Southwestern Football League 1972-1973

SWFL 1972

PWLTPFPAPct
*San Antonio Toros8800259781.000
Las Vegas Casinos862015994.750
Phoenix Blazers10640240230.600
Southern California Razorbacks7430.571
Dallas Rockets6150.167
Los Angeles Mustangs606083150.000

Reference: [1]

SWFL 1973

PWLTPFPAPct
Eastern Division
*Oklahoma City Wranglers10910442110.900
*San Antonio Toros8620239170.750
Albuquerque Thunderbirds8440212173.500
Denver Oilers817087372.125
Kansas City Steers303019139.000
Western Division
*Las Vegas Casinos8620192129.750
Phoenix Blazers9630217181.667
Southern California Razorbacks9360164147.333
Los Angeles Mustangs9180128221.111

Reference: [1]

DateHome TeamAway Team
Semi-Final Playoff
1973San Antonio Toros 45Las Vegas Casinos3
Championship Game
1973Oklahoma City Wranglers19San Antonio Toros16

Reference: [1]

Report

The San Antonio Toros won the first Southwestern Football League title, although there was no Championship Game. The League expanded to nine teams from six in 1973 and the Toros had a shot at repeating, beating Western Division Champions Las Vegas Casinos in the Semi-Final Playoff 45-3, before losing to Eastern Division Champions Oklahoma City Wranglers 19-16 in the Championship Game.

About

The Southwestern Football League (1972-1973) was a AA (3rd Level) American Football League based, as its name suggests, in the American Southwest, featuring teams from Texas (San Antonio Toros & Dallas Rockets), Kansas City, Oklahoma (Oklahoma City Wranglers), Colorado (Denver Oilers), New Mexico (Albuquerque Thunderbirds), Arizona (Phoenix Blazers) and California (Southern California Razorbacks, Los Angeles Mustangs).

It was preceded by the Texas Football League (1966-1971) and the Continental Football League – 1965-1969 – AAA – 2nd Level) and was succeeded by the California Football League (1977-1982) and the American Football Association (1977-1983 – Texas and Southern States further east – AAA). The World Football League of 1974-1975 took up a lot of the players of Minor Football Leagues at the time, leaving just one League at AAA & AA level.

Note on Team Names

A lot of the teams in the Southwestern Football League made reference to the “Cowboy & Indian” culture of the region – the Kansas City Steers and San Antonio Toros were both named after Bulls, the Los Angeles Mustangs were named after a Wild Horse found in the West, and the Oklahoma City Wranglers were named after Cowboys. The Albuquerque Thunderbirds were named after a mythical Native American bird. There were also teams named after the Oil Industry – the Denver Oilers; the Space Industry – Dallas Rockets; and the Gambling Industry – Las Vegas Casinos, all of which would employ people in the Southwest. The Phoenix Blazers is also a reference to a mythical bird, this time the one from Ancient Egyptian & Christian mythology, the Phoenix who rose from the flames, after which the city is named.

References

Bibliography

[1] Gill, Bob et al (2010) “Season-by-Season Listings- Other Leagues” Outsiders II – Minor League and Independent Football 1951-1985 pg. 120-121. St. Johann Press, Haworth, NJ (USA), 2010

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Richard Declan Mulcahy & Nora Mulcahy

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 30 November 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.

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