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Sport | American football |
---|---|
Founded | 1961 |
Ceased | 1964 |
Commissioner | George T. Gareff |
Claim to fame | The first football league to operate teams in both the United States and Canada |
No. of teams | 8 |
Country | United States Canada |
Last champion(s) | Canton Bulldogs |
Most titles | Wheeling Ironmen (2) |
Related competitions | American Football Conference, Continental Football League, Professional Football League of America |
The United Football League was a professional American football minor league that operated between 1961 and 1964. It had eight teams, primarily based in the Midwestern United States. [1]
The league was founded in 1961 as a minor league alternative to the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Based in the Midwest, it drew many of its players from the Big Ten college conference.
Among its more notable feats, it became the first football league to operate teams in both the United States and Canada when it launched the Quebec Rifles in 1964, and it revived the names of the Cleveland/Canton Bulldogs and Akron Pros, two early-era NFL teams.
After the league folded following the 1964 season, the more ambitious owners formed the new Continental Football League (COFL). The more conservative owners, who wanted to continue as a regional Midwestern bus league, broke away to form the Professional Football League of America (PFLA) in February 1965. [2]
WESTERN DIVISION PLAY-OFF
Grand Rapids Blazers 24 Indianapolis Warriors 14
UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Rapids Blazers 20, Columbus Colts 7 [3]
WESTERN DIVISION PLAY-OFF
Grand Rapids Blazers 24, Indianapolis Warriors 20
UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Wheeling Ironmen 30, Grand Rapids Blazers 21
On November 28, 1963, the Syracuse Stormers played the Cleveland Bulldogs at MacArthur Stadium in a regular season game.
UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Wheeling Ironmen 31, Toledo Tornadoes 21
UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Canton Bulldogs 19, Indianapolis Warriors 14
A former Michigan semi-pro team moved to Toledo as the all pro Toledo Tornadoes in 1956, played in the America Football Conference then transferred to the United Football League. The Tornadoes primarily played at Waite Stadium. The league forced the team to close due to debt in 1965.
The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. Fritz Pollard, the first black head coach in the NFL, co-coached the Akron Pros in 1921. Paul Robeson played for the team in 1921 as well. He was among the earliest stars of professional football before football became segregated from 1934 to 1946. In 1926, the name was changed back to the Akron Indians, after the earlier semi-pro team. Due to financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and surrendered its franchise the following year.
The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north Dayton. They were the longest-lasting traveling team in the NFL (1920–1929), and the last such "road team" until the Dallas Texans in 1952, who, coincidentally, descended from the Dayton franchise.
Below is a list of professional football Championship Games in the United States, involving:
The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It owed its name, at least in part, to the Continental League, a proposed third Major League Baseball organization that influenced MLB significantly, although they never played a game.
Lake Central Airlines was an airline that served points in the midwestern and eastern United States from 1950 to 1968, when it merged into Allegheny Airlines. In 1979 Allegheny became USAir. In 1997 USAir became US Airways. In 2015 US Airways was acquired by American Airlines.
The Western League was the name of several minor league baseball leagues that operated between 1885 and 1900. These leagues were focused mainly in the Midwestern United States.
Robert A. Snyder was an American football player and coach who spent more than three decades in the sport, including his most prominent position as head coach of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams.
The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952.
Alfred Louis Nesser was a professional American football guard and end. He played for seven teams: Akron Pros, Cleveland Bulldogs, Columbus Panhandles, Akron Indians, New York Giants, and Cleveland Indians in the National Football League (NFL) and the Cleveland Panthers in the first American Football League. He won NFL Championship titles with the Akron Pros in 1920 and the New York Giants in 1927. During his career, Nesser played against Charlie Copley, Fritz Pollard and Jim Thorpe.
The 1920 Buffalo All-Americans season was the franchise's inaugural season with the American Professional Football Association (APFA), an American football league, and fifth total as a team. The All-Americans entered 1920 coming off a 9–1–1 record in 1919 as the Buffalo Prospects in the New York Pro Football League (NYPFL). Several representatives from another professional football league, the Ohio League, wanted to form a new national league, and thus the APFA was created.
The 1920 Cleveland Tigers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and fifth total as an American football team. The Tigers entered the season coming off a 5-win, 2-loss, 2-tie (5–2–2) record in 1919. After the 1919 season, several representatives from the Ohio League, a loose organization of professional football teams, wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created.
Ohio is home to many professional and college sports teams. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus are home to major league professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.
The Philadelphia Bulldogs were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that played in the Continental Football League beginning in 1965. Their regular season games were played at Temple Stadium and in December 1966 they won the league title there by a 20–17 score in overtime against the Orlando Panthers after finishing the regular season 9–5 and tied for the East Division lead with the Toronto Rifles. The winning field goal was kicked by former NFL/Canadian FL player Jamie Caleb. The team disbanded in 1967. The 1966 team was coached by Wayne Hardin, who also coached Temple University afterwards and had come to the Bulldogs from the Naval Academy. The starting quarterback throughout the team's tenure was Bob Brodhead, who was later athletic director at Louisiana State University. The Bulldogs were ranked 21st of the top 25 Philadelphia championship teams of all time in 2011.
The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played for three seasons until that league dissolved. The Ironmen won the UFL championship during their first two seasons in the league.
The American Football Conference was a low-level American football minor league that operated between 1959 and 1961. The AFC was the first football league to operate teams in both the United States and Canada.
The Professional Football League of America (PFLA) was an American football minor league that operated in the Midwest region of the United States from 1965 through 1967. With franchises based in the Midwest, the league played three seasons before merging some teams into the Continental Football League.
The Quad City Raiders were a professional American football team based in the Quad Cities region, which includes Rock Island, Illinois and neighboring Davenport, Iowa. In 1965, the Raiders joined the Professional Football League of America (PFLA) as the Rock Island Raiders became charter members. The Quad City Raiders remained in the PFLA until its merger with the Continental Football League in 1968, with the franchise evolving to become the Las Vegas Cowboys.
The Joliet Chargers was the final nickname of the professional American football franchise based in Joliet, Illinois from 1964 to 1967. The Joliet Explorers played the 1964 season as members of the United Football League. In 1965, Joliet became charter members of the Professional Football League of America (PFLA) and played the next three seasons in the league. The 1967 Joliet Chargers were an affiliate of the San Diego Chargers.