Name
American Football League

Badge
League Badge


Poster
League Poster

Established
1960 (64 years old)

First Recorded Event


Current Season
1970

Sport
Sport Icon American Football

Location
United States

Gender
Male

TV Rights


Logo
Team logo

Upcoming
None...

Results
04 Jan Las Vegas Ra home team badge 7 - 17home team badge Kansas City
21 Dec Las Vegas Ra home team badge 56 - 7home team badge Tennessee Ti
20 Dec New York Jet home team badge 6 - 13home team badge Kansas City
14 Dec Los Angeles  home team badge 45 - 6home team badge Buffalo Bill
14 Dec Miami Dolphi home team badge 9 - 27home team badge New York Jet
14 Dec Denver Bronc home team badge 27 - 16home team badge Cincinnati B
14 Dec Tennessee Ti home team badge 27 - 23home team badge New England
13 Dec Las Vegas Ra home team badge 10 - 6home team badge Kansas City
07 Dec Los Angeles  home team badge 28 - 18home team badge New England
07 Dec Las Vegas Ra home team badge 37 - 17home team badge Cincinnati B

Description
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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 (which existed between 1944 and 1950 but only played between 1946 and 1949).

This fourth version of the AFL was the most successful, created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had minor shares of NFL franchises. The AFL's original lineup consisted of an Eastern division of the New York Titans, Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and the Houston Oilers, and a Western division of the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and Dallas Texans. The league first gained attention by signing 75% of the NFL's first-round draft choices in 1960, including Houston's successful signing of college star and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon.

While the first years of the AFL saw uneven competition and low attendance, the league was buttressed by a generous television contract with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), followed by a contract with the competing National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for games starting with the 1965 season, that broadcast the more offense-oriented football league nationwide. Continuing to attract top talent from colleges and the NFL by the mid-1960s, as well as successful franchise shifts of the Chargers from L.A. south to San Diego and the Texans north to Kansas City (becoming the Kansas City Chiefs), the AFL established a dedicated following. The transformation of the struggling Titans into the New York Jets under new ownership, including the signing of University of Alabama star quarterback Joe Namath, further solidified the league's reputation among the major media.

As fierce competition made player salaries skyrocket in both leagues, especially after a series of "raids", the leagues agreed to a merger in 1966. Among the conditions were a common draft and a championship game played between the two league champions first played in early 1967, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl.

The AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with separate regular season and playoff schedules except for the championship game. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle also became chief executive of the AFL from July 26, 1966, through the completion of the merger. During this time the AFL expanded, adding the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals. After losses by the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders in the first two AFL-NFL World Championship Games to the Green Bay Packers (1966–67), the New York Jets and Chiefs won Super Bowls III and IV (1968–69) respectively, cementing the league's claim to being an equal to the NFL.

In 1970, the AFL was absorbed into the NFL. The ten AFL franchises joined three existing NFL teams- the Baltimore Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers-to form the merged league's American Football Conference.
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Seasons

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1969
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1968
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1967
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1966
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1965
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1964
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1963
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1962
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1961
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1960
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Teams
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Buffalo Bills
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Cincinnati Bengal
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Denver Broncos
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Kansas City Chief
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Las Vegas Raiders
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Los Angeles Charg
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Miami Dolphins
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New England Patri
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New York Jets
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Tennessee Titans

Key
() Missing Artwork
(- 4) Missing 4 Players: Data and Artwork
(green tick) Team Complete

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