American Football League (1926)

American Football League (1926)
SportAmerican football
Founded1926
First season1926
Ceased1926
Claim to famefirst competitor of the National Football League (NFL)
No. of teams9
CountryUnited States
Last
champion(s)
Philadelphia Quakers
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The first American Football League (AFL), sometimes called AFL I, AFLG,[1] 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 (NFL). Founded by Charles "C.C." Pyle, (1882–1939), and General Charles X. Zimmerman, (1865–1926), as vice president and starring Hall of Fame halfback Harold Edward "Red" Grange, (1903–1991), the short-lived league with nine teams competed against the more established – then six-year-old – 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.[2]

  1. ^ 1926 AFLG Standings, Stats and Awards Archived January 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. The "G" apparently refers to "Grange"
  2. ^ David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football, From 1899 to the Present (St. Martin’s Press 1994), ISBN 0-312-11435-4