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.
Australian rules football, also called Australian football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts, or between a central and outer post.
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.
The AF2 was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup championship in August. The AF2 continued to operate while the AFL suspended operations for its 2009 season. The league was effectively disbanded in September 2009 when no team committed to playing in 2010, but several of the stronger franchises transferred into the reconstituted AFL.
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement in November 1989. He became the youngest commissioner in NFL history at just the age of 33. He is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and then later in Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Cleveland for the 2008 AFL season. The Gladiators qualified for the playoffs eight times in their history, reaching the ArenaBowl in 2014.
David Lee Grayson was an American professional football cornerback and safety who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Oregon Webfoots.
Vito "Babe" Parilli was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and 10 in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at the University of Kentucky, where he twice received consensus All-American honors and won two consecutive bowl games.
Arena football is a variety of eight-man indoor gridiron football. The game is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game that can be played on the floors of indoor arenas. The sport was invented in 1981, and patented in 1987, by Jim Foster, a former executive of the National Football League and the United States Football League. The name is trademarked by Gridiron Enterprises and had a proprietary format until its patent expired in 2007.
Jan Stenerud is a Norwegian-American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs. The first Norwegian NFL player, he played college football for the Montana State Bobcats and earned All-American honors. Stenerud began his career in the AFL after being selected by the Chiefs during the 1966 draft and joined the NFL following the AFL–NFL merger. Along with his 13 seasons in Kansas City, Stenerud was a member of the Green Bay Packers for four seasons and the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons until retiring in 1985.
Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti was an American professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Buoniconti played professionally for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins, winning two Super Bowls with the Dolphins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Bobby Lee Bell Sr. is an American former football linebacker and defensive end who played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and was a member of the Chiefs' team that won Super Bowl IV against the Minnesota Vikings.
Dustin Andrew Fletcher is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire 23-season career for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is widely acknowledged as one of the finest defenders in the history of the league.
Charles Richard Allen was an American professional football linebacker who played in the American Football League (AFL) with the San Diego Chargers, and later the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. He played in four AFL Championship games, and was a member of the Chargers' 1963 AFL Championship team. Allen was an All-AFL player in 1962, and an AFL All-Star in 1963 and 1964. He played college football at Washington.
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent and only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season in 1897. It changed its name to Australian Football League in 1990 after expanding its competition to other Australian states in the 1980s. The AFL publishes its Laws of Australian football, which are used, with variations, by other Australian football organisations.
Norman Earl Evans is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 14 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Evans is the only player in NFL history to be chosen in two expansion drafts. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs. The Miami Dolphins took Evans from the Houston Oilers in the 1966 AFL Expansion draft. He played 10 seasons with Miami. Evans was also chosen by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1976 NFL Expansion Draft and played three seasons there. He was selected to two Pro Bowls and played in three Super Bowls, all with the Dolphins.
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020 and 18 teams in 2022. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are Brisbane.
Tim Taranto is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to Greater Western Sydney as pick 2 in the 2016 AFL draft.
