THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 1, No. 2 (1979) ALL THOSE A.F.L.'S: N.F.L. COMPETITORS, 1935-41 By Bob Braunwart Between 1935 and 1941 there were five (or four, or three, de- The Brooklyn Tigers were "moved from Rochester at the start of pending on what you count as a new league and what as a merger) the season", according to the Times. Shortly after an October 25 professional football leagues in competition with the N.F.L. which game at Boston the Syracuse Braves moved to Rochester, hoping had some not totally illegitimate claim to major-league status. The (no doubt) for improved attendance. Apparently they did no better American Football Leagues of 1936-37 and 1940-41 are given the there because they played only one more game (at Rochester) most credence. There was also an avowed minor professional before disbanding. Then after a November 8 game at Cleveland, league, the American Association, which included a number of the Brooklyn team -- which had apparently played in Rochester in N.F.L. farm clubs. And, in addition, several relatively strong teams 1935 -- decided to move back. They finished the season there, played one or more of these years as independents, scheduling losing to Boston and Cleveland in home games. games with N.F.L. teams, A.F.L. teams, and other independents. There was also expansion in the National Football League during This would be confusing enough, but some modern publications this period, with the Cleveland Rams entering the fold in 1937. have made matters even worse. In some listings of the standings, the two lowest finishing teams are given as the Rochester Tigers The account which follows is tentative in spots because newspaper (with the Braves' W-L-T record) and the Brooklyn Tigers (with the coverage of the various leagues and seasons was highly uneven. Tigers' record. I don't know precisely what sort of confusion this is; Nevertheless, it represents the best information and speculations I there was a team called the Rochester Tigers both in 1935 and for have been able to come up with. the final two games of 1936 (the same team, in fact), but it never played any of the Syracuse/Rochester Braves' games for them. The Mid-West Football League was established in 1935 with George J. Heitzler as president and James C. Hogan as Secretary- Roger Treat (who, incidentally, does not make the error referred to Treasurer. They were to retain those positions through the 1939 above) lists the A.F.L. head coaches and rosters, and as far as I season. Three teams finished in a tie for first place at the end of the have been able to determine, these are accurate. There were no 1935 season -- the Louisville Tanks, Cincinnati Models and playoffs in 1936, and the Boston Shamrocks won the championship Indianapolis Indians. There were no playoffs. outright on standings. As far as I am aware, no American professional football league adopted any sort of playoff system I do not know the other members of the league or the final before 1939, except for the N.F.L. and its affiliated minor league, standings in 1935, but this must certainly have been a minor, the American Association. regional league. It will figure more prominently, however, later in this account. A few other notes on the 1936 A.F.L. season: Boston played at Fenway Park, New York at Randall's Island and Yankee Stadium, The M.W.F.L. continued in 1936, with the Louisville Tanks, and Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. Ken Strong played for the Yankees coached by Harry M. Reed and with William H. Goepper as in 1936 and 1937. business manager, the undisputed champions. Again, there were no playoffs. Exhibition results of interest in 1936 include: Los Angeles Bulldogs 13, Chicago Cardinals 10 Also this season the second (after a 1926 attempt, which was Philadelphia Eagles 10, L. Ang. (Bulldogs?) 7 unrelated) American Football League was formed. The standings in 1936 were: * * * * Boston Shamrocks 8 3 0 .727 133 97 In 1937 the Louisville Tanks again won the M.W.F.L. champion- Cleveland Rams 5 2 2 .714 123 77 ship, with the same coach and business manager, but I do not New York Yankees 5 3 2 .625 75 74 have the standings. Pittsburgh Americans 3 2 1 .600 78 65 Syracuse/Rochester Braves 1 6 0 .143 41 113 The 1937 A.F.L. standings were: Rochester/Brooklyn Tigers 0 6 1 .000 58 82 Los Angeles Bulldogs 8 0 0 1.000 219 69 This is one of the leagues usually recognized as "major", and game Rochester Tigers 3 3 1 .500 94 115 results were well reported in the New York Times. Nevertheless, Cincinnati Bengals 2 3 2 .400 102 89 both attendance and finances must have been troublesome, New York Yankees 2 3 1 .400 57 115 because the league appears to have been not particularly success- Boston Shamrocks 2 5 0 .286 76 98 ful. Pittsburgh Americans 0 3 0 .000 7 69 4 THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 1, No. 2 (1979) The Bulldogs were the first West Coast professional football team defeated Chicago 13-0 and St. Louis eliminated Nashville 19-13. in a coast-to-coast league which did not play all its games on the In the championship game December 4, Louisville won 3-0,making road. The final three games of the season were played in Gilmore them champions of the M.W.F.L./A.P.F.L. four years in a row Stadium, Los Angeles. The team had played as independents in (counting the 1935 three-way tie). 1936. The Shamrocks were owned by Bill Scully. The Rochester Tigers were (presumably) the same team that had moved there A few other miscellaneous bits of information on this season are: from Brooklyn the previous season. In 1937 the N.F.L. admitted The Louisville team was sponsored by the Standard Sanitary the Cleveland Rams. Four of the players (according to Treat) were Manufacturing Co. of the same city. The Chicago team was known the same. as the "Indians," "Steelmen" and "Panthers," and was variously described as playing for Chicago, Calumet, Indiana Harbor, and Here are some 1937 exhibition results: East Chicago. There may have been more than one team Brooklyn Dodgers 26, Cincinnati Models 0 involved, the league having found a replacement for a disbanded Brooklyn Dodgers 35, Dayton (?) 6 team that would assume the earlier team's won-lost record, but Brooklyn Dodgers 33, Louisville Tanks 6 there is no hard evidence for this. Indeed, the Chicago Tribune never mentioned any of the local team's games except for the first. By 1938 the second A.F.L. had folded, although some of its teams continued to play as independents. The Mid-West Football League Stan Mondala of Chicago won the 1938 scoring championship with continued play but changed its name to the "American Professional seven touchdowns, four extra points and a field goal. "Cowboy" Football League", since that name was currently vacant. The 1938 Bartlett of Louisville was the leading rusher with 375 yards. A.P.F.L. standings are listed below. Dayton's Alex Rado was the leading passer (13 completions for 138 yards) and Rocky Reed won the receiving title (8 receptions Chicago Indians 5 1 0 .833 87 26 good for 116 yards). St. Louis Gunners 4 3 1 .571 31 73 Louisville Tanks 4 3 0 .571 67 40 The 1937 A.F.L. Rochester Tigers and Pittsburgh Americans Nashville Rebels 2 2 1 .500 46 61 presumably disolved permanently. The New York Yankees appear Cincinnati Blades 3 5 0 .375 53 11 in news stories in 1939, but what they were doing in 1938 (if any- Dayton Rosies 1 5 0 .167 7 80 thing), I have no idea. The Los Angeles Bulldogs, Cincinnati Bengals, and Boston Shamrocks, however, played the 1938 The W-L-T records above are those reported for the teams at the season as independent professional teams. end of the the season. The points for and against, however, are tentative. I've checked newspapers for the entire season from Among the independent teams the Cincinnati Bengals compiled a every league city and from several other cities and there are still 7-2-1 record (these are all tentative -- some games may be miss- several unanswered questions. First, the Cincinnati team ing), the Los Angeles Bulldogs were 5-2-2, and the Boston Sham- disappeared after winning their first three games. The Blades rocks were 4-5-0. The latter team played two games in Boston and folded (for reasons which are not very clear) in early October, and then went on a seven-game road trip which ended at Louisville the Cincinnati Bengals (of the 1937 A.F.L.) were asked to complete November 6. There the Shamrocks lost a 34-0 contest with the the Blades' schedule. (There really was an A.P.F.L. schedule, with Louisville Tanks and dissolved. Several of their players, including dates and everything, antedating the start of the season.) The player-coach Joe Zapustas, stayed in Louisville to play with the Bengals, who were playing as an independent pro team this year Tanks. after the collapse of the previous year's A.F.L., declined, claiming prior scheduling commitments themselves. Games this season involving A.P.F.L. or independent teams versus N.F.L. opponents included: Thereafter NONE of the newspapers mentioned ANY Cincinnati Chicago Bears 29, Chicago Indians 6 A.P.F.L.