 | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1944 |
| First season | 1946 |
| Ceased | 1949 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) | Cleveland Browns (4) |
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts (not to be confused with the later Baltimore Colts team, now the Indianapolis Colts).
The AAFC was the second American professional football league (the first being the third American Football League of 1940–1941) to have its teams play in a double round robin format in the regular season: each team had a home game and an away game with each of the other AAFC teams.
The Cleveland Browns were the AAFC's most successful club, winning every annual championship in the league's four years of operation.