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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.
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, which retained the "National Football League" name and logo, to become the most popular sports league in the United States. The merger was announced on the evening of June 8, 1966. Under the merger agreement, the leagues maintained separate regular-season schedules for the next four seasons—from 1966 through 1969 with a final championship game which would become known as the Super Bowl—and then officially merged before the 1970 season to form one league with two conferences.
James Robert Kalsu was an American football player who was an All-American tackle at the University of Oklahoma and an eighth-round selection in the 1968 NFL/AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL). Kalsu joined the U.S. Army as an officer after the 1968 season and was killed in action in the Vietnam War in 1970.
James Charles Norton was an American professional football safety and punter who played for the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL). An original member of the Oilers franchise, he played in their first nine seasons from 1960 to 1968. Norton was an AFL All-Star for three seasons and holds the league's record for career interceptions. His jersey No. 43 was the first of eight retired by the Oilers/Titans franchise.
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.
The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the league's merger with the National Football League (NFL).
Lang Campbell is a former American football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at William & Mary.
From 1960 to 1969, the United Press International (UPI) gave the annual AFL Player of the Year award in the American Football League, whose teams in 1970 became the American Football Conference (AFC) of the new National Football League (NFL).
Peter Kornel Gogolak is a Hungarian-born former American football player who was a placekicker in the American Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Bills, and in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants.
Francis Marion "Cotton" Davidson was an American football quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL).
Robert Scott Campbell is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons. He was selected in the seventh round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He appeared in 45 games in the NFL, starting 13. Campbell played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers. He backed up Mark Herrmann for one season, then started over Jim Everett for the next three years.
Robert Michael Mischak was a college and professional American football guard and tight end who played six seasons in the American Football League (AFL), from 1960 to 1965. He was selected by his peers as a Sporting News AFL All-League guard in 1960 and 1961. He was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in 1962. He also played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and was a starting guard in the famed 1958 "Greatest Game Ever Played". In addition, Mischak was a 3-time Super Bowl champion coach with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders.
The 1965 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's thirty-third season in the National Football League.
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) with ten teams from four states, all of whom existed in some form as participants of regional leagues in their respective territories. The league took on its current name in 1922. The NFL was the first professional football league to successfully establish a nationwide presence, after several decades of failed attempts. Only two founding members are still in the league, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals is the oldest NFL franchise.
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country. Currently, there are multiple professional football leagues in North America: the three best known are the National Football League (NFL) and the XFL in the U.S, and the Canadian Football League (CFL) in Canada. American football leagues have existed in Europe since the late 1970s, with competitive leagues all over Europe hiring American Imports to strengthen rosters. The Austrian Football League and German Football League top division are known as the best leagues in Europe. The Japan X-League is also a strong league that has a long history since 1971. The NFL has existed continuously since being so named in 1922.
This is a list of players named as All-Pros based on their performance in the 1969 AFL and NFL season. These lists provide a perspective into how players were judged against their peers by critics of their time. Players representing both the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) are included.
This is a list of players named as All-Pros based on their performance in the 1968 AFL and NFL season. These lists provide a perspective into how players were judged against their peers by critics of their time. Players representing both the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) are included.
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called simply the NFL Man of the Year Award. Shortly after Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton died, the award was renamed to honor his legacy as a humanitarian.
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996. The Oilers began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The team won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in the late 1960s.
References
- ↑ Vergun, David (October 7, 2020). "From pro football player to Vietnam Soldier". U.S. Army. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
