Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL)

Last updated

Milwaukee Chiefs
Founded 1940
Folded 1941
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
League American Football League
Team colorsBlue & Silver [1]   
Head coaches Tiny Cahoon
General managersGeorge M. Harris
Home field(s) Dairy Bowl
(State Fair Park)

The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team based in Wisconsin that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. [2] [3]

The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl at State Fair Park in West Allis, a suburb just west of Milwaukee. [4] Originally formed as an expansion team for the minor league formerly known as the American Professional Football Association for the 1940 season, the new team joined fellow AFL members Cincinnati Bengals and Columbus Bullies in becoming charter members of a new major-league AFL (the triple defection triggered the demise of the minor league, allowing the new major league to adopt the AFL name). [3] The team president was George M. Harris, [5] and the head coach was Tiny Cahoon. [6] [7] [8] [9]

The team's first training camp in 1940 was held at Weyauwega in Waupaca County. [6] The second camp in 1941 was closer to home, with lights, at West Bend in Washington County. [7] [10]

In the two seasons of the league's existence, the Chiefs fielded a competitive team. [2] In 1940, the team scored the most points and gave up the fewest over the course of the season, [3] but lost to Columbus in the final game to give the league championship to the Bullies. The following year, the Chiefs and the Bullies were joined by the New York Americans in a three-way race for the championship, with the Chiefs' continuing inability to defeat the Bullies (losing in Columbus and tying in Milwaukee) led to Columbus repeating as AFL champions and Milwaukee finishing third. [3]

For the two years of the league's existence, the Chiefs were a popular draw as they played in Wisconsin's largest stadium. The AFL had accepted the 1941 entrance of a new Detroit team and deferred it until 1942, but the Pearl Harbor attack and the subsequent U.S. entry into World War II put all plans for football to a halt. In September 1942, league president William D. Cox announced the suspension of league activities until after the war, but the league – and the Chiefs – never returned. [11] [12]

YearWLTFinish [13]
1940 7202nd (AFL)
1941 4313rd (AFL)

Related Research Articles

The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before folding after one season. Three years later, the team tried again, playing in the Ohio League from 1907 to 1919, not winning a championship, before becoming charter members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) which became the National Football League (NFL).

The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural season of the American Professional Football Association, renamed the National Football League in 1922. An agreement to form a league was made by four independent teams from Ohio on August 20, 1920, at Ralph Hay's office in Canton, Ohio, with plans to invite owners of more teams for a second meeting on September 17, 1920. The "American Professional Football Conference" (APFC) was made up of Hay's Canton Bulldogs, Akron Pros, the Cleveland Tigers and the Dayton Triangles, who decided on a six-game schedule to play each other at home-and-away, an agreement to respect each other's player contracts, and to take a stand against signing college students whose class had not yet graduated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Charities College All-Star Game</span> American football matchup

The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the College All-Star Football Classic.

The Cincinnati Bengals were a short-lived professional football team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is unrelated to the current Cincinnati Bengals. Originated by Hal Pennington, the team was formed as a member of the second American Football League in the 1937 season. The Bengals finished with a 2–3–2 record in their first year, but the league folded after the season, and Pennington returned to his former team, the Cincinnati Models, which would change its name to the Cincinnati Blades for an ill-fated 1938 campaign. Pennington was replaced by new player-coach Dana King, who would guide the Bengals for the remainder of the team's existence.

The American Football League, also known retrospectively as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name, was a professional American football league that operated from 1940 to 1941. It was created when three teams, the original Cincinnati Bengals, the Columbus Bullies, and the Milwaukee Chiefs, were lured away from the minor-league American Professional Football Association and joined three new franchises in Boston, Buffalo, and New York City in a new league. It competed against the National Football League (NFL), the oldest existing professional football league, which had been established in 1920 and reorganized in 1922.

The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a professional American football minor league that existed from 1935 to 1940. Originally comprising teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, the league eventually expanded its reach to include teams from Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and California to become a national league with major league aspirations by 1939. In 1938, the league became the American Professional Football League after the collapse of the second major league of the same name, but changed its name once again the following year to American Professional Football Association (APFA). Some sources refer to it as the American Professional Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus Bullies</span> Professional football team from 1938 to 1942

The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Dean Carter in Columbus, Ohio, in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the APFA and becoming charter members of a new American Football League. Playing in Red Bird Stadium, the Bullies won both AFL Championships prior to ceasing operations when the AFL disbanded due to World War II. The Bullies defeated the Milwaukee Chiefs in 1940, and the New York Americans in 1941 in the only two AFL Championships.

The Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), also known as the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) was a professional American football minor league based in California. It operated from 1940 through 1948. One of the few minor American professional sports leagues that competed in the years of World War II, the PCPFL was regarded as a minor league of the highest level, particularly from 1940 to 1945, at a time in which the National Football League (NFL) did not extend further west than Chicago and Green Bay. It was also the first professional football league to have a team based in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Bulldogs</span> Professional American football team from 1936 to 1948

The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948. Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937, the Bulldogs were the first team on the major league level to play its home games on the American West Coast. They were considered "the best football team in existence outside the NFL".

The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL, the Yankees of the second AFL, and the (later) Yankees of the All-America Football Conference. The Yankees played their home games in Yankee Stadium and Downing Stadium in New York, New York.

The 1941 AFL season was the second and final season of the third American Football League. After deeming the 1940 season to be a success, the league made overtures of expansion, even going to the point of having a press conference to announce the addition of new teams (July), but when the press conference was held, the Boston Bears had withdrawn from the league and the new Detroit franchise deferred entry for the 1942 season.

The 1940 AFL season was the first season of the third American Football League. The league was formed when the New York Yankees, Boston Bears, and Buffalo Indians were joined by the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs of the minor American Professional Football Association. After the announcement of the formation of the AFL, applications for membership by former APFA members St. Louis Gunners and Kenosha Cardinals were rejected by the upstart league, which started with six members.

The Buffalo Indians were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York. Owned by the Buffalo American Legion, the Indians were managed by Earl "Red" Seick, who was also player-coach for the team for the first five games in 1940. While most of the AFL membership focused on raiding the rosters of the local members of the National Football League teams, the Indians concentrated on signing local talent, castoffs from the NFL, and men who played in the defunct second American Football League.

The Boston Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940. Owned by Sheldon H. Fairbanks, the team played its home games in the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Coach Eddie Casey’s team was a competitive one, finishing the 1940 season with a 5-4-1 record, good for third place in the AFL, behind league champions Columbus Bullies and second-place Milwaukee Chiefs.

William David Hutchinson was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Hutchinson played in two games for the New York Giants in 1942, completing one pass in four attempts. In those two games, he recorded 27 rushing yards in seven attempts. In 1940, Hutchinson played for the New York Yankees of the third American Football League. He was a member of the AFL's All-League Team in 1940. In 1941 the Yankees, still with Hutchinson, changed their name to the Americans.

The Louisville Tanks were a minor league professional American football team that existed from 1935 to 1940. The team formed in the wake of the dissolution of the Louisville Bourbons of the short-lived American Football League of 1934. Organized and owned by American Standard, Inc., the team was coached by AS plant manager H.M. "Harry" Reed; its name and colors come from one of the products sold by American Standard. The Tanks played their home games at Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Ivan Wells "Tiny" Cahoon was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a tackle for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1926 to 1929. He played college football at the University of Montana and at Gonzaga University.

Robert Joseph Eckl was a professional American football player in the National Football League as a tackle for the Chicago Cardinals in 1945. Prior to that he played for the Milwaukee Chiefs of the third American Football League. In 1940 Eckl was elected to the All-AFL, with 1st team honors. A year later, he remained in the AFL, and split the season between the Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Gordon K. Wilson was a professional football in the National Football League (NFL) and the third American Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Cleveland Rams in 1941 and played that season with the Rams and the Columbus Bullies of the AFL. In 1942 and 1943, Wilson played with the Chicago Cardinals, before leaving the team to split the 1944 season between the Brooklyn Tigers and Boston Yanks. He returned to Chicago in 1945 for his final season.

Wayland Herman Becker was an American football player. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons.

References

  1. ↑ Milwaukee Journal, Sunday, August 18, 1940 Sports Section page 1
  2. 1 2 Reimann, George (December 3, 1981). "Pro football lived here". Milwaukee Journal. p. 3, part 3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Braunwart, Bob (1979). "All Those AFLs: N.F.L. Competitors, 1935-41" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 1 (2). Professional Football Research Association: 4–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ Marren, Joe (1997). "Indians Occupy Faded Spot in Buffalo's Football Scrapbook" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 19 (5). Professional Football Research Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2010.
  5. ↑ Christi, Cliff (July 30, 2000). "Years ago, Wisconsin was truly the 'Big Cheese'". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Walfoort, Cleon (August 18, 1940). "Weyauwega never football town until Milwaukee Chiefs arrived". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  7. 1 2 "Milwaukee Chiefs sign to train at West Bend". Milwaukee Journal. August 10, 1941. p. 3, sports.
  8. ↑ Ashlock, Herb (August 28, 1953). "Tiny Cahoon remembers pro football way back when iron man gridders were once common in the game". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 13.
  9. ↑ "And Tiny Cahoon appreciates it". Milwaukee Journal. (photo). October 19, 1941. p. 3, sports.
  10. ↑ "Seven veterans to start Chiefs' practice contest". Milwaukee Journal. August 31, 1941. p. 3, sports.
  11. ↑ Porter, David L., ed. (1987). Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Football. Greenwood Press. p.  142. ISBN   0-313-25771-X.
  12. ↑ Gipe, George (1978). The Great American Sports Book. Doubleday. ISBN   0-385-13091-0.
  13. ↑ McGillicuddy, Connie (2000). "When the Indians Roamed Buffalo's Gridiron — 1940" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Professional Football Research Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.