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.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
Buffalo, having lost its original NFL franchise in 1929 and turned down by the NFL at least twice (1940 and 1950) for a replacement, returned to the NFL with the merger.
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 until the end of the 1969 season.
Louis Gunners of 1934.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
The NFL, which had played a 12-game schedule since 1947, changed to a 14-game schedule in 1961, a year after the American Football League instituted it.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949). This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises.
A third AAFC team, the Baltimore Colts (not related 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.
The AFL also introduced the two-point conversion to professional football thirty-four years before the NFL instituted it in 1994 (college football had adopted the two-point conversion in the late 1950s).
Buffalo, having lost its original NFL franchise in 1929 and turned down by the NFL at least twice (1940 and 1950) for a replacement, returned to the NFL with the merger.
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. In the league's first years, players such as Oilers' George Blanda, Chargers/Bills' Jack Kemp, Texans' Len Dawson, the NY Titans' Don Maynard, Raiders/Patriots/Jets' Babe Parilli, Pats' Bob Dee proved to be AFL standouts.
The Rams moved back in 2016. In the case of the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL had long sought to return to the Dallas area after the Dallas Texans folded in 1952, but was originally met with strong opposition by Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who had enjoyed a monopoly as the only NFL team to represent the American South.
A third AAFC team, the Baltimore Colts (not related 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.
Hunt's first meeting with Adams was held in March 1959.
During the summer of 1959, he sought the blessings of the NFL for his nascent league, as he did not seek a potentially costly rivalry.
Within weeks of the July 1959 announcement of the league's formation, Hunt received commitments from Barron Hilton and Harry Wismer to bring teams to Los Angeles and New York, respectively.
His initial efforts for Buffalo, however, were rebuffed, when Hunt's first choice of owner, Pat McGroder, declined to take part; McGroder had hoped that the threat of the AFL would be enough to prompt the NFL to expand to Buffalo. On August 14, 1959, the first league meeting was held in Chicago, and charter memberships were given to Dallas, New York, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
The NFL's initial reaction was not as openly hostile as it had been with the earlier All-America Football Conference (AAFC), as Bell had even given his public approval; but he died suddenly in October 1959, and individual NFL owners soon began a campaign to undermine the new league.
On November 30, 1959, Joe Foss, a World War II Marine fighter ace and former governor of South Dakota, was named the AFL's first commissioner.
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. ===Crisis and success (1960–61)=== In November 1959, Minneapolis-Saint Paul owner Max Winter announced his intent to leave the AFL to accept a franchise offer from the NFL.
After initially being called the Oakland "Señores", the Oakland Raiders officially joined the AFL on January 30, 1960. The AFL's first major success came when the Houston Oilers signed Billy Cannon, the All-American and 1959 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU.
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference.
(The NFL did not expand to Houston at that time, the promised Dallas team – the Dallas Cowboys – actually started play in 1960, and the Vikings began play in 1961.) Finally, the NFL quickly came to terms with the Bidwills and allowed them to relocate the struggling Cardinals to St.
Hunt was elected President of the AFL on January 26, 1960. ===The AFL draft=== The AFL's first draft took place the same day Boston was awarded its franchise, and lasted 33 rounds.
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. ===Crisis and success (1960–61)=== In November 1959, Minneapolis-Saint Paul owner Max Winter announced his intent to leave the AFL to accept a franchise offer from the NFL.
After initially being called the Oakland "Señores", the Oakland Raiders officially joined the AFL on January 30, 1960. The AFL's first major success came when the Houston Oilers signed Billy Cannon, the All-American and 1959 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU.
The court upheld the Houston contract, and with Cannon the Oilers appeared in the AFL's first three championship games (winning two). 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 AFL began regular-season play (a night game on Friday, September 9, 1960) with eight teams in the league – the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Texans, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Titans, and Oakland Raiders.
Attendance for the 1960 season was respectable for a new league, but not nearly that of the NFL.
In 1960, the NFL averaged attendance of more than 40,000 fans per game and more popular NFL teams in 1960 regularly saw attendance figures in excess of 50,000 per game, By comparison, AFL attendance averaged about 16,500 per game and generally hovered between 10,000 and 20,000 per game.
Professional football was still primarily a gate-driven business in 1960, so low attendance meant financial losses.
Lamar Hunt felt that despite winning the league championship in 1962, the Texans could not sufficiently profit in the same market as the Dallas Cowboys, which entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1960.
The AFL played a 14-game schedule for its entire existence, starting in 1960.
As a result, the Cowboys played its inaugural season in 1960 without the benefit of the NFL draft. As part of the merger agreement, additional expansion teams would be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring the league to 28 franchises; this requirement was fulfilled when the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began play in 1976.
In addition, had it not been for the existence of the Oilers from 1960 to 1996, the Houston Texans also would likely not exist today; the 2002 expansion team restored professional football in Houston after the original charter AFL member Oilers relocated to become the Tennessee Titans. Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News has argued that the presence of AFL and the subsequent merger radically altered the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, saving the team "from stinking".
In addition to AFL greats like Hank Stram, Lou Saban, Sid Gillman and Al Davis were eventual hall of fame coaches such as Bill Walsh, a protégé of Davis with the AFL Oakland Raiders for one season; and Chuck Noll, who worked for Gillman and the AFL LA/San Diego Chargers from 1960 through 1965.
The stadiums are either being used for other uses (the former San Diego Stadium, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Fenway Park, Nickerson Field, Alumni Stadium, Nippert Stadium, the Cotton Bowl, Balboa Stadium and Kezar Stadium), still standing but currently vacant (Houston Astrodome), or demolished. ==AFL playoffs== From 1960 to 1968, the AFL determined its champion via a single-elimination playoff game between the winners of its two divisions.
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. ==AFL Championship Games== ==AFL All-Star games== 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.
Only the party from Minneapolis-Saint Paul accepted, and with the addition of Ole Haugsrud and Bernie Ridder the Minnesota group joined the NFL in 1961 as the Minnesota Vikings.
The older league also announced on August 29 that it had conveniently reversed its position against expansion, and planned to bring new NFL teams to Houston and Dallas, to start play in 1961.
(The NFL did not expand to Houston at that time, the promised Dallas team – the Dallas Cowboys – actually started play in 1960, and the Vikings began play in 1961.) Finally, the NFL quickly came to terms with the Bidwills and allowed them to relocate the struggling Cardinals to St.
In 1961, his team began play in the NFL as the Minnesota Vikings.
Raiders' co-owner Wayne Valley dubbed the AFL ownership "The Foolish Club", a term Lamar Hunt subsequently used on team photographs he sent as Christmas gifts. The Oilers became the first-ever league champions by defeating the Chargers, 24–16, in the AFL Championship on January 1, 1961.
In fact, the only major change was the Chargers' move from Los Angeles to nearby San Diego (they would return to Los Angeles in 2017). On August 8, 1961, the AFL challenged the Canadian Football League to an exhibition game that would feature the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Buffalo Bills, which was attended by 24,376 spectators.
Oakland's eight-man ownership group was reduced to just three in 1961, after heavy financial losses in their first season.
After winning six games in their debut season, the Raiders won a total of three times in the 1961 and 1962 seasons.
Oakland took part in a 1961 supplemental draft meant to boost the weaker teams in the league, but it did little good.
The Continental League, a proposed third league for Major League Baseball that was to begin play in 1961, never played a single game, largely because MLB responded to the proposal by expanding to four of that league's proposed cities.
The NFL, which had played a 12-game schedule since 1947, changed to a 14-game schedule in 1961, a year after the American Football League instituted it.
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. ==AFL Championship Games== ==AFL All-Star games== 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.
On June 17, the AFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, which was dismissed in 1962 after a two-month trial.
After winning six games in their debut season, the Raiders won a total of three times in the 1961 and 1962 seasons.
They participated in another such draft in 1962. The Titans fared a little better on the field but had their own financial troubles.
Eventually Wismer could no longer afford to meet his payroll, and on November 8, 1962, the AFL took over operations of the team.
The Titans were sold to a five-person ownership group headed by Sonny Werblin on March 28, 1963, and in April the new owners changed the team's name to the New York Jets. The Raiders and Titans both finished last in their respective divisions in the 1962 season.
The Texans and Oilers, winners of their divisions, faced each other for the 1962 AFL Championship on December 23.
Lamar Hunt felt that despite winning the league championship in 1962, the Texans could not sufficiently profit in the same market as the Dallas Cowboys, which entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1960.
It featured many outstanding games, such as the classic 1962 double-overtime American Football League championship game between the Dallas Texans and the defending champion Houston Oilers.
The Titans were sold to a five-person ownership group headed by Sonny Werblin on March 28, 1963, and in April the new owners changed the team's name to the New York Jets. The Raiders and Titans both finished last in their respective divisions in the 1962 season.
The Texans dethroned the two-time champion Oilers, 20–17, in a double-overtime contest that was, at the time, professional football's longest-ever game. In 1963, the Texans became the second AFL team to move to a new city.
Partly to honor Bartle, the franchise officially became the Kansas City Chiefs on May 26. The San Diego Chargers, under head coach Sid Gillman, won a decisive 51–10 victory over the Boston Patriots for the 1963 AFL Championship.
It was the highest amount of money ever paid to a collegiate football player, and is cited as the strongest contributing factor to the eventual merger between the two leagues. After the 1963 season, the Newark Bears of the Atlantic Coast Football League expressed interest in joining the AFL; concerns over having to split the New York metro area with the still-uncertain Jets were a factor in the Bears' bid being rejected.
In 1963, the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots finished tied with identical records of 7–6–1 in the AFL East Division.
On January 29, 1964, the AFL signed a lucrative $36 million television contract with NBC (beginning in the 1965 season), which gave the league money it needed to compete with the NFL for players.
A single-game attendance record was set on November 8, 1964, when 61,929 fans packed Shea Stadium to watch the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. The bidding war for players between the AFL and NFL escalated in 1965.
The Chiefs drafted University of Kansas star Gale Sayers in the first round of the 1965 AFL draft (held November 28, 1964), while the Chicago Bears did the same in the NFL draft.
Among specific teams, the 1964 Buffalo Bills stood out by holding their opponents to a pro football record 913 yards rushing on 300 attempts, while also recording fifty quarterback sacks in a 14-game schedule. In 2009, a five-part series, The History of the American Football League, on the Showtime Network, refuted many of the long-held misconceptions about the AFL.
That season, the league champion Buffalo Bills played all-stars from the other teams. After the 1964 season, the AFL All-Star game had been scheduled for early 1965 in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium.
On January 29, 1964, the AFL signed a lucrative $36 million television contract with NBC (beginning in the 1965 season), which gave the league money it needed to compete with the NFL for players.
A single-game attendance record was set on November 8, 1964, when 61,929 fans packed Shea Stadium to watch the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. The bidding war for players between the AFL and NFL escalated in 1965.
The Chiefs drafted University of Kansas star Gale Sayers in the first round of the 1965 AFL draft (held November 28, 1964), while the Chicago Bears did the same in the NFL draft.
In what was viewed as a key victory for the AFL, Namath signed a $427,000 contract with the Jets on January 2, 1965 (the deal included a new car).
In 1965, Milwaukee officials tried to lure an expansion team to play at Milwaukee County Stadium where the Green Bay Packers had played parts of their home schedule after an unsuccessful attempt to lure the Packers there full-time, but Packers head coach Vince Lombardi invoked the team's exclusive lease, and additionally, signed an extension to keep some home games in Milwaukee until 1976.
In early 1965, the AFL awarded its first expansion team to Rankin Smith of Atlanta.
In March 1965, Joe Robbie had met with Commissioner Foss to inquire about an expansion franchise for Miami.
In addition to AFL greats like Hank Stram, Lou Saban, Sid Gillman and Al Davis were eventual hall of fame coaches such as Bill Walsh, a protégé of Davis with the AFL Oakland Raiders for one season; and Chuck Noll, who worked for Gillman and the AFL LA/San Diego Chargers from 1960 through 1965.
All-Star teams from the Eastern and Western divisions played each other after every season except 1965.
That season, the league champion Buffalo Bills played all-stars from the other teams. After the 1964 season, the AFL All-Star game had been scheduled for early 1965 in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium.
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. As fierce competition made player salaries skyrocket in both leagues, especially after a series of "raids", the leagues agreed to a merger in 1966.
NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle also became chief executive of the AFL from July 26, 1966, through the completion of the merger.
The Miami Dolphins joined the league for a fee of $7.5 million and started play in the AFL's Eastern Division in 1966.
The AFL also planned to add two more teams by 1967. ===Escalation and merger (1966–67)=== In 1966, the rivalry between the AFL and NFL reached an all-time peak.
Hunt and Schramm completed the basic groundwork for a merger of the two leagues by the end of May, and on June 8, 1966, the merger was officially announced.
Rounding out this mix of potential talent were the true "free agents", the walk-ons and the "wanna-be's", who tried out in droves for the chance to play professional American football. After the AFL–NFL merger agreement in 1966, and after the AFL's Jets defeated an extremely strong Baltimore Colts team, a popular misconception fostered by the NFL and spread by media reports was that the AFL defeated the NFL because of the Common Draft instituted in 1967.
Among the conditions were a common draft and a championship game played between the two league champions first played in early 1967, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl. The AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with separate regular season and playoff schedules except for the championship game.
The AFL also planned to add two more teams by 1967. ===Escalation and merger (1966–67)=== In 1966, the rivalry between the AFL and NFL reached an all-time peak.
In protest, Davis resigned as AFL commissioner on July 25 rather than remain until the completion of the merger, and Milt Woodard was named president of the AFL, with the "commissioner" title vacated because of Rozelle's expanded role. On January 15, 1967, the first-ever championship game between the two separate professional football leagues, the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game" (retroactively referred to as Super Bowl I), was played in Los Angeles.
I think the league has always had good personnel, but the blocks were subtler and better conceived in this game." The AFL added its tenth and final team on May 24, 1967, when it awarded the league's second expansion franchise to an ownership group from Cincinnati, Ohio, headed by NFL legend Paul Brown.
Rounding out this mix of potential talent were the true "free agents", the walk-ons and the "wanna-be's", who tried out in droves for the chance to play professional American football. After the AFL–NFL merger agreement in 1966, and after the AFL's Jets defeated an extremely strong Baltimore Colts team, a popular misconception fostered by the NFL and spread by media reports was that the AFL defeated the NFL because of the Common Draft instituted in 1967.
The Cincinnati Bengals began play in the 1968 season, finishing last in the Western Division. ===Legitimacy and the end of an era (1968–1970)=== While many AFL players and observers believed their league was the equal of the NFL, their first two Super Bowl performances did nothing to prove it.
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.
The Colts, who entered the contest favored by as many as 18 points, had completed the 1968 NFL season with a 13–1 record, and won the NFL title with a convincing 34–0 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Led by their stalwart defense—which allowed a record-low 144 points—the 1968 Colts were considered one of the best-ever NFL teams. By contrast, the Jets had allowed 280 points, the highest total for any division winner in the two leagues.
But the 1968 Jets had less than a handful of "common draftees".
The stadiums are either being used for other uses (the former San Diego Stadium, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Fenway Park, Nickerson Field, Alumni Stadium, Nippert Stadium, the Cotton Bowl, Balboa Stadium and Kezar Stadium), still standing but currently vacant (Houston Astrodome), or demolished. ==AFL playoffs== From 1960 to 1968, the AFL determined its champion via a single-elimination playoff game between the winners of its two divisions.
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).
A similar situation occurred in the 1968 season, when the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs finished the regular season tied with identical records of 12–2 in the AFL West Division.
The perception of AFL inferiority forever changed on January 12, 1969, when the AFL Champion New York Jets shocked the heavily favored NFL Champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
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 until the end of the 1969 season.
They also finished with a 1–13 record in 1969, tied with the Chicago Bears for the worst record in the NFL.
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).
In 1969, the final year of the independent AFL, Professional Football's first "wild card" playoffs were conducted.
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. ==AFL Championship Games== ==AFL All-Star games== 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.
Led by Bills players such as Cookie Gilchrist, the players successfully lobbied to have the game moved to Houston's Jeppesen Stadium. ==All-Time AFL Team== As chosen by 1969 AFL Hall of Fame Selection committee members: ==AFL records== The following is a sample of some records set during the existence of the league.
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference.
Among the conditions were a common draft and a championship game played between the two league champions first played in early 1967, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl. The AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with separate regular season and playoff schedules except for the championship game.
The two leagues would be fully merged by 1970, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle would remain as commissioner of the merged league, which would be named the NFL.
Additional expansion teams would eventually be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring it to a 28-team league.
The Vikings, favored by 12½ points, were held to just 67 rushing yards. The last game in AFL history was the AFL All-Star Game, held in Houston's Astrodome on January 17, 1970.
Hadl was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Prior to the start of the 1970 NFL season, the merged league was organized into two conferences of three divisions each.
When the two leagues merged in 1970, all ten AFL franchises and their statistics became part of the new NFL.
As a result, the Cowboys played its inaugural season in 1960 without the benefit of the NFL draft. As part of the merger agreement, additional expansion teams would be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring the league to 28 franchises; this requirement was fulfilled when the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began play in 1976.
The $3 million indemnity that the Steelers received for joining the AFC with the rest of the former AFL teams after the merger helped them rebuild into a contender, drafting eventual-Pro Football Hall of Famers like Terry Bradshaw and Joe Greene, and ultimately winning four Super Bowls in the 1970s.
The season-long celebration began in August with the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, between two AFC teams (as opposed to the AFC-vs-NFC format the game first adopted in 1971).
Moved to Foxborough, Massachusetts, as the New England Patriots in 1971. |- |Buffalo Bills |align="center" |1960 |War Memorial Stadium (1960–1969) |align="center" |67–71–6 |align="center" |2 |Still active in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area.
Moved to Orchard Park, New York, in 1973. |- |Houston Oilers |align="center" |1960 |Jeppesen Stadium (1960–1964), Rice Stadium (1965–1967), Houston Astrodome (1968–1969) |align="center" |72–69–4 |align="center" |2 |Moved to Nashville, Tennessee, as the Tennessee Oilers in 1997, but played in Memphis that year while waiting for a stadium to be constructed.
In 1965, Milwaukee officials tried to lure an expansion team to play at Milwaukee County Stadium where the Green Bay Packers had played parts of their home schedule after an unsuccessful attempt to lure the Packers there full-time, but Packers head coach Vince Lombardi invoked the team's exclusive lease, and additionally, signed an extension to keep some home games in Milwaukee until 1976.
(The additional expansion would not happen until 1976.) The AFL also agreed to pay indemnities of $18 million to the NFL over 20 years.
As a result, the Cowboys played its inaugural season in 1960 without the benefit of the NFL draft. As part of the merger agreement, additional expansion teams would be awarded by 1970 or soon thereafter to bring the league to 28 franchises; this requirement was fulfilled when the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began play in 1976.
The remaining 13 NFL teams became part of the National Football Conference. Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Charlie Joiner, who started his career with the Houston Oilers (1969), was the last AFL player active in professional football, retiring after the 1986 season, when he played for the San Diego Chargers. ==Legacy== ===Overview=== The American Football League stands as the only professional football league to successfully compete against the NFL.
The AFL also introduced the two-point conversion to professional football thirty-four years before the NFL instituted it in 1994 (college football had adopted the two-point conversion in the late 1950s).
Louis would later regain an NFL franchise in 1995 with the relocation of the LA Rams to the city.
In addition, had it not been for the existence of the Oilers from 1960 to 1996, the Houston Texans also would likely not exist today; the 2002 expansion team restored professional football in Houston after the original charter AFL member Oilers relocated to become the Tennessee Titans. Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News has argued that the presence of AFL and the subsequent merger radically altered the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, saving the team "from stinking".
Moved to Orchard Park, New York, in 1973. |- |Houston Oilers |align="center" |1960 |Jeppesen Stadium (1960–1964), Rice Stadium (1965–1967), Houston Astrodome (1968–1969) |align="center" |72–69–4 |align="center" |2 |Moved to Nashville, Tennessee, as the Tennessee Oilers in 1997, but played in Memphis that year while waiting for a stadium to be constructed.
They began play in Nashville in 1998, and renamed as the Tennessee Titans in 1999. |- |Miami Dolphins |align="center" |1966 |Miami Orange Bowl (1966–1969) |align="center" |15–39–2 |align="center" |0 |Still active in the Miami metropolitan area.
They began play in Nashville in 1998, and renamed as the Tennessee Titans in 1999. |- |Miami Dolphins |align="center" |1966 |Miami Orange Bowl (1966–1969) |align="center" |15–39–2 |align="center" |0 |Still active in the Miami metropolitan area.
In addition, had it not been for the existence of the Oilers from 1960 to 1996, the Houston Texans also would likely not exist today; the 2002 expansion team restored professional football in Houston after the original charter AFL member Oilers relocated to become the Tennessee Titans. Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News has argued that the presence of AFL and the subsequent merger radically altered the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, saving the team "from stinking".
In 2003, their home stadium, which previously had a Miami address, became part of Miami Gardens, Florida. |- |New York Titans/Jets |align="center" |1960 |Polo Grounds (1960–1963), Shea Stadium (1964–1969) |align="center" |71–67–6 |align="center" |1 |Still active in the New York metropolitan area.
Among specific teams, the 1964 Buffalo Bills stood out by holding their opponents to a pro football record 913 yards rushing on 300 attempts, while also recording fifty quarterback sacks in a 14-game schedule. In 2009, a five-part series, The History of the American Football League, on the Showtime Network, refuted many of the long-held misconceptions about the AFL.
Flores also has a Super Bowl ring as a player (1969 Kansas City Chiefs). ==AFL 50th Anniversary Celebration== As the influence of the AFL continues through the present, the 50th anniversary of its launch was celebrated during 2009.
The season-long celebration began in August with the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, between two AFC teams (as opposed to the AFC-vs-NFC format the game first adopted in 1971).
(a 2009 Hall of Fame inductee) and Titans' owner Bud Adams were the only surviving members of the Foolish Club at the time (both are now deceased; Wilson's estate sold the team in 2014), the eight original owners of AFL franchises.
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.
(a 2009 Hall of Fame inductee) and Titans' owner Bud Adams were the only surviving members of the Foolish Club at the time (both are now deceased; Wilson's estate sold the team in 2014), the eight original owners of AFL franchises.
The Rams moved back in 2016. In the case of the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL had long sought to return to the Dallas area after the Dallas Texans folded in 1952, but was originally met with strong opposition by Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who had enjoyed a monopoly as the only NFL team to represent the American South.
In fact, the only major change was the Chargers' move from Los Angeles to nearby San Diego (they would return to Los Angeles in 2017). On August 8, 1961, the AFL challenged the Canadian Football League to an exhibition game that would feature the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Buffalo Bills, which was attended by 24,376 spectators.
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