The 1940 AFL 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 Football Association (the mass defection doomed the minor league). After the announcement of the formation of the AFL (July 14, 1940), [1] applications for membership by former APFA members St. Louis Gunners and Kenosha Cardinals were rejected by the upstart league, which started with six members.
The Columbus Bullies were declared league champions after compiling an 8-1-1 record, just edging the 7-2 of the Milwaukee Chiefs.
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pct.= Winning Percentage, PF = Points for, PA = Points against
Final 1940 standings
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Bullies | 8 | 1 | 1 | .889 | 134 | 69 |
| Milwaukee Chiefs | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 180 | 59 |
| Boston Bears | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 120 | 79 |
| New York Yankees | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 138 | 138 |
| Buffalo Indians | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 45 | 138 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 53 | 187 |
The standings include two forfeits: Buffalo forfeited to New York due to the field being deemed unplayable on November 17, 1940, while Cincinnati forfeited to Buffalo on November 24, 1940 due to injuries leaving the Bengals unable to field a team. [2]
| Results of AFL games - 1940 season [3] |
|---|
|
WEEK ONE 15 September, Red Bird Stadium, Columbus, Ohio: Milwaukee Chiefs 14, Columbus Bullies 2 WEEK TWO 22 September, Civic Stadium, Buffalo, New York: Milwaukee Chiefs 23, Buffalo Tigers 0 WEEK THREE 29 September, Civic Stadium, Buffalo: Buffalo Tigers 17, Cincinnati Bengals 7 WEEK FOUR 6 October, Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Bears 29, Cincinnati Bengals 7 WEEK FIVE 13 October, Fenway Park, Boston: Boston Bears 28, New York Yankees 7 WEEK SIX 20 October, Fenway Park, Boston: Boston Bears 20, Buffalo Tigers 0 WEEK SEVEN 27 October, Fenway Park, Boston: Milwaukee Chiefs 14, Boston Bears 0 WEEK EIGHT 3 November, Crosley Field, Cincinnati: Columbus Bullies 21, Cincinnati Bengals 2 WEEK NINE 10 November, Red Bird Stadium, Columbus: Columbus Bullies 13. Buffalo Tigers 7 WEEK TEN 17 November, Civic Stadium, Buffalo: New York Yankees 1, Buffalo Tigers 0 (forfeit – unplayable field) WEEK ELEVEN 24 November, Crosley Field, Cincinnati: Buffalo Tigers 1, Cincinnati Bengals 0 (forfeit – Bengals unable to field team) Note: Two scheduled games were cancelled: New York-Cincinnati and Milwaukee-Cincinnati (both games scheduled to have been played in Cincinnati) |
1940 All-League Team
The league's coaches selected the all-league team: [4]
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| End | Sherman Barnes, Milwaukee | Keith Ranspot, Boston |
| Harlan Gustafson, New York | Joel Mason, Boston | |
| Tackle | Ed Karpowich, Buffalo | Ralph Niehaus, Columbus |
| Bob Eckl, Milwaukee | Alec Shellogg, Buffalo | |
| Guard | Jim Karcher, Columbus | Vic Marino, Boston |
| Alex Drobnitch, Buffalo | Len Akin, Milwaukee | |
| Center | Joe Alexus, Columbus | Joe Ratica, Boston |
| Back | Andy Karpus, Boston, QB | Bob Davis, Columbus |
| Bill Hutchinson, New York, HB | Ray Cole, Milwaukee | |
| Nelson Peterson, Columbus, HB | Lee Elkins, New York | |
| Al Novakofski, Milwaukee, FB | Paul Shu, Cincinnati |
References
- ^ George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ History of Professional Football in Western New York Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Enciclopedia del football italiano - 1940 AFL season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ a b Gill, Bob (1983). "The Best of the Rest, Part 2" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 5 (12). Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 11 February 2010.