American Football League (1926)
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 |
| Inaugural season | 1926 |
| Ceased | 1926 |
| Claim to fame | first competitor of National Football League |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) |
Philadelphia Quakers |
The first American Football League (AFL), 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 Charles "C.C." Pyle, (1882–1939), and General Charles X. Zimmerman, (1865–1926), as Vice President and starring Hall of Fame halfback Red Grange, (1903–1991), the short-lived league with nine teams competed against the more established NFL both for players and for fans. While Pyle’s and Grange’s New York Yankees team and the already established Philadelphia Quakers became reliable draws, the lack of star power and the uncertain financial conditions of the other seven teams led to the league’s dissolution after one season.
The controversial ending of the National Football League’s 1922 season led to the founding of the first AFL by Red Grange’s agent, C. C. Pyle. In an era in which no professional football team had a prearranged schedule (each team was responsible for booking its own games, with virtually no limitations as to the number of games), the Pottsville Maroons were hailed as the NFL champions by several newspapers after Pottsville defeated the Chicago Cardinals on December 6, even though there were still two weeks left in the season.
Cardinals owner Chris O’Brien hastily arranged for two more games – one against the Milwaukee Badgers the following Thursday, another against the Hammond Pros two days later, even though both teams had already disbanded for the season. Two shutouts (59-0 and 13-0) later, the Cardinals claimed the top spot with an 11-2-1 record. Simultaneous with the Cardinals-Pros game was an exhibition game between Pottsville and an all-star team consisting of former Notre Dame players at Shibe Park, near the home of the Frankford Yellow Jackets, who protested the invasion of territorial rights by the Maroons.
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