Aaronhere
07-15-2008, 04:40 PM
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1983) - The league was announced in July 1983, with plans to kick off in the spring of 1984, with plans for expansion to Japan and Australia and a best-of-three championship series. Former WHA and WFL founder Dennis Murphy was introduced as one of the founders. Original franchises were indentified as Canton (Ohio Bulldogs), New York, Charlotte, Miami, Chicago, Milwaukee, Nebraska-Iowa, Tennessee (Memphis or Nashville), Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu. Three more franchises were announced soon after - Indianapolis, Seattle and Portland. In August, the league announced a 5-year TV contract with the Memphis-based William Tanner company. The contract would pay each team $1.8 million in the first year. Ray Malavasi, former Rams head coach, was named head coach of the Southern California franchise, while Roman Gabriel was tabbed to lead the Carolina Storm. The IFL quickly fell apart, with Acting commissioner Jerry Saperstein resigning in October, amid reports employees were not being paid. News about the league dried up after that.
AMERICA'S FOOTBALL TEAMS, INC. (1985) - David Dixon, founder of the USFL, came forward with another plan, as his spring league was dying. The AFT, which he claimed would be in in existence in 1987, would play 20 games during the regular season to be followed by a best-of-three championship series. The league would consist of one corporation with 12 wholly owned subsidiaries. Television and gate receipts would provide most of the revenue. Dixon proposed paying players from gross gate receipts and having almost the same budget for each team. Clubs would be based in major markets, cities with domed stadiums and the Sun Belt. Dixon presented his plan in a speech to Harvard Business School students in May 1985. Nothing more was heard of the plan, but Dixon was not done.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION (1987) - Dixon first floated an idea for his new league in early 1987, raising the idea of drafting high school players who were ineligible because of tougher academic requirements by the NCAA. After the Fox Network was launched in 1987, Dixon proposed the "American Football Federation", which would have 10 teams and draft academically ineligible high school graduates. Dixon submitted a proposal to Fox President Jamie Kellner under which Fox would pay $10 million to televise 20 regular-season games in prime time from late February to the end of June. The franchises would be in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Los Angeles, the San
Francisco Bay Area and either Orlando or Miami. Unbelievably, Dixon was still not done.
NORTH AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1987) - Following the collapse of the USFL, former Oakland Athletics owner Charles Finley proposed a plan to merge the Canadian Football League with teams from the dormant United States Football League. Spokesmen for Turner Broadcasting System and Fox Television said Finley has approached them about the proposal, which remains in a formative stage. The plan grew out of an idea several owners in the USFL had to merge the remnants of their league with the CFL. Finley named Birmingham, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Memphis, Phoenix, Jacksonville and Dallas-Fort Worth as potential candidates for the U.S. franchises.
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1989) - The only mention of this league, perhaps an offshoot of the NAFL, came in May 1989, when Donald Trump announced that he has sent letters to Pete Rozelle, Commissioner of the NFL, and Tex Schramm threatening legal action against the NFL if they proceed with their plans for the IFL. Trump, the former owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals, claimed the NFL stole his idea of an international football league. The NFL's version of the IFL became the World League of American Football.
PROFESSIONAL SPRING FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1992) - Announced on November 1, 1991, the PSFL was scheduled to open the following spring, with teams playing a 16-game schedule. But it suspended operations in February. Franchises included the Arkansas Miners, Carolina Cougars, Miami Tribe (folded before the rest of the league), Nevada Aces, New England Blitz, New Mexico Rattlesnakes, Oregon Lightningbolts, Tampa Bay Outlaws, Utah Pioneers and Washington Marauders. February 29, 1992, would have been a historical day, being the leagues’ first game would be played between, Utah and Tampa Bay in Tampa Bay. The leagues’ championship game would be known as "Red, White, and Blue Bowl" on Sunday, January 5, 1992, in Washington D.C. at RFK Stadium. The league folded ten days before the season opener on February 19, 1992, during training camp.
http://www.logoserver.com/football/PSFL92.GIF
ASIA PACIFIC FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1997) - The Asia Pacific Football League was incorporated in Texas in April 1997. Later that year, former NFL star Preston Pearson contracted by the league to consult and assist the league in its organizational efforts. The league unveiled its logo and web site in the spring of 1998. In January 1999, league officials met in Dallas to finalize plans for the 1999 season, and organized tryouts for late summer 1999 in Dallas at Texas Stadium. The original ten teams were the Bangkok Elephants, Beijing Pandas; Hong Kong Dolphins, Manilla Fighting Cocks, Hawaiian Warriors, Osaka Express, Seoul Stallions, Shanghai Sharks, Taipei Dragons, and Tokyo Typhoon. Later that year, the league postponed its 1999 season, claiming the "current political environment and relations between the US and China not being optimal". The APFL was never heard from again.
http://www.logoserver.com/football/APFL.GIF
FANOWNERSHIP FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1997) - David Dixon came back in 1997 with another league - the FFL. The FFL originally planned to start their 24-game season in June 1998, but announced that it would wait until 1999. The league said it would not play at all if NBC and Turner follow though with their proposed league (see below). The season would end in November during Thanksgiving. The league planned on having teams in ten to 16 cities. Besides Tampa, agreements had been negotiated for teams in 11 other cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Los Angeles and Detroit, according to Dixon. Franchises were going for $5-6 million, but, once again, the league never got past the formative stages.
UNITED STATES FAN OWNERSHIP FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1997) - The league had a goal to sell 20,000 shares of stock per team at $4,000 per share. This would generate $80 million for each of the proposed ten teams. Each fan would get two free tickets with the stock, but there are other benefits according to league founder Tony Capozzola. "The fans have a vested interest in the outcome of the game. A vested interest meaning the team goes to the playoffs, they get more money because each franchise will generate different amounts of money just like different McDonald's franchise generates different amounts of profit for the owners." The USFOL was ready to have ten teams in the top television markets in the country and kick off in August of 1999 and the season will end by Christmas. Capozzola said there will be no exhibition games because he feels that they are a rip off. The league never got off the table.
ALL STAR FOOTBALL (1998 ) - All Star Football had been in the idea phase since CBS lost the rights to broadcast NFC games to Fox in the mid-1990s. Former NFL players Joe Kapp, Craig Morton, and Jim Marshall were the brain trust behind the league, along with Team Dynamics, Inc. The league planned to use a business plan similar to that of Major League Soccer, the Women's National Basketball Association, and the American Basketball League, with the league owning all the teams and those 16 teams will report operating expenses and revenue back to the league. All Star Football would also use syndication as a part of their television strategy. The league would be able to essentially create their own network of TV stations throughout the country to show off their product. The league, scheduled to kick off in fall of 1999, never made it.
ALL-AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1998 ) - The AAFL planned on operating in the spring of 1998, but was forced to postpone until 1999. The league was headed by Bernard Glieberman who has been involved with CFL teams in Ottawa and Shreveport and Randy Vataha who was involved with Boston of the USFL. The AAFL had plans for 12 teams in major cities. Those cities are: Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Tampa. The Detroit team named Forrest Gregg as head coach. AAFL teams would not have a single owner. Instead, different investors would own the teams and have a president in charge of the business operations. Eventually, Vataha hoped to sell stock for the league. AAFL players would sign with the league instead of with individual teams. Contracts were expected to range from $35,000 to $50,000. After a player signed with the league, teams would draft those players. The league planned to play a 20-game schedule and expected to draw about 17,000 fans a game. It drew none as the league fell apart.
AMERICA'S FOOTBALL TEAMS, INC. (1985) - David Dixon, founder of the USFL, came forward with another plan, as his spring league was dying. The AFT, which he claimed would be in in existence in 1987, would play 20 games during the regular season to be followed by a best-of-three championship series. The league would consist of one corporation with 12 wholly owned subsidiaries. Television and gate receipts would provide most of the revenue. Dixon proposed paying players from gross gate receipts and having almost the same budget for each team. Clubs would be based in major markets, cities with domed stadiums and the Sun Belt. Dixon presented his plan in a speech to Harvard Business School students in May 1985. Nothing more was heard of the plan, but Dixon was not done.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION (1987) - Dixon first floated an idea for his new league in early 1987, raising the idea of drafting high school players who were ineligible because of tougher academic requirements by the NCAA. After the Fox Network was launched in 1987, Dixon proposed the "American Football Federation", which would have 10 teams and draft academically ineligible high school graduates. Dixon submitted a proposal to Fox President Jamie Kellner under which Fox would pay $10 million to televise 20 regular-season games in prime time from late February to the end of June. The franchises would be in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Los Angeles, the San
Francisco Bay Area and either Orlando or Miami. Unbelievably, Dixon was still not done.
NORTH AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1987) - Following the collapse of the USFL, former Oakland Athletics owner Charles Finley proposed a plan to merge the Canadian Football League with teams from the dormant United States Football League. Spokesmen for Turner Broadcasting System and Fox Television said Finley has approached them about the proposal, which remains in a formative stage. The plan grew out of an idea several owners in the USFL had to merge the remnants of their league with the CFL. Finley named Birmingham, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Memphis, Phoenix, Jacksonville and Dallas-Fort Worth as potential candidates for the U.S. franchises.
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1989) - The only mention of this league, perhaps an offshoot of the NAFL, came in May 1989, when Donald Trump announced that he has sent letters to Pete Rozelle, Commissioner of the NFL, and Tex Schramm threatening legal action against the NFL if they proceed with their plans for the IFL. Trump, the former owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals, claimed the NFL stole his idea of an international football league. The NFL's version of the IFL became the World League of American Football.
PROFESSIONAL SPRING FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1992) - Announced on November 1, 1991, the PSFL was scheduled to open the following spring, with teams playing a 16-game schedule. But it suspended operations in February. Franchises included the Arkansas Miners, Carolina Cougars, Miami Tribe (folded before the rest of the league), Nevada Aces, New England Blitz, New Mexico Rattlesnakes, Oregon Lightningbolts, Tampa Bay Outlaws, Utah Pioneers and Washington Marauders. February 29, 1992, would have been a historical day, being the leagues’ first game would be played between, Utah and Tampa Bay in Tampa Bay. The leagues’ championship game would be known as "Red, White, and Blue Bowl" on Sunday, January 5, 1992, in Washington D.C. at RFK Stadium. The league folded ten days before the season opener on February 19, 1992, during training camp.
http://www.logoserver.com/football/PSFL92.GIF
ASIA PACIFIC FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1997) - The Asia Pacific Football League was incorporated in Texas in April 1997. Later that year, former NFL star Preston Pearson contracted by the league to consult and assist the league in its organizational efforts. The league unveiled its logo and web site in the spring of 1998. In January 1999, league officials met in Dallas to finalize plans for the 1999 season, and organized tryouts for late summer 1999 in Dallas at Texas Stadium. The original ten teams were the Bangkok Elephants, Beijing Pandas; Hong Kong Dolphins, Manilla Fighting Cocks, Hawaiian Warriors, Osaka Express, Seoul Stallions, Shanghai Sharks, Taipei Dragons, and Tokyo Typhoon. Later that year, the league postponed its 1999 season, claiming the "current political environment and relations between the US and China not being optimal". The APFL was never heard from again.
http://www.logoserver.com/football/APFL.GIF
FANOWNERSHIP FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1997) - David Dixon came back in 1997 with another league - the FFL. The FFL originally planned to start their 24-game season in June 1998, but announced that it would wait until 1999. The league said it would not play at all if NBC and Turner follow though with their proposed league (see below). The season would end in November during Thanksgiving. The league planned on having teams in ten to 16 cities. Besides Tampa, agreements had been negotiated for teams in 11 other cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Los Angeles and Detroit, according to Dixon. Franchises were going for $5-6 million, but, once again, the league never got past the formative stages.
UNITED STATES FAN OWNERSHIP FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1997) - The league had a goal to sell 20,000 shares of stock per team at $4,000 per share. This would generate $80 million for each of the proposed ten teams. Each fan would get two free tickets with the stock, but there are other benefits according to league founder Tony Capozzola. "The fans have a vested interest in the outcome of the game. A vested interest meaning the team goes to the playoffs, they get more money because each franchise will generate different amounts of money just like different McDonald's franchise generates different amounts of profit for the owners." The USFOL was ready to have ten teams in the top television markets in the country and kick off in August of 1999 and the season will end by Christmas. Capozzola said there will be no exhibition games because he feels that they are a rip off. The league never got off the table.
ALL STAR FOOTBALL (1998 ) - All Star Football had been in the idea phase since CBS lost the rights to broadcast NFC games to Fox in the mid-1990s. Former NFL players Joe Kapp, Craig Morton, and Jim Marshall were the brain trust behind the league, along with Team Dynamics, Inc. The league planned to use a business plan similar to that of Major League Soccer, the Women's National Basketball Association, and the American Basketball League, with the league owning all the teams and those 16 teams will report operating expenses and revenue back to the league. All Star Football would also use syndication as a part of their television strategy. The league would be able to essentially create their own network of TV stations throughout the country to show off their product. The league, scheduled to kick off in fall of 1999, never made it.
ALL-AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1998 ) - The AAFL planned on operating in the spring of 1998, but was forced to postpone until 1999. The league was headed by Bernard Glieberman who has been involved with CFL teams in Ottawa and Shreveport and Randy Vataha who was involved with Boston of the USFL. The AAFL had plans for 12 teams in major cities. Those cities are: Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Tampa. The Detroit team named Forrest Gregg as head coach. AAFL teams would not have a single owner. Instead, different investors would own the teams and have a president in charge of the business operations. Eventually, Vataha hoped to sell stock for the league. AAFL players would sign with the league instead of with individual teams. Contracts were expected to range from $35,000 to $50,000. After a player signed with the league, teams would draft those players. The league planned to play a 20-game schedule and expected to draw about 17,000 fans a game. It drew none as the league fell apart.