The All-America Football Conference

The All-America Football Conference and the National Football League battled for supremacy from 1946 through 1949. In the end, the players from the AAFC, as well as three teams, were brought into the NFL, including many future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Through extensive research, the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) has corrected the statistics and coaching records, selected All-Pro Teams for all four seasons and an All-Conference team, and provided brief biographies and scouting reports for the members of the All-Conference Team. Unlike All-Pro teams selected at the time, in which offense and defense were merged into a single position, the PFRA has selected individual offensive and defensive All-Pro teams.

Kenneth R. Crippen is the president and former executive director of the Professional Football Researchers Association. He has researched and written about professional football history for over 25 years, and has won several awards for his work, and has been featured on National Football Post, Cold Hard Football Facts, The Packer Report, Coffin Corner, Fox Sports Radio, ESPN Radio and WGR (Buffalo). He lives in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

Matt Reaser has researched and written about high school football, college football and professional football for over the past ten years. He has contributed to magazines and websites such as The Coffin Corner and National Football Post. He lives in Buckley, Washington.

Edited by Kenneth R. Crippen and Matt Reaser

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 368
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7095-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3107-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  iv
Preface (by Kenneth R. Crippen)  1
Part 1: A Brief History of the AAFC (by Kenneth R. Crippen)  3
Part 2: PFRA ­All-Pro Selections (by Kenneth R. Crippen, Matt Reaser and Andy Piascik)  10
PFRA’s AAFC ­All-Pro Teams  10
PFRA’s ­All-Time Team  13
PFRA’s AAFC ­All-Time Team Biographies  14
PFRA’s AAFC Notables  21
Part 3: Individual Statistics  25
1946  25
1947  33
1948  40
1949  47
Lifetime Leaders  53
Part 4: Awards and Statistical Records  55
All-Conference Teams (by Andy Piascik)  55
Statistical Records  59
Statistical Champions by Season  68
Part 5: Conference Statistics  70
Conference Standings  70
Club versus Club Records  71
Conference Statistics by Season  77
Attendance (by Andy Piascik)  78
Part 6: Linescores  83
Exhibition Games  83
Regular and ­Post-Season Games  84
Part 7: The Draft  147
History of the AAFC Draft (by Kenneth R. Crippen)  147
1947  148
1948  153
1949  158
Allocation Draft  163
Part 8: Player Register  168
Part 9: Coach Register (by John Maxymuk)  342
Sources  353
Index  355

• “They have set the record straight about the incredible success of the AAFC in a newly released and meticulously researched reference work…contains every imaginable statistic… Many football historians would contend that the AAFC, in its four-year existence, far surpassed the AFL in the quality of talent on the field and attendance in the stands during their comparable formative years. …a must for the bookshelf of sports historians and researchers, lovers of vintage pro football, and those interested in defunct American sports leagues and their impact on sports economics. It recovers lots of ground!”—Richard A. Macales, Sport in American History
• “Painstakingly researched…This book would give anyone interested in researching the AAFC a strong foundation. Recommended”—ARBA
• “As a one-stop resource for all things AAFC, this book does a nice job of providing most researchers the information they will need in a single easy, readable, resource. Highly recommended”—Mind’s Eye Press

Review Fix chats with chats with The Original Buffalo Bills: A History of the All-America Football Conference Team, 1946-1949 and The All-America Football Conference: Players, Coaches, Records, Games and Awards, 1946-1949 author Ken Crippen, who lets us know why these books are ones that every pigskin fan should check out.

Review Fix: What inspired these books?

Ken Crippen: I was always interested in the history of pro football in Buffalo. That led me to look prior to the current franchise and learn more about the All-America Football Conference franchise: Buffalo Bills. Once I finished that book, I focused on the entire conference with the second book.

Review Fix: What was the writing and editing experience like for you?

Ken Crippen: I loved it, especially talking to all of the surviving players from those teams, as well as family members of coaches and administrators. It took a lot of work, but it was worth it to see the final product.

Review Fix: Did you learn anything you weren’t expecting?

Ken Crippen: Watching film of the games, it was apparent that the players were on par with the players in the NFL.

Review Fix: What else makes the teams featured here so special?

Ken Crippen: When you look at a team like the Cleveland Browns, people stated that they would not be able to compete in the NFL. Not only did they beat the two-time NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles twice in their first season in the league, they won the championship. They also went to the championship game six straight years, winning three championships. Adding that to their success in the NFL, they went to ten straight championship games, winning seven. They also went 29 straight games without a defeat. Think about that for a minute. They were on an undefeated streak as they won a championship, went undefeated all of the following season winning a championship, then went undefeated well into the next season on their way to another championship. No other team has been able to accomplish the same thing.

Review Fix: How do you think they’d fare in today’s NFL?

Ken Crippen: Cleveland proved that they could compete. Buffalo could have competed. The NFL absorbed the bulk of the players into the league. The AAFC could definitely have competed against the NFL if the NFL was not so afraid to play against them.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this book the most?

Ken Crippen: Anyone who enjoys the history of the game, as well as fans of franchises that made it into the NFL: Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. With the 49ers playing in the Super Bowl this year, it would be of interest to the fans to learn about the beginnings of their franchise and their players.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this book?

Ken Crippen: To let people know about this rival league to the NFL. Also, it is portrayed as a minor league and not of the same caliber as the NFL. That is incorrect. Players were at least as good if not better than the NFL. All of the players I have interviewed that have played in both leagues have stated the same.

Review Fix: What’s next for you?

Ken Crippen: I want to continue to write and research the history of the game.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Ken Crippen: For all San Francisco 49ers fans, you should definitely look into the history of your franchise and learn about the Hall of Famers that came out of the All-America Football Conference.