. The Oakland Raiders and New York Titans struggled on and off the field during their first few seasons in the league. [18][19], On June 9, 1960, the league signed a five-year television contract with ABC, which brought in revenues of approximately $2.125 million per year for the entire league. The Kansas City Chiefs were the first Super Bowl champion to win two road playoff games and the first wildcard team to win the Super Bowl, although the term "wildcard" was coined by the media, and not used officially until several years later. The loss reinforced for many the notion that the AFL was an inferior league. American Football League Rookie of the Year, Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League, Oilers leave rich legacy of low-budget absurdity, Gillman laid foundation for all who followed, Page 2's List for top upset in sports history. Long passes ("bombs") were commonplace in AFL offenses, led by such talented quarterbacks as John Hadl, Daryle Lamonica and Len Dawson. The merged WHA teams were also not financially sound (in large part from the hefty expansion fees the NHL imposed on them), and three of the four were forced to relocate within 20 years. The home teams alternated each year by division, so in 1968 the Jets hosted the Raiders, even though Oakland had a better record (this was changed in 1969). Additional expansion teams would eventually be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring it to a 28-team league. Because the Oakland Raiders joined after the AFL draft, they inherited Minnesota's selections. There were eight original AFL teams: the Dallas Texans, Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, New York Titans, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and Boston Patriots. Three days before the game, a frustrated Namath responded to a heckler at the Touchdown Club in Miami by declaring, "We're going to win Sunday, I'll guarantee you. 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