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The Foolish Club Meets, Establishes AFL
After watching the 1958 NFL Championship Game, 26 year old Texan Lamar Hunt wanted his own NFL team. However there was a catch: the NFL didn't want any expansion teams. and no owners were intereted in selling their teams to Hunt. Shunned, Hunt outlined a new league on American Airlines stationary on a flight home. He contacted the other parties once interested in NFL teams, and met to create the all-new AFL. The original eight owners proclaimed themselves, "The Foolish Club." -
Billy Cannon stolen from NFL
-LSU Heisman trophy winner
-Originally signed with NFL for $50,000
- AFL doubled the offer 100 g's
- Lawsuit insued
- Courts chose in favor of AFL
- NFL found guilty of intimmidation during negotiations
- This not only fueled fire between 2 leagues, but also gave AFL an advantage in future contract negotiations -
Foss Named League Commissioner
Chosen by Lamar Hunt in part because of his charmismatic presence, Joe Foss went from poltician, to Medal of Honor recipient to becoming the American Football League's first comissioner. He famously told Hunt in his job interview that his "training [wasn't in football, but] was fighter pilots..if you lost, ya got killed. But I don’t think you really want a coach. What you want is somebody who can open every door in the United States and and I have the confidence that I am the guy who can do it." -
AFL Signs 5 Year Television Contract with ABC
American Football league signs a five-year contract with the ABC for $8.5 million dollars. This brought each team approximately $170,000 and enough to keep them viable. This helped in many was to keep the league from losing any of its team in the first years of operation as well as getting media coverage for the eight teams. . Watching play by plays, close ups, shifting shots, replays, and happenings around the stadium gave the fans a new found appreciation for football. -
First AFL Championship Game
The first AFL Championship game was played between the eastern division winning Houston Oilers and the western division winning Los Angeles Chargers. The game was played at Jeppeses Stadium in Houston Texas before a crowd of 32,183 people. Houston ended up winning the game by a score of 24-16. Jack Carolan -
AFL/NBC TV Rights Deal
On January 24th, 1964, AFL commissioner Joe Foss agreed to a 36 million dollar television rights deal with NBC. This television rights deal involved more money than each team's operating costs, resulting in a profitable season just from the deal itself. This event established that the AFL was no longer a league struggling to put its foot in the door, but that it was there to stay.
- AJ Zarinsky -
Joe Namath and the 1965 Draft
Joe Namath was drafted by the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals and the AFL’s NY Jets on November 28, 1964. He decided to sign with the Jets, for a record salary of $427K. His decision to choose the AFL started a trend for collegiate players. Known for guaranteeing a Championship win over NFL’s 17.5 point favored, Baltimore Colts. Assisted AFL’s legitimacy when in the post-game interview a reporter asked if the Colt’s defense was the toughest he faced, responding “that would be the Buffalo Bills’ (AFL)" -
Peter Gogolak Signs with the New York Giants
Pete Gogolak, a place kicker for the AFL's Buffalo Bills at the time signs a contract with NFL's New York Giants, breaching the contract/trust and being one of the first factors which lead to the AFL/NFL merger. Gogolak knew the Giant's placekicker was not playing well and ignored his contract with the Bills and signed with the Giants for a smaller amount of money than that of the $13,500 he signed with the Bills for. All the round about tricks each league was using eventually leads to a merger. -
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III featured the NFL Champion Baltimore Colts and the AFL Champion New York Jets. The game was played on January 12, 1969 in Miami Florida. The Colts were heavily favored and many people thought they were the greatest team of all time. However, the Jets, led by Joe Namath who guaranteed a victory, upset the Colts 17-6. This game was the first game to use the term "Super Bowl" and showed the country that the AFL could compete with the NFL. -
Congress Passes AFL-NFL Merger; Super Bowl Deal Announced
Congress passes and accepts the AFL merger with the NFL, nullifying any anti-trust laws that could have been broken. CBS and NBC complete a four-year deal to broadcast and cover the Super Bowl.
- AJ Zarinsky
