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The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
William Lewis Shaw is an American former professional football player who played as a guard for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL). After playing college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was drafted by the Bills. Shaw was the prototypical "pulling guard" who despite his size held his own against much bigger defensive linemen like Ernie Ladd, Earl Faison and Buck Buchanan. He won three straight Eastern Division titles and two American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965 with Buffalo.
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Charles Taylor Hennigan, Sr. was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver with the former Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Northwestern State Demons. A five-time AFL All-Star, he was named to the AFL All-Time Team.
Abner Haynes is an American former professional football halfback and return specialist who played in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the North Texas State Eagles and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 1960 AFL Draft. He was also drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 1960 NFL Draft.
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The American Football League draft, the American Football League stocked its teams in two ways:
- Signing free agents.
- Signing players from the previous year's college graduates.
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Dave Smith is a former American collegiate and professional football player. A fullback, he attended Greendale High School in Greendale, Wisconsin, before playing collegiately for Ripon College and professionally from 1960 through 1964 for the American Football League (AFL)'s Houston Oilers, where he was a member of the AFL's first two championship teams, in 1960 and 1961. He was selected by Sporting News as the first All-AFL fullback in 1960. The league did not play an All-Star game that first year, but Smith's 154 carries for 643 yards and 5 touchdowns earned him a berth on the All-League Team. Smith later became a scout for the Buffalo Bills.
Robert Malcolm Schmidt, nicknamed "Two Bud", is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Schmidt played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and professionally between 1959 and 1967. He started with the NFL's New York Giants and then moved to the new AFL's Houston Oilers in 1961. He was a member of the Oilers' American Football League Championship team in 1961, and was an AFL All-Star in 1961, 1962, and 1963. He finished his professional football career in 1967 with the AFL's Buffalo Bills.
Charles Edis McNeil was an American professional football safety who played for the Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL). He played in four of the first five AFL Championship games, and was a member of the Chargers' 1963 AFL Championship team, an All-AFL player in 1961, and an AFL All-Star in 1961. He held the professional football record for 43 years, for the most interception yardage (349) in one season in 1961, and most interception yards (177) in one game, also in 1961. The one-game record still stands.
William Irwin Krisher is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, earning All-American honors in 1956 and 1957. Krisher played two seasons in the AFL from 1960 to 1961 for the Dallas Texans. He was named All-AFL in 1960 and an AFL Western Division All-Star in 1961.
Michael Francis Dukes was an American collegiate and professional football player who was best known as a linebacker for the original Houston Oilers. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Dukes attended Southwest DeKalb High School in Decatur, Georgia and then played in college for Clemson University. He then played the 1959 season for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). Dukes left the NFL for the upstart American Football League (AFL) where he played eleven seasons for the Oilers, Boston Patriots and New York Jets. He played for the first two championship teams of the American Football League, the 1960 and 1961 Oilers, and was selected to the UPI All-AFL Team in 1961.
References
- ↑ "1959 Chicago Bears". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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