11/13/2023 0 Comments National football conference logo![]() In September 1959, Hunt was approached by the NFL about an expansion team in Dallas, but by then Hunt was only interested in the AFL. Rebuffed in his attempts to gain at least part-ownership in an NFL team, Hunt conceived the idea of a rival professional football league, the American Football League. ![]() The league, however, was not interested in expansion at the time. and west of Chicago: the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, both in California. In 1959, the NFL had only two teams that were south of Washington, D.C. Hunt, attempted to either gain ownership of the Chicago Cardinals with Bud Adams and move them to Dallas, or own an NFL expansion franchise in Dallas. In 1959, Lamar Hunt, son of Texas oil magnate H. NFL team owners spent as little as possible on players, to maximize their profit. In the absence of a players' labor union (the National Football League Players Association was founded in 1956 but was initially ineffective) or a competing US league, there was little pressure to pay players high salaries. Therefore, NFL teams could retain their dominance on the field without needing to substantially outspend the Canadian teams. The Canadian league enforced strict limits on the number of American players on their rosters, while the popularity of ice hockey in Canada limited the number of talented Canadian athletes that chose to play football. ![]() Although the NFL dominated the game financially, their advantage was modest by modern standards. As a result, the Western Conference was already moving toward an earlier start to its season.Īll of the professional leagues, including the NFL, derived most of their revenue from ticket sales. The other major Canadian league, the Western Interprovincial Football Union (forerunner of the CFL's West Division) was mostly ignored by the NFL, partly because its teams were regarded as inferior to those in Eastern Canada, but mainly because rail travel to Western Canada was infeasible for a preseason game (air travel remained uncommon). NFL teams won most of these contests, often by large scorelines. This arrangement allowed for NFL teams to travel north of the border for preseason contests with the CFL's Eastern clubs. The Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (forerunner of the CFL's East Division) received some attention from US football fans after it secured a broadcasting contract with NBC (the AFL's future television partner).ĭuring the 1950s the Eastern Canadian season started at around the same time as the NFL's Canadian teams at this time typically played two games per week so as to finish the season before the harsh Canadian winter set in. The only other professional gridiron football leagues then in operation were in Canada (the leagues that would merge to form the present day Canadian Football League in 1958). The Browns went on to shock NFL loyalists by dominating the older league and winning the championship in their first NFL season, thus proving themselves to be among the best professional football teams of that time.Īfter the NFL absorbed the AAFC, it had no other rival US leagues throughout the 1950s. The league was briefly known as the National-American Football League during the offseason, but reverted to the traditional name of "National Football League" by the time the 1950 season began. Three AAFC teams-the Cleveland Browns, the San Francisco 49ers, and the original version of the Baltimore Colts-were absorbed into the NFL in 1950. The AAFC's most serious weakness resulted from its refusal to implement an initial draft this caused a massive lack of competitive balance, and resulted in the league's strongest team (the Cleveland Browns) dominating the league and becoming perennial champions.ĭue to the AAFC's poor financial situation, the league disbanded after the 1949 season. Despite relatively strong backing at the league's inception, it ultimately proved an unsustainable venture. The AAFC differed from the NFL in several ways. Before 1960, its most important rival was the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), which began play in 1946. ![]() ( December 2017) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)įollowing its inception in 1920, the NFL fended off several rival leagues. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. ![]()
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