1941 American Football League season
Encyclopedia
The 1941 American Football League season was the second season of the third American Football League. After deeming the 1940 season to be a success, the league made overtures of expansion, even going to the point of having a press conference to announce the addition of new teams (July), but when the press conference was held, the Boston Bears
had withdrawn from the league and the new Detroit franchise deferred entry for the 1942 season (interests representing Philadelphia and Baltimore also applied for membership and were denied).
The New York Yankees
were sold to promoter and agent Douglas Hertz in January; by mid-summer, the AFL revoked the franchise in light of controversies involving Hertz’s finances. A syndicate headed by William Cox
was awarded the franchise in August, but Hertz kept the name for his new independent team (which later in the season became a traveling team
in the American Association
). Cox and the new owners of the AFL franchise redubbed the team the Americans. In Buffalo, a less contentious change of ownership resulted in the Indians
becoming the Tigers.
The Columbus Bullies
successfully defended their 1940
AFL championship. Their 5-1-2 record edged the 5-2-1 of the Americans and the 4-3-1 of the Milwaukee Chiefs
.
At the beginning of the 1941 season, the Bullies accepted a challenge from the defending Western Interprovincial Football Union champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers
for a three-game series; the Bombers had been banned from Grey Cup
contention that year due to rules discrepancies between the WIFU and the other organizations playing Canadian football
at the time. The Bullies and Blue Bombers played three games, at least partially by Canadian rules (as one of the games, the deciding third game, has Winnipeg's final score as 1 point
, which is not possible in the American game). Columbus won the series, 2-1; Winnipeg won the first game 19-12, but Columbus won the next two, 6-0 and 31-1.
team:
was attacked by Japanese military forces. The euphoria of a successful season gave way to the realization that the military demands of the American participation in World War II
would put the continued success of the AFL (and the NFL, for that matter) into question. As both major football leagues were losing personnel to military service, both made plans for a 1942 season (the AFL as a six team loop with a new Detroit franchise). Ironically, the NFL came close to suspending operations, but continued as a ten-team league, but on September 2, 1942, the AFL suspended operations “until the end of the war.” AFL president William Cox announced the suspension, stating “We do not have the time to go into the football business this fall. I want to stress that there is no financial problem involved. Each team definitely has enough finances to continue.”
The league did not return after the end of World War II. In 1946, a minor league, the American Association
, appropriated the American Football League name for itself, and the All America Football Conference replaced the suspended league as the primary rival of the National Football League.
Boston Bears (AFL)
The Boston Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940. Owned by Sheldon H. Fairbanks, the team played its home games in the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts...
had withdrawn from the league and the new Detroit franchise deferred entry for the 1942 season (interests representing Philadelphia and Baltimore also applied for membership and were denied).
The New York Yankees
New York Yankees (1940 AFL)
The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the second AFL, and the Yankees of the All America Football Conference...
were sold to promoter and agent Douglas Hertz in January; by mid-summer, the AFL revoked the franchise in light of controversies involving Hertz’s finances. A syndicate headed by William Cox
William B. Cox
William D. Cox was an American businessman and sports executive.-New York Yankees :A Yale University alumnus and wealthy lumber broker, Cox first entered the sports world when he headed a group that bought the New York Yankees of the third American Football League in 1941...
was awarded the franchise in August, but Hertz kept the name for his new independent team (which later in the season became a traveling team
Traveling team
In professional team sports, a traveling team is a member of a professional league that never or rarely competes in its home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team in that the latter does not compete within a league or association framework...
in the American Association
American Association (football)
The American Association was a professional American football league based in New York City. Founded in 1936 as a minor league with teams in New York and New Jersey, the AA extended its reach to Providence, Rhode Island prior to the onset of World War II...
). Cox and the new owners of the AFL franchise redubbed the team the Americans. In Buffalo, a less contentious change of ownership resulted in the Indians
Buffalo Indians
The Buffalo Indians were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York...
becoming the Tigers.
The Columbus Bullies
Columbus Bullies
The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...
successfully defended their 1940
1940 American Football League season
The 1940 American Football League season was the first season of the third American Football League. The league was formed when the New York Yankees, Boston Bears, and Buffalo Indians were joined by the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs of the minor American Professional...
AFL championship. Their 5-1-2 record edged the 5-2-1 of the Americans and the 4-3-1 of the Milwaukee Chiefs
Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL)
The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
.
At the beginning of the 1941 season, the Bullies accepted a challenge from the defending Western Interprovincial Football Union champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
for a three-game series; the Bombers had been banned from Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
contention that year due to rules discrepancies between the WIFU and the other organizations playing Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
at the time. The Bullies and Blue Bombers played three games, at least partially by Canadian rules (as one of the games, the deciding third game, has Winnipeg's final score as 1 point
Single (football)
In Canadian football, a single is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return, or kick, the ball out of its end zone...
, which is not possible in the American game). Columbus won the series, 2-1; Winnipeg won the first game 19-12, but Columbus won the next two, 6-0 and 31-1.
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pct.= Winning Percentage, PF = Points for, AP = Points against| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Bullies Columbus Bullies The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the... |
5 | 1 | 2 | .833 | 142 | 55 |
| New York Americans | 5 | 2 | 1 | .714 | 116 | 73 |
| Milwaukee Chiefs Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL) The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin... |
4 | 3 | 1 | .571 | 105 | 84 |
| Buffalo Tigers | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 72 | 172 |
| Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals (AFL) Cincinnati Bengals was the name of a short-lived professional football team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is unrelated to the current Cincinnati Bengals. Originated by Hal Pennington , the team was formed as a member of the second American Football League in the 1937 season... |
1 | 5 | 2 | .167 | 69 | 120 |
1941 All-League Team
The league's coaches selected the all-leagueAll-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
team:
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| End | Earl Ohlgren Earl Ohlgren Earl Ohlgren was a defensive end in the National Football League. He played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1942 NFL season. Previously he had played with the Milwaukee Chiefs of the American Football League.... , Milwaukee |
Wayland Becker Wayland Becker Wayland Herman Becker was an American football player. He played in the National Football League for six seasons.-Early life:... , Columbus |
| Joe Kruse, Cincinnati | Len Thom, Columbus | |
| Tackle | Alec Shellogg Alec Shellogg Alec Regis Shellogg was a professional American football player in the National Football League as well as the third American Football League. In 1939, he played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1940 and 1941 he played in the AFL for the Buffalo Indians/Tigers. He... , Buffalo |
Ralph Niehaus, Columbus |
| Bob Eckl Bob Eckl Robert Joseph Eckl was a professional American football player in the National Football League as a tackle for the Chicago Cardinals in 1945. Prior to that he played for the Milwaukee Chiefs of the third American Football League. In 1940 Eckl was elected to the All-AFL, with 1st team honors... , Milwaukee |
Nick Drahos Nick Drahos Nick Drahos is a former American football end. He played college football at Cornell University and was a member of the Sphinx Head Society. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.-References:**... , New York |
|
| Guard | Ted Livinston, Columbus | Merle Larson, Milwaukee |
| Len Akin Len Akin Len Akin was a guard in the National Football League. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1940 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears and later played with the team during the 1942 NFL season. Prior to playing with the Bears he had also played with the Milwaukee Chiefs of the American Football... , Milwaukee |
Tom Byrd, New York | |
| Center | Paul Humphrey Paul Humphrey (American football) Paul Humphrey was a center in the National Football League. He was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1939 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and played that season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Later he would play with the Milwaukee Chiefs of the American Football League.-References:*... , Milwaukee |
Nick Padgen, Columbus |
| Quarterback | Bob Davis, Columbus, QB | Jack Hinkle Jack Hinkle John M. Hinkle was a professional football in the National Football League. During his career, he played for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and the "Steagles".-Pro career:... , New York |
| Halfback | Charley Armstrong, New York, HB | Nelson Peterson Nelson Peterson Nelson Lane Peterson was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Rams. He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College.-References:... , Columbus |
| Bill McGannon, Cincinnati, HB | Gene Tornquist, Cincinnati | |
| Fullback | John Kimbrough John Kimbrough John Kimbrough was a college athlete, a member of the Texas Legislature, the star of two western movies and a rancher. His older brother Frank Kimbrough served as head football coach at Baylor and West Texas A&M.-Football:... , New York, FB |
Howie Weiss, Milwaukee |
| Results of AFL games - 1941 season |
|---|
|
After the 1941 season
Precisely one week after the last regular season AFL game --- Sunday, December 7, 1941 --- Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
was attacked by Japanese military forces. The euphoria of a successful season gave way to the realization that the military demands of the American participation in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
would put the continued success of the AFL (and the NFL, for that matter) into question. As both major football leagues were losing personnel to military service, both made plans for a 1942 season (the AFL as a six team loop with a new Detroit franchise). Ironically, the NFL came close to suspending operations, but continued as a ten-team league, but on September 2, 1942, the AFL suspended operations “until the end of the war.” AFL president William Cox announced the suspension, stating “We do not have the time to go into the football business this fall. I want to stress that there is no financial problem involved. Each team definitely has enough finances to continue.”
The league did not return after the end of World War II. In 1946, a minor league, the American Association
American Association (football)
The American Association was a professional American football league based in New York City. Founded in 1936 as a minor league with teams in New York and New Jersey, the AA extended its reach to Providence, Rhode Island prior to the onset of World War II...
, appropriated the American Football League name for itself, and the All America Football Conference replaced the suspended league as the primary rival of the National Football League.