AFL Follow-up
by Stephen Turk
Recently, I wrote on the interesting situation surrounding the merger of the AFL and the NFL, which gave us, of course, the modern NFL as we know it. My primary source for all this was the great and extremely detailed and informative book Remember the AFL by Dave Steidel. Well, I’ve had the opportunity to communicate with Dave, and he has generously fielded a few specific questions. So here is some additional information from the expert:
Q: In watching today’s NFL, what reminds you of the AFL?
A: The names on jerseys, the two point conversion, side line reporters, the game clock being the official time were all started in the AFL. Also in the beginning the AFL offenses were very creative and wide open. Some people suggest that the West Coast offense started in the AFL with San Diego’s Sid Gillman in the early sixties. The type of game played by the NFL today is more like the old AFL then the old NFL.
Q: Could a rival league ever successfully challenge the NFL again?
A: The USFL, WFL, and XFL have all come and gone since the AFL merged with the NFL. And while Arena football is huge in many parts of the country it is a different kind of game. With all the media coverage and money available to NFL players today I would find it hard to believe that another league in direct competition (Sept.-Jan) with the NFL (as the AFL was) could survive.
Q: What did the AFL do right?
A: As the NFL was experiencing their eighth straight year of rising attendance and TV viewing the AFL seemed to pick the perfect time in sports history to begin. Most NFL teams blacked out their home games on local TV so those who could not get to or afford tickets tuned in to watch the only TV alternative – AFL games.
The AFL offered an alternative as well to NFL fans who watched their team in the early afternoon by employing double header games. After an early game on the east coast they offered a second game, usually from Houston, Denver, or California. The NFL did not offer this second game option so fans wanting to extend their football Sunday could catch a look at the new league.
The AFL also used revenue sharing that allowed every team to be on a level playing field financially. Then there was the fact that the AFL was color blind. Teams actively recruited minority players from small southern colleges like North Texas State, Tennessee State, Prairie View, Grambling and others. The NFL at the time seemed to operate on a quota system when it came to minority players so the AFL became known as a league of opportunity for all players; young, old, and from all racial backgrounds.
Many college players opted for the AFL as well because the tight fisted NFL leadership expected young players to pay their dues on the bench before given the opportunity to break into the starting lineup. With the AFL there was a chance to play right away and as a result young players not only signed on with the AFL but also developed more quickly.
Q: What do you think has become of the AFL’s legacy? Should it be acknowledged more?
A: Many veteran AFL players and fans felt from the beginning of the merger that the AFL should have been able to keep their identity. But the NFL had a different idea. Sadly the merger became more of an absorption than a partnership. But perhaps the greatest indignity the league has suffered is the lack of recognition the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame has given AFL players.
Outstanding players like Johnny Robinson, Abner Haynes, Jerry Mays, Dave Grayson, Otis Taylor, Paul Lowe and others have been largely ignored by the selection committee – many of whom never saw an AFL game! I truly hope that during the 2009 season the NFL will honor the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the AFL by bringing to light the many accomplishments and innovative ideas the AFL brought to professional football.
Perhaps then the AFL players who carved its history will be given their long overdue and much deserved recognition, for it is truly the players who built the AFL’s legacy. For more information about the AFL, its legacy and players log on to: remembertheafl.com.
Q: How did the merger affect the business of professional football?
A: The main reason for the merger was that the leagues were in direct competition for the same players. As a result, player salaries were rising higher than any team imagined. When the New York Giants signed kicker Pete Gogolak away from Buffalo after the 1965 season, breaking an unwritten agreement to not sign players from the other league, the AFL retaliated by vigorously recruiting NFL players who were within a year or two of their contract expiring. This also set off a bidding war for players coming out of college.
Jets owner Sonny Weblin then sent a shock wave throughout the sports world by signing Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to an unprecedented $400,000. contract. Nearly four times the average. Seeing what lied ahead prompted the NFL to offer a piece agreement to the AFL in the way of a merger.
With the merger in 1966 both leagues would now have a common draft instead of each league holding their own. The merger also called for a season ending AFL vs. NFL Championship game to be played starting at the end of the 1966 season. This game became known as the Super Bowl and has now become the largest one day sporting event in the world.
So there you have it. I have to say that I agree with Mr. Steidel on a number of counts, most notably the need for the NFL to better acknowledge the AFL. The NFL to this day doesn’t seem to like to admit that it was not wrought out of perfection from the first instance. A big reason why I decided to look into the AFL in the first place was the lack of overt information out there today. The fact of the matter is, the AFL’s creation and involvement was crucial in shaping the modern NFL*, so a little nod here and there shouldn’t be too much of an imposition.
In any event, the book features season by season recaps for every team during the league’s decade of existence, so for anyone looking for the authority, that’s the place to go.
*Earlier typo corrected
I know what you meant was “the AFL’s creation and involvement was crucial in shaping the modern **NFL**.”, and that’s asolutely true. Further, the AFL was indirectly reponsible for the existence of four **NFL** franchises: Minnesota, Dallas, and Atlanta, which were created to drive or keep the AFL out of those markets; and New Orleans, which was given a franchise for the support by Louisiana’s US Congressmen for the AFL-NFL merger.
Regardlsess, Dave Steidel’s book is the best-ever compilation of facts, statistics and images covering the American Football League’s meteoric rise to prominence.
Ange Coniglio
American Football Lague Archivist