AFL
Limbo Teams: The Dallas Texans
By Stephen Turk
Naming a team can be a tough endeavor. Previous posts here have dealt with the various processes that take place in giving a team an identity. Some names, however, just don’t seem to work out, as if the name itself dooms the team to failure. It seems kind of silly, but it isn’t totally without merit, those in the sports world are a superstitious bunch. The Texans seems to be one such name.
There is a current team, the Houston Texans, who entered the NFL in a recent expansion. They have struggled in their years of existence, and I can only hope for Houston fans that these current Texans fare better than the Texans of old. › Continue reading
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. › Continue reading
A Unique Pairing: Part II
By Stephen Turk
After the 1965, only five years into the AFL’s existence, the NFL realized that they had a competent competitor in the AFL. The animosity amongst the leagues centered around some fairly simple concepts, talent and money.
With nary a friendly agreement between the leagues, rosters were often raided. The AFL at this time 
was be headed up by bullish Raiders owner Al Davis (a man still making headlines today), and there really was nothing off limits.
The AFL was able to establish itself rather quickly. Player contracts weren’t at the level they are today, so owners could compete in drafting college talent, the AFL had a television deal, so people were watching, and the interest in football around the country was only growing. Dave Steidel chronicles in his Remember the AFL that it all started when the Giants signed away kicker Pete Gogolak from the Bills. Al Davis responded by promising big money to NFL players coming up on the ends of their contracts.
A Unique Pairing: Part I
By Stephen Turk
I recently picked up Remember the AFL by Dave Steidel, and I haveto say it’s pretty fascinating. The idea that an upstart league could not only survive in the same waters as the powerhouse, but take only six years to force a merger, is something that’s as impressive to me as it is foreign. I’ve seen expansions in the major sports, but I’ve never seen a merger.
But yet, what is wholly unimaginable to me happened in 1966 with the AFL and NFL merged. To put it in perspective, that would
be like if the NFL joined up with the ill-fated XFL, something which certainly did not happen. In fact, I don’t believe that a merger like the one between the NFL and AFL could ever happen again; the circumstances were just too singular. › Continue reading