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53-738: McGroder was instrumental in bringing the Bills to Buffalo. After the previous Bills franchise in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was denied membership in the NFL , McGroder continued to lobby the NFL to bring a team to the city; such was his renown that it was McGroder, and not Ralph Wilson , who was Lamar Hunt 's first choice to own the Buffalo American Football League (AFL) franchise (Wilson

106-568: A 13–6 Hartford loss, with the Blues reportedly spending $ 5,000 on the Horsemen for just one game. After his playing days, Layden was head football coach at Columbia College (Dubuque, Iowa) in 1925–26, where he compiled an 8–5–2 record. From 1927 to 1933 he was head coach at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, going 48–16–6 and winning the 1933 season's Festival of Palms Bowl (a precursor to

159-523: A 14–7 defensive struggle over the 10–0 49ers. They met again two weeks later in San Francisco, with the Browns now 12–0 and the 49ers 11–1. The Browns again won narrowly, this time 31–28, clinching first place. The rematch concluded an AAFC Thanksgiving week promotion: the Browns played three games in eight days. New Dodgers' part-owner Branch Rickey (of baseball fame) suggested this experiment, and

212-408: A 29-game unbeaten streak in progress, the Browns were making history. Since then, only the 1972 Miami Dolphins team managed to win its league championship with an unblemished record. The Pro Football Hall of Fame recognizes the Browns' latter streak as the longest in the history of professional football. Elmer Layden As a player: Elmer Francis Layden (May 4, 1903 – June 30, 1973)

265-508: A ball, then make a schedule, and then play a game". This insult, often paraphrased as "Tell them to get a ball first", would be long remembered. Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall was perhaps the NFL's hardest-liner regarding the AAFC. In 1945, he commented "I did not realize there was another league, although I did receive some literature telling about a WPA project". Later he declared, "The worst team in our league could beat

318-687: A few teams temporarily merged due to lack of manpower, most notably the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Philadelphia Eagles (who were nicknamed the Steagles ). The Cleveland Rams ceased operations for the 1943 season. As NFL commissioner, Layden had once conducted an investigation into a betting scam, without advising the owners, which did not reveal any conspiracy. At the end of the war, after Japan announced it would surrender, NFL Commissioner Elmer Layden called for all of

371-411: A home game and an away game with each of the other AAFC teams. The Cleveland Browns were the AAFC's most successful club, winning every annual championship in the league's four years of operation. The AAFC was founded by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward on June 4, 1944. Ward was also the originator of baseball's All-Star Game and football's College All-Star Game . Ward brought together

424-545: A lot have gone broke thinking they could." At a time when the World Series had long been a national institution, and the Rose Bowl drew crowds of 90,000, the NFL's title game typically drew about 35,000 fans. Across the U.S., a growing number of college stadiums designed or retrofitted for football were being built and expanded across the U.S. Most pro football teams in contrast shared stadiums (and sometimes names) with

477-432: A number of wealthy pro football enthusiasts, some of whom had previously attempted to purchase NFL franchises. Ward had previously encouraged the NFL to expand, but now he hoped to bring about a permanent second league and a championship game with the NFL, similar to baseball's World Series . The idea was not originated in vacuum, as two other upstart leagues were trying to challenge the NFL in 1944: On November 21, 1944,

530-700: A prime candidate for quick expansion in the face of the AFL's threat. When the NFL again passed Buffalo up, and Wilson was unable to put his AFL team in Miami, Wilson and McGroder met, eventually agreeing to establish the modern Buffalo Bills. McGroder negotiated the lease with War Memorial Stadium and was rewarded with a position on the team's payroll in 1961. McGroder is included on the Bills' Wall of Fame in Highmark Stadium (then called Rich Stadium). When McGroder

583-709: A professional football record crowd of more than 60,000 fans. This historic game would prove a microcosm of much about the league: Other than New York, all of the quality teams were in the Western Division. In the West, Cleveland led with a 12–2 record, three games ahead of San Francisco, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago. In the East, New York was the only team to win more than three games, finishing 10–3–1. Brooklyn and Buffalo were seven games behind, followed by Miami. Despite Brooklyn's record, its tailback Glenn Dobbs led

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636-599: A record 14 games (a double round-robin ). The NFL's 10 teams played 11 games, its standard since 1937. Again acting ambitiously, the AAFC chose stadiums larger than the NFL's in Chicago, New York, and Cleveland. The two leagues’ franchises and home fields for 1946 were: NFL AAFC In the AAFC's first game, on September 6, 1946, the Cleveland Browns hosted the Miami Seahawks, winning 44–0 before

689-751: A season. The Boston Yanks had played only one season as an independent entity. Meanwhile, the AAFC had advantages not enjoyed by many challengers: Yet it remained to be seen if there was a market for this much pro football. Since achieving stability in the early 1930s, the NFL had never fielded more than 10 teams. No competitor had endured for more than two years. In 1946, there would be 18 teams, including three in Chicago, three in New York, and two in Los Angeles. Baseball and college football were substantially more popular. Longtime NFL president Joe Carr had said, "No owner has made money from pro football, but

742-568: The Orange Bowl ) on New Year's Day, 1934. Also in 1934, he became head coach and athletic director at Notre Dame, three years after his legendary mentor Knute Rockne was killed in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931. Layden led the Irish for seven years and posted an overall 47–13–3 docket. His 1935 squad posted one of the greatest wins in school history by rallying to defeat Ohio State 18–13. His 1938 team finished 8–1, losing only to USC in

795-645: The Rock Island Independents . He began his coaching career during the same two seasons at Columbia College in Dubuque, Iowa , now known as Loras College . Layden then served as the head coach at Duquesne University from 1927 to 1933 and at his alma mater, Notre Dame, from 1934 to 1940, where he also held the position of athletic director . From 1941 to 1946, Layden was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He

848-436: The 1942 national championship at Ohio State , and had also coached successfully at the military's Naval Station Great Lakes . As coach of the new Cleveland franchise, Brown would become one of American football's greatest innovators and eventually have the team named for him. As might be expected, the NFL did not welcome its new rival. In 1945, Layden remarked that the AAFC, still a year from its first game, should "first get

901-611: The AAFC chose James "Sleepy Jim" Crowley , one of the " Four Horsemen of Notre Dame ", as its commissioner. Not coincidentally, the NFL commissioner at this time was Elmer Layden , another member of Knute Rockne 's legendary 1924 "Fighting Irish" backfield at the University of Notre Dame . During the next months, the AAFC's plans solidified. The league initially issued franchises for Buffalo , Chicago , Cleveland , Los Angeles , New York , and San Francisco . Brooklyn and Miami were later added. A group representing Baltimore

954-471: The AAFC. Having already lost Topping, the NFL reconsidered and approved the Los Angeles move. It was unprecedented for the NFL champion to move at all, let alone partly to avoid an unproven rival. On the other hand, the NFL would now face the AAFC as a national rather than regional league, and the AAFC would not have a West Coast monopoly. Rather than hold a collegiate draft, Crowley encouraged his owners to sign as many good players as possible to compete with

1007-399: The Browns were chosen as the guinea pigs. They survived unscathed, and went on to complete an unprecedented 14–0 regular season. The 49ers finished a heartbreaking second (and out of the postseason) at 12–2. Los Angeles followed at 7–7, and Chicago again finished last at 1–13. The quarterbacks of the two outstanding teams, Cleveland's Otto Graham and San Francisco's Frankie Albert , shared

1060-766: The Dodgers, Rockets, and to a lesser extent the Colts were having serious problems. Playing near the Yankees and the NFL Giants, the Dodgers drew fewer than 12,000 fans per game, least in both leagues. The Rockets faced the NFL's flagship Bears and a Cardinals team enjoying rare success. After a decent start in 1946, the Rockets collapsed on the field and found themselves playing before tens of thousands of empty seats in huge Soldier Field. The first-year Colts did reasonably well at

1113-411: The East with an 11–2–1 record, 2½ games ahead of Buffalo, with Brooklyn and Baltimore far back. Cleveland, led by MVP quarterback Otto Graham , won the West with a 12–1–1 record, 3½ games ahead of San Francisco. Los Angeles followed, and Chicago was last at 1–13. Former Commissioner Crowley would not return either as coach or owner. The title game was a defensive struggle, with the Browns again defeating

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1166-517: The Irish again. While Layden was a solid, competent coach, he was subjected to criticism during his later years at Notre Dame. Critics felt that his teams played too conservatively and lacked scoring punch. Consequently, it was felt that they lost games they should have won. In 1941, the National Football League franchise owners voted to change the league's constitution in an attempt to bring all professional football leagues under

1219-469: The MVP. In the East, Buffalo and Baltimore tied at a mediocre 7–7, just ahead of 6–8 New York. Brooklyn was last at 2–12. Buffalo won a playoff and the dubious privilege of meeting Cleveland for the title. Cleveland won the title in a predictable rout, 49–7. With pro football's second perfect season (after the 1937 Los Angeles Bulldogs of the second American Football League ) and an 18-game winning streak and

1272-406: The NFL owners fired Commissioner Layden, replacing him with Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner Bert Bell . Bell had already made a major contribution to the league: the NFL draft , begun in 1935, was his idea. Meanwhile, Dan Reeves ' Cleveland Rams had consistently lost money, despite winning the 1945 NFL title. Compounding his problems, the local AAFC competition already looked strong: Arthur McBride

1325-407: The NFL. However, this open market favored Paul Brown, who had built the most extensive recruitment network in all of football. He thus had a head start in signing top players coming out of the colleges and military. Years later, Crowley acknowledged this was a fatal mistake, as it planted the seeds for the Browns' near-total dominance of the league. For 1946, the AAFC began play with 8 teams playing

1378-651: The NFL: the San Francisco 49ers , the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts (not to be confused with the later Baltimore Colts team, now the Indianapolis Colts ). The AAFC was the second American professional football league (the first being the third American Football League of 1940–1941) to have its teams play in a double round robin format in the regular season: each team had

1431-516: The Wolverines, the Irish posted their first win. They were scheduled to meet again in 1910, but Michigan canceled the game and refused to play the Irish again. By the time they met again in 1942–43, Layden had left Notre Dame and Frank Leahy had taken his place. Unlike the easygoing Layden, Leahy was intense, and after the Irish had thrashed Michigan by a score of 35–12 in 1943, Wolverine coach and athletic director Fritz Crisler never scheduled

1484-417: The Yankees, 14–3. By this time a pattern had emerged among the franchises. The Browns, Yankees, 49ers, Dons, and Bills all had stable ownership and at least one winning season. The Browns led both leagues in attendance by a wide margin, the Yankees and Dons outpaced their crosstown NFL rivals on the field and at the gate, and the 49ers and Bills (despite a small stadium) also enjoyed good attendance. However,

1537-637: The authority of one commissioner, who would have similar powers to that of Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis . Chicago Tribune journalist Arch Ward was offered the position of commissioner, but he turned it down and suggested Elmer Layden for the position. Layden was appointed commissioner in February 1941. His appointment was not voted on by the entire league, which upset owners Alexis Thompson , Bert Bell , and Dan Topping . Chicago Bears owner George Halas contended that Layden's hiring

1590-610: The best backfields in college football history. Named an All-American during his senior year, Layden culminated his collegiate career in the 1925 Rose Bowl against Stanford , returning two interceptions for touchdowns in Notre Dame's 27–10 victory. The Four Horsemen were reunited for a professional football game in 1925 by the Hartford Blues as they played the Cleveland Bulldogs . The game though resulted in

1643-588: The best team in theirs." After the AAFC put a team in Baltimore , Marshall's opposition to it would be a major obstacle to interleague peace. Not coincidentally, his team was badly hurt by the AAFC. A top team from 1936 to 1945, the Redskins began a decades-long title drought after coach Ray Flaherty and many key players defected in 1946. Layden's successor, Bert Bell , pursued a policy of official non-recognition, generally answering "no comment" to queries about

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1696-544: The first time, the division races were close. One featured excellence, the other mediocrity. The 1948 AAFC draft was held on December 16, 1947, in New York City . Tony Minisi was the first overall selection. In the West, San Francisco and Cleveland both remained undefeated far into the season. On November 14, nearly 83,000 (a record) in Cleveland Municipal Stadium watched the 9–0 Browns win

1749-414: The gate but finished last. All of these teams were at the bottom of the standings and all were sold after the 1947 season, the Rockets for the second time. Although 1947 had been a successful season for the AAFC in many respects, the league still lost money. In 1948, attendance in both leagues declined, and negotiations to end the war became serious. One factor affecting AAFC attendance was the gap between

1802-448: The league in passing and was named the MVP. The title game was a tight affair, with the Browns coming from behind late in the fourth quarter to defeat the Yankees 14–9. Despite the fiasco in Miami, the AAFC had enjoyed a successful debut, establishing a high level of play and doing well at the gate. The NFL likewise set attendance highs for both its season and title game. However, as salaries shot up with two leagues competing for players:

1855-457: The league to join the new All-America Football Conference , the remaining owners agreed not to renew Layden's contract, feeling that he was too much of a gentleman and not forceful enough. Layden was succeeded by Bert Bell . After leaving the NFL, Layden embarked on a successful business career in Chicago, where he died at the age of 70. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston. He

1908-406: The league's best and worst teams. To counter this, Commissioner Ingram attempted to get the strongest teams to distribute some players to the weakest. He was modestly successful: the Browns sent rookie quarterback Y. A. Tittle to the Colts, who enjoyed their first good season, and the Yankees were generous enough to fall into mediocrity. However, 1948 featured extremes despite Ingram's efforts. For

1961-566: The league's teams to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" at their games, arguing, "The National Anthem should be as much a part of every game as the kick-off. We must not drop it simply because the war is over. We should never forget what it stands for." Prior to this proclamation "The Star-Spangled Banner" had not been officially required to be sung before the start of any NFL games. Layden's tenure as NFL commissioner came to an end in January 1946. After Brooklyn owner Dan Topping withdrew his team from

2014-521: The local baseball team, and as such had to make do in facilities designed for another sport with mediocre sight lines for football. Both leagues saw fit to choose college football legends as their commissioners. There was even a sense that collegians could defeat pros. 1946 saw the famous Army–Notre Dame scoreless tie in Yankee Stadium . At season's end, Arch Ward (the AAFC founder) opined that both teams were superior to either pro champion. It

2067-485: The military to permit them to play during their post-graduation furloughs. In other highlights, a Yankees–Dons game in the Los Angeles Coliseum drew a pro record of more than 82,000, and division leaders New York and Cleveland locked horns on November 23 in the most famous game in AAFC history. Before more than 70,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Browns rallied from a 28–0 deficit to tie 28–28. New York won

2120-605: The only teams to make a profit were the two champions, the Browns and the NFL Bears. The Chicago Rockets had experienced some disorganization in 1946. In a remarkable move, Commissioner Crowley (a successful former college coach) gave up a five-year contract to become their part-owner and coach. Admiral Jonas H. Ingram was named to replace him as commissioner. To replace the Seahawks, the Baltimore group turned down in 1945

2173-525: The other league. In 1947, Pro Football Illustrated previewed both leagues in its annual publication and was banned from NFL stadiums. The AAFC posed a formidable challenge. In most interleague sports wars, the established league had major advantages over the challenger in prestige, finance, size, and public awareness. The NFL-AAFC war differed in several respects. The NFL was just emerging from its wartime retrenchment. The Cleveland Rams had suspended operations for 1943, and on three occasions teams merged for

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2226-508: The season finale. This loss cost them a possible consensus national championship, but the team was named national champion by the Dickinson System . Like Rockne before him, Layden was a goodwill ambassador for Notre Dame. He was able to schedule a home-and-home series with Michigan after meeting with Fielding H. Yost , healing a rift between the two schools. The two teams had not met since 1909, when, after eight straight losses to

2279-428: Was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to

2332-455: Was aggressively marketing the Browns, and coach Paul Brown was an Ohio icon. Accordingly, Reeves proposed to move the Rams to Los Angeles. With two teams planned for California, the AAFC had national aspirations. The NFL's thinking was more modest: it rejected Reeves' move because of travel expenses. After the NFL refused to consider his second choice (Dallas), Reeves threatened to move his team to

2385-545: Was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he starred at fullback as a member of the legendary " Four Horsemen " backfield. Layden played professionally in the original AFL in 1925 and 1926 with three clubs, the Hartford Blues , the Brooklyn Horsemen , and

2438-413: Was considered for admission, but could not secure use of Baltimore's stadium. The league planned to begin to play in 1945, but postponed its opening for a year as World War II continued. As the eight franchises built their teams, no move was more far-reaching than Cleveland's choice of Paul Brown as its head coach. Brown had won six Ohio state championships in nine years at Massillon High School and

2491-600: Was in this landscape that the AAFC prepared to compete with the NFL. Dan Topping , owner of the NFL's Brooklyn Tigers , wished to move his team from Ebbets Field to the much larger Yankee Stadium . New York Giants owner Tim Mara used his territorial rights to block the move. He had good reason: the Yankees had displaced the Giants as New York's premier baseball team after moving into The House That Ruth Built , three rival football leagues had planted teams there hoping to duplicate that feat, and Topping (of Anaconda Copper )

2544-622: Was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1951. Layden was born in Davenport, Iowa , where he attended Davenport High School, now Davenport Central High School . At Notre Dame, he played fullback alongside quarterback Harry Stuhldreher , left halfback Jim Crowley , and right halfback Don Miller ; the four collectively earned the nickname of " The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame " from legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice , and are still considered one of

2597-460: Was instead to own a team in Miami ). McGroder had the resources to buy the team (at the time he owned a successful liquor store) but declined, thinking that the threat of the AFL would be enough for the league to expand to Buffalo. At the time, Buffalo had been a regular site for NFL neutral-site contests for two decades, and McGroder reasoned that the league's relative success in the city would make it

2650-671: Was issued a franchise. The new Baltimore Colts would play in Municipal Stadium . Meanwhile, the Bisons were renamed the Bills and the NFL added a 12th game to its schedule. The AAFC enjoyed its most successful season in 1947. Some notable guests watched the Browns' opening game: the entire coaching staff of the 1946 NFL champion Chicago Bears. The 49ers obtained the rights to Army's legendary Heisman Trophy winners Felix Blanchard ("Mr. Inside") and Glenn Davis ("Mr. Outside"), and amid great publicity unsuccessfully attempted to get

2703-466: Was legal because it had been agreed upon by a majority of owners. Layden was signed to a five-year contract with an annual salary of $ 20,000. In five years as Commissioner, Layden saw the NFL through the World War II years, in which teams had to use many men of inferior abilities as replacements while most of the regulars were fighting in the war (as did Major League Baseball ). During this period

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2756-666: Was placed on the Bills' wall of fame in 1985 (a time in which the Bills were performing very poorly on the field and found themselves unable to compete on the free-agent market for talent, especially with the USFL ), fan discontent was so high that they openly booed Wilson when he introduced McGroder. McGroder, during his acceptance speech, defended Wilson, prompting further boos from the sparse crowd. McGroder died January 15, 1986, shortly after his retirement. # denotes interim or de facto general manager All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference ( AAFC )

2809-521: Was significantly wealthier than Mara. Topping responded by buying into the baseball Yankees and transferring his club to the AAFC. Most of his players followed. His renamed New York Yankees were rewarded with $ 100,000 from each of the other seven AAFC teams while the AAFC's initial New York investor withdrew. (Note that the AAFC Brooklyn Dodgers were a separate entity never associated with Topping's team.) Shortly after Topping defected,

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