American Football League (1946)
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1936 |
| Inaugural season | 1936 |
| Ceased | 1950 |
| No. of teams | 6 (1940, 1948–1950) to 9 (1937) |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) |
Richmond Rebels |
The American Association (AA) was a professional American football league based in New York City. Founded in 1936 as a minor league with teams in New York and New Jersey, the AA extended its reach to Providence, Rhode Island prior to the onset of World War II. After a four-year hiatus, the league was renamed American Football League as it expanded to include teams in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 1947, the Richmond Rebels of the Dixie League purchased the assets of the defunct AFL Long Island Indians and jumped leagues (causing the demise of the DL).
The American Association was the first minor football league with a working arrangement with the National Football League as a system of farm clubs, beginning with the purchase of the Stapleton Buffaloes (which played one game as the New York Tigers) by New York Giants owner Tim Mara in 1937.
In the late 1930s and 1940s, the league enjoyed popularity comparable to that of the more established NFL, despite being in direct competition. In 1949 and 1950, the league was adversely affected by instability of membership. After starting its last season with six teams, only two league members were surviving at the end of the year.
The Atlantic Coast Football League originally established itself in several former American Association markets (reviving some of the ACFL team names as well) and hiring the same president, Joe Rosentover, when it began play in 1962.
The American Association was formed after a proposal by Edwin Simandi, manager of the Orange Tornadoes football team. Members of the defunct Eastern League (1932) and Interstate League (1933) became charter members of the new AA as the owner of the Passaic Red Devils, Joe Rosentover, became the league’s president. The original lineup consisted of four teams from New York (Mt. Vernon Cardinals, Brooklyn Bay Parkways, New Rochelle Bulldogs, and White Plains Bears) and four from New Jersey (Orange Tornadoes, Paterson Panthers, Passaic Red Devils, and Stapleton Buffaloes, the last of which consisted mostly of the remains of the defunct Staten Island Stapletons). The formation of the league was announced in June 1936.
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