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.
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Super Bowl, which is contested in February and is played between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
Details of the history of black players in professional American football depend on the professional football league considered, which includes the National Football League (NFL); the American Football League (AFL), a rival league from 1960 through 1969 which eventually merged with the NFL; and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), which existed from 1946 to 1949.
The National Football League draft, also called the NFL draft or (officially) the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative to its record in the previous year, which means that the last place team is positioned first and the Super Bowl champion is last. From this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player or players, or any combination thereof. The round is complete when each team has either selected a player or traded its position in the draft. The first draft was held in 1936, and has been held every year since.
Christopher John Doleman was an American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, and also played for the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers. Doleman was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and a twice first-team All-Pro, recording 150.5 career sacks. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012.
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). To increase revenue, the league, for the first time since 1966, reinstated bye weeks, so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams by adding another wild card from each conference, thus adding two more contests to the postseason schedule; this format was modified with realignment in 2002 before the playoffs expanded to 14 teams in 2020.
Clarence McKay "Ace" Parker was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played professional football as a quarterback, tailback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–1941) and the Boston Yanks (1945) and in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the New York Yankees. He was an All-American selection at Duke University in 1936. Parker also played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) during 1936 and 1937 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He served as the head baseball coach at Duke from 1953 to 1966. Parker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1955 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
Wayne Vernal Millner was an American professional football player who was an offensive and defensive end for the Boston / Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Frank Dominic Bernardi is a former American football defensive back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A 4th round selection in the 1955 NFL Draft, Bernardi played for the NFL's Chicago Cardinals from 1955 through 1957, and for the AFL's Denver Broncos in 1960.
James C. Caroline was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he played as a halfback and was a consensus All-American in 1953. After a year in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts and the Montreal Alouettes, Caroline played for ten seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
John McEachern High School or McEachern High School is a public high school established in 1933 in Powder Springs, Georgia, United States. It was originally established as the Seventh District Agricultural and Mechanical School. Due to its history, McEachern has an open campus, with its buildings spaced across the property. It is one of 17 high schools in Cobb County School District.
Ralph Vincent Guglielmi was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played high school football in Columbus, Ohio, at Grandview Heights High School, college football at the University of Notre Dame and was selected in the first round of the 1955 NFL Draft. Guglielmi was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Eugene Edward Cronin is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of the Pacific.
Emil Karas was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and in the American Football League (AFL) with the Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers. He was on the Chargers' 1963 AFL Championship team, and an AFL All-Star in 1961, 1962, and 1963. Karas played college football at the University of Dayton and was drafted in the third round of the 1959 NFL Draft. He died of pancreatic cancer on November 25, 1974, at age 40.
Sheldon Thurlow Cooper was a college and professional American football player. A tight end, he played college football at the University of Maine, and played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) as an original New York Titan in the 1960 through 1962 AFL seasons. He was drafted in 1956 by the National Football League (NFL)'s Cleveland Browns, but never played in the NFL.
A. D. Williams was an American football end in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Green Bay Packers, the Cleveland Browns, and the Minnesota Vikings. Williams was drafted in the third round of the 1956 NFL Draft out of University of the Pacific. He played for 3 years in the NFL, and retired in 1961.
Billy Russell Kinard was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a defensive back for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL). Kinard played college football at the University of Mississippi before being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 1956 NFL Draft. He played professionally for four seasons and retired in 1960. Kinard later served as the head football coach at Ole Miss from 1971 to 1973 and at Gardner–Webb University in 1978, compiling a career coaching record of 20–14–1.
John McMullan was an American football guard who played two seasons with the New York Titans of the American Football League (AFL) He was drafted with the 165th pick in the 14th round of the 1956 NFL Draft He played college football at Notre Dame
The Eagles–Steelers rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unofficially nicknamed "The Battle of Pennsylvania", this is an in-state, interconference rivalry between the two NFL teams located in the state of Pennsylvania. The two teams do not meet regularly, which has been cited as a reason for the rivalry's low intensity.
