Association of Professional Football Leagues
Encyclopedia
The Association of Professional Football Leagues was a compact formed in 1946 among the National Football League
and three minor league
s of professional American football
: the American Association
(which subsequently changed its name to the American Football League), the Dixie League
, and the Pacific Coast Professional Football League
. While the NFL had an informal farm system in the pre-World War II
AA, this was the first time in which it had a working arrangement with multiple leagues whose local popularity rivaled that of the major league
. The agreement lasted less than two years, its termination triggered by the folding of the Dixie League after one of its members jumped to the American Football League one week into the 1947 season.
and fierce rivalries in the Los Angeles
area; similarly, the Dixie League had its strength of support in Virginia and North Carolina (half of the teams were based in the Hampton Roads
area), away from the presence of the NFL.
In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, every American professional league was at a crossroads as the American entry into World War II meant that the number of men available to play football would be greatly diminished. The NFL and PCPFL opted to continue; the AA and Dixie League suspended operations after planning to continue play after the end of the war (the third AFL made a similar decision, but did not return).
and the newly-formed All America Football Conference announced intentions of playing on the West Coast
.
On March 24, 1946, PCPFL president J. Rufus Klawans announced the formation of the Association of Professional Football leagues, with Klawans as chairman and Joe Rosentover, AFL president, as vice chairman. In the announcement, Klawans explained that the association was formed to restrict the jumping of players from one member league to another and to recognize the "territorial rights of its members." He added, "We hope the National as well as all new football leagues, such as the All-America conference… will join our association for the good of professional football." Later that day, NFL president Bert Bell
announced that his league would also join after agreeing on few terms with the minor leagues. The AAFC did not become a member.
The NFL agreed to resolve scheduling conflicts with the PCPFL regarding their operations in Los Angeles, where the Bulldogs
were the established team and the Rams, formerly based in Cleveland, were the newcomers.
The minor leagues agreed to uphold a five-year ban on NFL players who jumped from the major league to the "big three" (actually just the PCPFL, who signed away several NFL players in 1945, while the other two leagues were inactive). This provision was later applied to players who jumped to the AAFC or any other "outlaw league."
The compact permitted the NFL to establish working relationships with teams in all three minor league circuits (while the AA had such an arrangement with the NFL prior to 1945, the Dixie League did not; the PCPFL generally did not embrace the concept).
A mechanism was put in place to prevent the NFL teams from stockpiling players in the AFL and the Dixie League. Under this prevision, if a player from a NFL team were to be sent to its "farm team," he must be either kept by the destination team or become a free agent. If he were kept by the farm team and later recalled by the NFL team, he could not be returned to the farm team without first becoming a free agent.
While the agreement dealt with rights concerning the movement and hiring of players, it remained silent in terms of territorial rights between minor league teams. It proved to be a fatal error.
Just before the start of the 1947 season, two members of the Dixie League dropped out of the league, leaving the circuit with only four competing teams. On October 5, 1947, they played the first games of the season. Three days later, the Richmond Rebels
of the Dixie League purchased the assets of the defunct Long Island Indians of the AFL and jumped to the other league. Dixie League president Tom Hanes protested to NFL president Bert Bell, who agreed that he did not agree to such a shift, but since it didn’t involve any member team of the National Football League, he – and the Association of American Professional Football Leagues – could do nothing about it.
Left with only three teams, the Dixie League folded the next day. The compact effectively ended when the DL collapsed. On February 4, 1948, the NFL officially ended it by dissolving the links to the AFL.
The Pacific Coast Professional Football League lasted one more season, limping to the end after the Los Angeles Bulldogs moved to a small stadium in Long Beach, California
and canceling their last two scheduled games. The AFL lasted through the 1950 season as the transplanted Rebels won the last two championships before the league called it a day.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and three minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
s of professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
: the American Association
American Association (football)
The American Association 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...
(which subsequently changed its name to the American Football League), the Dixie League
Dixie League (football)
The Dixie League was a professional American football league founded in 1936 as the South Atlantic Football Association, with six charter member teams in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D. C.. Like the American Association , its popularity rivaled that of the established National Football League...
, and the Pacific Coast Professional Football League
Pacific Coast Professional Football League
The Pacific Coast Professional Football League , also known as the Pacific Coast Football League and Pacific Coast League was a professional American football league based in California, USA, and competed from 1940 through 1948 in sports...
. While the NFL had an informal farm system in the pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
AA, this was the first time in which it had a working arrangement with multiple leagues whose local popularity rivaled that of the major league
Major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada
The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions in team sports...
. The agreement lasted less than two years, its termination triggered by the folding of the Dixie League after one of its members jumped to the American Football League one week into the 1947 season.
Background
In the years immediately before the beginning of US involvement in World War II, the local popularity of the Dixie League, the American Association, and the Pacific Coast Professional Football League rivaled that of the NFL (which, in 1940-1941, was battling with an upstart "major league," the third American Football League, which had been raiding the rosters of NFL teams to stock its own), and the NFL had working arrangements with five of the six teams in the AA. The PCPFL benefited from the absence of the NFL west of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and fierce rivalries in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area; similarly, the Dixie League had its strength of support in Virginia and North Carolina (half of the teams were based in the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area), away from the presence of the NFL.
In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, every American professional league was at a crossroads as the American entry into World War II meant that the number of men available to play football would be greatly diminished. The NFL and PCPFL opted to continue; the AA and Dixie League suspended operations after planning to continue play after the end of the war (the third AFL made a similar decision, but did not return).
Formation
In September 1945, Harry Howren, owner of the Norfolk Shamrocks of the Dixie League, revealed in an announcement that not only was the league reorganizing for the 1946 season, but it was also planning to attend a meeting with the AA (which was also reorganizing under a new name, the American Football League) and the PCPFL. Howren also stated, "We want full recognition by the National Football League and its assistance in its protection of players." In the meantime, the NFL's Cleveland RamsCleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio.The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League...
and the newly-formed All America Football Conference announced intentions of playing on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
On March 24, 1946, PCPFL president J. Rufus Klawans announced the formation of the Association of Professional Football leagues, with Klawans as chairman and Joe Rosentover, AFL president, as vice chairman. In the announcement, Klawans explained that the association was formed to restrict the jumping of players from one member league to another and to recognize the "territorial rights of its members." He added, "We hope the National as well as all new football leagues, such as the All-America conference… will join our association for the good of professional football." Later that day, NFL president Bert Bell
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the National Football League commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he helped chart a path for the NFL to facilitate its rise in becoming the most popular sports attraction in the United States...
announced that his league would also join after agreeing on few terms with the minor leagues. The AAFC did not become a member.
Provisions
The agreement between the "big three" leagues and the NFL had several provisions.The NFL agreed to resolve scheduling conflicts with the PCPFL regarding their operations in Los Angeles, where the Bulldogs
Los Angeles Bulldogs
The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948...
were the established team and the Rams, formerly based in Cleveland, were the newcomers.
The minor leagues agreed to uphold a five-year ban on NFL players who jumped from the major league to the "big three" (actually just the PCPFL, who signed away several NFL players in 1945, while the other two leagues were inactive). This provision was later applied to players who jumped to the AAFC or any other "outlaw league."
The compact permitted the NFL to establish working relationships with teams in all three minor league circuits (while the AA had such an arrangement with the NFL prior to 1945, the Dixie League did not; the PCPFL generally did not embrace the concept).
A mechanism was put in place to prevent the NFL teams from stockpiling players in the AFL and the Dixie League. Under this prevision, if a player from a NFL team were to be sent to its "farm team," he must be either kept by the destination team or become a free agent. If he were kept by the farm team and later recalled by the NFL team, he could not be returned to the farm team without first becoming a free agent.
While the agreement dealt with rights concerning the movement and hiring of players, it remained silent in terms of territorial rights between minor league teams. It proved to be a fatal error.
Demise
After a 1946 season that saw continued success for the minor leagues, and the NFL weathering the AAFC challenge, no one could envision the quickness of the demise of the Association of American Professional Football Leagues the following fall.Just before the start of the 1947 season, two members of the Dixie League dropped out of the league, leaving the circuit with only four competing teams. On October 5, 1947, they played the first games of the season. Three days later, the Richmond Rebels
Richmond Rebels
The Richmond Rebels were one of eight teams in the United States Baseball League, and were based in Richmond, Virginia. The league collapsed within two months of its creation from May 1 to June 24, 1912...
of the Dixie League purchased the assets of the defunct Long Island Indians of the AFL and jumped to the other league. Dixie League president Tom Hanes protested to NFL president Bert Bell, who agreed that he did not agree to such a shift, but since it didn’t involve any member team of the National Football League, he – and the Association of American Professional Football Leagues – could do nothing about it.
Left with only three teams, the Dixie League folded the next day. The compact effectively ended when the DL collapsed. On February 4, 1948, the NFL officially ended it by dissolving the links to the AFL.
The Pacific Coast Professional Football League lasted one more season, limping to the end after the Los Angeles Bulldogs moved to a small stadium in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
and canceling their last two scheduled games. The AFL lasted through the 1950 season as the transplanted Rebels won the last two championships before the league called it a day.