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American Football Leagues Champions
| Year | League | Region | Winners | P | W | L | T |
| 1926 | AFL I | E/M | Philadelphia Quakers | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 1934 | AFL II | S/M | St. Louis / Kansas City Blues | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1936 | AFL III | E/M/W | Boston Shamrocks | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 1937 | AFL III | E/M/W | Los Angeles Bulldogs | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938 | AFL IV | S/M/W | East Chicago Indians | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939 | AFL IV | S/M/W | Los Angeles Bulldogs | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1940 | AFL V | E/M | Columbus Bullies | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 1941 | AFL V | E/M | Columbus Bullies | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 1944 | AFL VI | W | Hollywood Rangers | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | AAFC | E/M/S/W | Cleveland Browns | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 1947 | AAFC | E/M/S/W | Cleveland Browns | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| 1948 | AAFC | E/M/S/W | Cleveland Browns | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949 | AAFC | E/M/S/W | Cleveland Browns | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
AAFC Championship Games
| Year | Winners | Runners-Up | ||
| 1946 | Cleveland Browns | 14 | New York Yankees | 9 |
| 1947 | Cleveland Browns | W | New York Yankees | L |
| 1948 | Cleveland Browns | 49 | Buffalo Bills | 7 |
| 1949 | Cleveland Browns | 21 | San Francisco 49ers | 7 |
Pacific Coast League Champions
| Year | League | Region | Team | P | W | L | T |
| 1927 | CWL | W/M/E | Los Angeles Buccaneers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1928 | CWL | W/M/E | New York Yankees | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 1940 | PCFL | W | Los Angeles Bulldogs | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 1941 | PCFL | W | Hollywood Bears | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | PCFL | W | San Diego Bombers | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1943 | PCFL | W | San Diego Bombers | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 1944 | PCFL | W | San Diego Bombers | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | PCFL | W | Hollywood Bears | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 1946 | PCFL | W | Los Angeles Bulldogs | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 1947 | PCFL | W | Hawaiian Warriors | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 1948 | PCFL | W | Hawaiian Warriors | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
Pacific Coast Championship
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| PCFL v AFL | ||||
| 1944 | Hollywood Rangers (AFL) | 42 | San Diego Bombers (PCFL) | 7 |
| 1944 | San Diego Bombers (PCFL) | 10 | Hollywood Rangers (AFL) | 21 |
| PCFL North v PCFL South | ||||
| 1946 | Los Angeles Bulldogs | 38 | Tacoma Indians | 7 |
Report
From 1926 to 1949 there were numerous Leagues which styled themselves as Major League Rivals to the National Football League. Most of these Leagues called themselves the “American Football League” and were based in two or three regions of the USA. Only the All-American Football Conference of 1946 to 1949 was countrywide with teams in the East, MidWest, South and West.
What is most notable about these Leagues from the point of view of NFL fans is that the Los Angeles Rams (then based in Cleveland), Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers all started in one of these Leagues before joining the NFL. The NFl (or AFL of the 1960ss which merged with the NFL) reused some of the team names (Baltimore Colts, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals).
Winners of these Leagues were: Philadelphia Quakers (1926), St. Louis / Kansas City Blues (1934), Boston Shamrocks (1936), Los Angeles Bulldogs (1937, 1939), East Chicago Indians (1938), Columbus Bullies (1940-1941), Hollywood Rangers (1944) and Cleveland Browns (1946-1949).
There was also a AAA League on the West Coast of America during the 1940s, booming because of the amount of soldiers stationed there during WWII. Winners of this League were: Los Angeles Bulldogs (1940. 1946), Hollywood Bears (1941, 1945), San Diego Bombers (1942-1944), Hawaiian Warriors (1947, 1948).
The first attempt at taking advantage of West Coast appetite for American Football was the California Winter League of 1927 to 1928 when NFL and AFL teams toured the Pacific Coast arranging matches against teams in California, with League Champions being Los Angeles Buccaneers (1927) and New York Yankees (1928).
References
Websites
[1] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League Standings (1926) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-standings-1926/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[2] The Growth of a Game (2015) The Complete List of European NFL Players [Internet] Available from: https://www.growthofagame.com/2015/03/the-complete-list-of-european-nfl-players/ [Accessed 11 October 2019]
[3] Pro Football Archives (2019) |Con O’Brien [Internet] Available from:https://www.profootballarchives.com/playero/obri00400.html [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[4] Bob Gill (2009) Seasons in the Sun – The California winter league of 1927 and ’28 The Coffin Corner Volume 31,No. 1, Pro Football Researchers Association (2009)[Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballresearchers.org/coffin-corner00’s/CC-31-1.pdf [Accessed 20 October 2019]
[5] Bob Gill, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1991) Tigers Roar in Tennessee [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/13-03-425.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2018]
[6] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League Standings (1936-37) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-standings-1936-37/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[7] Bob Gill, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1989) Back Before Bengalmania – Cincinnati’s First Brush with the Big Time – [Internet] Available from: http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/11-05-379.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2018]
[8] Pro Football Archives (2019) 1938 | American Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1938.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]
[9] Pro Football Archives (2019) 1939 | American Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1939.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]
[10] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League (1940-1941) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-1940-1941/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[11] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Standings (1946-1949) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/all-america-football-conference-aafc-standings-1946-1949/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[12] PCPFL: 1940-45 – Bob Gill, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1982) Pacific Coast Pro Football League [Internet] Available from: 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine. – https://web.archive.org/web/20110726192703/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/04-07-104.pdf [Accessed 19 January 2018]
[13] The End of the PCPFL – Bob Gill, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1982) The End of the PCPFL [Internet] Available from: http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/05-04-135.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2018]
Images
[14] Wikipedia (2018) All-America Football Conference Logo [Internet] Available from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/All-America_Football_Conference_%28logo%29.png [Accessed 8 October 2018]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to John Wills, Jean-Paul O’Flynn, John Kane, John Cummins, John Morahan & John Doody
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
World Gridiron Archive
Last Updated: 6 July 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and World Gridiron Archive 2020
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.