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 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 |
Standings includes forfeits (Buffalo forfeited to New York due to the field being unplayable, November 17, 1940; Cincinnati forfeited to Buffalo due to injuries preventing the Bengals from fielding a complete team, November 24, 1940)[2]
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.
- Gill, Bob (1983). "The Best of the Rest, Part 2" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association. 5 (12). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 11 February 2010.