American Football League (1940) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com


Sport	American Professional Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
Founded	1940 1940 in sports 1940 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II-American football:NFL championship* Chicago Bears 73–0 Washington Redskins in the NFL championship game...
First Season	1940 1940 in sports 1940 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II-American football:NFL championship* Chicago Bears 73–0 Washington Redskins in the NFL championship game...
Last Season	1941 1941 in sports 1941 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II-American football:* Minnesota Golden Gophers National college football champions....
Claim to Fame	3rd competitor of National Football League National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
No. of teams	6 (1940), 5 (1941) - -
Disbanded	1942

American Football League, also known as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name, was a major professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

league that operated from 1940-1941. It was created when three teams, the original Cincinnati Bengals, the Columbus Bullies

Columbus Bullies

The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...

, and the Milwaukee Chiefs

Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL)

The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...

, were lured away from the minor-league American Professional Football Association and joined three new franchises in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, and New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

in a new league. It competed against the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

(NFL), the oldest existing professional football league.

The organization was the third major league to bear the name American Football League

American Football League (disambiguation)

American Football League is a name shared by several leagues of American football.Major leagues*American Football League , also known as AFL I *American Football League , also known as AFL II...

. Its establishment resulted in the dissolution of the American Professional Football Association, which had just announced its intentions to compete with the NFL as a major league organization. In 1941 American Football League became the first football league to play a double round robin schedule (five home games and five away games). However, it folded after the end of the 1941 season.

Origin

Although the third American Football League was not directly connected to any previous American football

American football

leagues of the same name, its formation was at the cost of an already-existing minor football league of the same name

American Football League (1938)

The Midwest Football League was a minor professional American football league that existed from 1935 to 1940. Originally comprising teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, the league eventually expanded its reach to include teams from Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and California to...

.

By the spring of 1940, the former American Professional Football Association announced intentions of turning itself into a major league with the addition of a Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

team for the upcoming season over the protests of the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

. As the teams prepared for the upcoming season, the announcement of a rival major league resulted in the fracturing of this edition of the American Football League.

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

New York City

, Boston, and Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

. Bill Edwards

Big Bill Edwards

William Hanford "Big Bill" Edwards was an American football player who played guard at the Princeton University from 1896 to 1899...

(former president of the first AFL

American Football League (1926)

The first American Football League , sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League. Founded by C. C...

) was slated to be both the president of the new league and co-owner of the New York Yankees

New York Yankees (1940 AFL)

The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the second AFL, and the Yankees of the All America Football Conference...

franchise, and Joseph Carr Jr. (son of former NFL president Joe Carr

Joseph Carr

Joseph "Joe" F. Carr was the president of the National Football League from 1921 until his death in 1939. Carr was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a mechanic for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, he directed the Columbus Panhandles football team in 1907 until 1922...

) was touted as a potential backer of the Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

franchise.

The group of businessmen 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

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, Columbus, and the new Milwaukee team to join their circuit. The move fractured the APFA as two of its members decided not to field teams for 1940, one (the Los Angeles Bulldogs

Los Angeles Bulldogs

The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948...

) 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

St. Louis Gunners

The St. Louis Gunners, were an independent professional football team based in St. Louis, Missouri, who played the last three games of the 1934 National Football League season, replacing the Cincinnati Reds on the league schedule after the Reds' league membership was suspended...

applied to join the new league (and were subsequently denied), the APFA went out of business.

After a 30 hour long meeting of the owners (and other representatives) of the six invited teams in Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

's Hotel Lafayette

Hotel Lafayette

Hotel Lafayette, also known as the Lafayette Hotel, is a historic hotel building located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is a seven story steel frame and concrete building designed in the French Renaissance style. It is composed of several rectangular building units completed between 1902...

, the bylaws and officials of the new league were determined. Each team was scheduled to play a double round robin schedule (five home games, five away games), with games on either Sunday or Wednesday to reduce the likelihood of conflicts with baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

teams sharing the stadium in five of the six AFL cities (all except Buffalo). The agreement was signed by the team owners, Oct. 5, 1940.

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), 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).

Teams

Boston Bears
Boston Bears (AFL)
The Boston Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940. Owned by Sheldon H. Fairbanks, the team played its home games in the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts...

. Disbanded in 1941, before the beginning of the second AFL season.

Buffalo Indians
Buffalo Indians
The Buffalo Indians were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York...

. Became the Buffalo Tigers for the 1941 season after a change in ownership.

Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals (AFL)
Cincinnati Bengals was the name of a short-lived professional football team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is unrelated to the current Cincinnati Bengals. Originated by Hal Pennington , the team was formed as a member of the second American Football League in the 1937 season...

. Previously a member of the second AFL

American Football League (1936)

Sometimes called AFL II, the second American Football League was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League throughout its existence...

, and the American Professional Football Association

American Football League (1938)

, the "original Bengals" joined the third AFL with traditional rival Columbus Bullies

Columbus Bullies

.

Columbus Bullies
Columbus Bullies
The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...

. Former APFA member which won the AFL championship both years the league was in existence. Quarterback Jay Arnold

Jay Arnold

Jay Lawrence Arnold was a professional American football player in the National Football League. He was born in Rogers, Texas. He played halfback, fullback, wingback and defensive back.-References:...

, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, led the team in 1940; when Arnold returned to the Eagles in 1941, John LeBay took over the signal calling role.

Milwaukee Chiefs
Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL)
The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...

. Former APFA member joined the AFL without being in an official APFA contest.

New York Yankees
New York Yankees (1940 AFL)
The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the second AFL, and the Yankees of the All America Football Conference...

. The third major league professional football team with the name, it became the New York Americans in 1941 after a change of ownership.

Final 1940 standings

Team	W	L	T	Pct.	PF	PA
Columbus Bullies Columbus Bullies The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...	8	1	1	.889	134	69
Milwaukee Chiefs Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL) The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...	7	2	0	.778	180	59
Boston Bears Boston Bears (AFL) The Boston Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940. Owned by Sheldon H. Fairbanks, the team played its home games in the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts...	5	4	1	.556	120	79
New York Yankees New York Yankees (1940 AFL) The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the second AFL, and the Yankees of the All America Football Conference...	4	5	0	.444	138	138
Buffalo Indians Buffalo Indians The Buffalo Indians were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York...	2	8	0	.200	45	138
Cincinnati Bengals	1	7	0	.125	53	187

1940 All-League Team

Sherman Barnes, Milwaukee (end)

Ed Karp, Buffalo (tackle)

Jim Karcher

Jim Karcher

James Norman Karcher was an American football offensive lineman for the Boston/Washington Redskins in the National Football League and the Columbus Bullies in the American Football League, making the AFL All-League team for 1940. He played college football at Ohio State University....

, Columbus (guard)

Joe Alexus, Columbus (center)

Alex Drobnitch, Buffalo (guard)

Bob Eckl

Bob Eckl

Robert Joseph Eckl was a professional American football player in the National Football League as a tackle for the Chicago Cardinals in 1945. Prior to that he played for the Milwaukee Chiefs of the third American Football League. In 1940 Eckl was elected to the All-AFL, with 1st team honors...

, Milwaukee (tackle)

Harlan Gustafson, New York (end)

Andy Karpuls, Boston (quarterback)

Bill Hutchinson

Bill Hutchinson (American football)

William David Hutchinson was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League. Hutchinson played in two games for the New York Giants in 1942, completing one pass in four attempts. In those two games, he recorded 27 rushing yards in seven attempts...

, New York (halfback)

Nelson Peterson

Nelson Peterson

Nelson Lane Peterson was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Rams. He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College.-References:...

, Columbus (halfback)

Al Novakofski, Milwaukee (fullback)

Final 1941 standings

Team	W	L	T	Pct.	Off.	Def.
Columbus Bullies Columbus Bullies The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...	5	1	2	.833	142	55
New York Americans	5	2	1	.714	116	73
Milwaukee Chiefs Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL) The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...	4	3	1	.571	105	84
Buffalo Tigers	2	6	0	.250	72	172
Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals (AFL) Cincinnati Bengals was the name of a short-lived professional football team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is unrelated to the current Cincinnati Bengals. Originated by Hal Pennington , the team was formed as a member of the second American Football League in the 1937 season...	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.

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. 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

William B. Cox

William D. Cox was an American businessman and sports executive.-New York Yankees :A Yale University alumnus and wealthy lumber broker, Cox first entered the sports world when he headed a group that bought the New York Yankees of the third American Football League in 1941...

becomes new AFL league president in 1941.

1941 All-League Team

Earl Ohlgren

Earl Ohlgren was a defensive end in the National Football League. He played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1942 NFL season. Previously he had played with the Milwaukee Chiefs of the American Football League....

, Milwaukee (end)

Alec Shellogg

Alec Shellogg

Alec Regis Shellogg was a professional American football player in the National Football League as well as the third American Football League. In 1939, he played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1940 and 1941 he played in the AFL for the Buffalo Indians/Tigers. He...

, Buffalo (tackle)

Ted Livinston, Columbus (guard)

Paul Humphrey

Paul Humphrey

Paul Nelson Humphrey is an American jazz and funk/R+B drummer.He worked as a session drummer in the 1960s for jazz artists such as Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Kai Winding, Charles Mingus, Lee Konitz, Blue Mitchell and Gene Ammons.As a bandleader, he recorded under the name Paul Humphrey and the...

, Milwaukee (center)

Tex Akin, Milwaukee (guard)

Bob Eckl

Bob Eckl

, Milwaukee (tackle)

Joe Kruse, Cincinnati (end)

Bob Davis

Bob Davis

Robert "Bob" Davis was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .-Playing career:...

, Columbus (quarterback)

Charlie Armstrong, New York (halfback)

Bill McGannon, Cincinnati (halfback)

John Kimbrough

John Kimbrough

John Kimbrough was a college athlete, a member of the Texas Legislature, the star of two western movies and a rancher. His older brother Frank Kimbrough served as head football coach at Baylor and West Texas A&M.-Football:...

, New York (fullback)

Columbus was league champion again in 1941, with a final record of 5-1-2.

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

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

and the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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.

On September 2, 1942, AFL president William B. Cox

William B. Cox

announced the suspension of league activities until the end of the war.:
Unlike Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

, 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.

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