American Football League (Alternity)

Current AFL logo (1983-present).

The American Football League (AFL) is the primary professional football league of the United States. The AFL was founded with 11 teams in 1920, while today it is comprised of as many as 40 teams; in 1970, the AFL absorbed its smaller rivals, the NFL (Northern Football League) and the WFC (Western Football Conference), adding a total of 11 new teams to the league's roster.

It is currently divided into five divisions: Eastern, Northern, Midwest, Southern, and Western. Every January or February (following the season's conclusion), two teams, champions of the regular season and the League's Playoffs, compete in the Super Bowl, the annual championship game. The first game, Super Bowl I (SB-I) was played in January 1967, at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, between the San Francisco 49ers and the Boston Patriots. The current champions are the Milwaukee Flyers, who defeated the Boston Patriots (35 to 14) to win Super Bowl XXXI at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

Teams[]

The AFL is composed of 40 teams at present, divided into five major divisions as follows:

Eastern Division[]

Division	Team	Stadium	City	Founded	Joined
Eastern	Boston Patriots	Hunt Field	Boston, MA	1959	1970
Eastern	New York Titans	Titan Stadium	New York City, MH	1959	1970
Eastern	Buffalo Bills	Rich Stadium	Orchard Park, NY	1959	1970
Eastern	Miami Dolphins	Dolphins Stadium	Miami, EF	1965	1974
Eastern	New York Giants	Giants Stadium	East Rutherford, NJ	1925	1925
Eastern	Philadelphia Eagles	Veterans Stadium	Philadelphia, PA	1933	1933
Eastern	Washington Senators	American Park	Washington, D.C.	1921	1921
Eastern	Baltimore Colts	Memorial Stadium	Baltimore, MD	1950	1958
Eastern	Halifax Hurricanes	North Harbor Field	Halifax, NS	1951	1959
Eastern	New England Islanders	Kelvin Dome	Kelvin, NE	1959	1970
Eastern	Brooklyn Dodgers	Ebbets Field	Brooklyn, MH	1930	1930

Northern Division[]

Division	Team	Stadium	City	Founded	Joined
Northern	Pittsburgh Steelers	Three Rivers Stadium	Pittsburgh, PA	1933	1933
Northern	Cleveland Indians	Indian Field	Cleveland, OH	1923	1923
Northern	Detroit Wolverines	Detroit Metro Park	Detroit, SM	1928	1928
Northern	Milwaukee Flyers	McNally-Conzelman Field	Milwaukee, WI	1922	1922
Northern	Chicago Cardinals	Harbor Park	Chicago, IL	1920¹	1920
Northern	Yorktown Tigers	Lakedome	Yorktown, ER	1930	1930

¹ (Oldest team still playing in the League)

Midwest Division[]

Division	Team	Stadium	City	Founded	Joined
Midwest	Columbus Hawks	Scioto Field	Columbus, OH	1920²	1920
Midwest	Cincinnati Redskins	Riverfront Stadium	Cincinnati, OH	1933	1933
Midwest	Indianapolis Tornadoes	Hoosier Dome	Indianapolis, IN	1953	1954
Midwest	Kansas City Blues	Bluefield Stadium	Kansas City, MO	1924	1924

² (Second oldest team in the League; was founded and joined the AFL only three months after the Cardinals)

Southern Division[]

Division	Team	Stadium	City	Founded	Joined
Southern	Miko Chiefs	Kaw City Superdome	Miko, OK	1959	1970
Southern	Memphis Cherokees	Memphis Memorial Stadium	Memphis, TN	1981³	1981
Southern	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Tampa Stadium	Tampa, EF	1974	1974
Southern	Ocala Panthers	Panther Field	Ocala, EF	1970	1970
Southern	Dallas Mustangs	Texas Stadium	Dallas, TX	1960	1960
Southern	Galveston Texans	Texas City Center	Galveston, TX	1960	1961
Southern	Atlanta Falcons	Georgia Dome	Atlanta, GA	1965	1965
Southern	Manheim Bobcats	Louisiana Dome	Manheim, LA	1966	1966
Southern	Havana Tempest	Tempest Stadium	Havana, CU	1959	1959
Southern	Santo Domingo Sailors	Sailor Field	Santo Domingo, DM	1961	1961

³ (Most recent team to join the AFL)

Western Division[]

Division	Team	Stadium	City	Founded	Joined
Western	Los Angeles Rams	LA City Stadium	Los Angeles, CA	1946	1946
Western	San Francisco 49ers	Candlestick Park	San Francisco, CA	1944	1944
Western	San Diego Chargers	Jack Murphy Stadium	San Diego, BA	1959	1970
Western	Seattle Seahawks	Kingdome	Seattle, WA	1974	1974
Western	Lewis Marines	Marine Memorial Stadium	Lewis, CL	1959	1970
Western	Denver Broncos	Mile-High Stadium	Denver, CO	1959	1970
Western	Phoenix Raptors	Sun Devil Stadium	Tempe, AZ	1959	1970
Western	La Paz Californians	Bay City Bowl	La Paz, BA	1959	1970
Western	Pacific City Chinooks	Pacific Field	Pacific City, OR	1959	1970

AFL - team cities (Alternity) — A map of all current AFL franchises.

Playoffs[]

Following the conclusion of the regular season, eight teams head to the playoff bracket: the division winners, the runner-ups of each division (excluding the Northern and Midwestern due to their small division size), and two wild-cards based on best record. The bracket is set up as a seed system (i.e. 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5).

Super Bowl[]

Season	Game	Winning Team	Losing Team	Venue
1967	I	San Francisco 49ers	Boston Patriots	L.A. Memorial Coliseum
1968	II	Washington Senators	Atlanta Falcons	Memorial Stadium
1969	III	Manheim Bobcats	Miko Chiefs	Hoosier Dome
1970	IV	Kansas City Blues	New York Giants	North Harbor Field
1971	V	Manheim Bobcats	Halifax Hurricanes	Jack Murphy Stadium
1972	VI	Cleveland Indians	New York Giants	Pacific Field
1973	VII	Buffalo Bills	Chicago Cardinals	Veterans Stadium
1974	VIII	Galveston Texans	Los Angeles Rams	L.A. Memorial Coliseum
1975	IX	Pittsburgh Steelers	Milwaukee Flyers	Texas City Center
1976	X	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Mustangs	McKinley Field
1977	XI	Lewis Marines	Detroit Wolverines	McNally-Conzelman Field
1978	XII	San Francisco 49ers	Pacific City Chinooks	Sun Devil Stadium
1979	XIII	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Mustangs	Pacific Field
1980	XIV	Pittsburgh Steelers	Los Angeles Rams	Lakedome
1981	XV	La Paz Californians	San Diego Chargers	Louisiana Dome
1982	XVI	Phoenix Raptors	Columbus Hawks	Mile-High Stadium
1983	XVII	Lewis Marines	Ocala Panthers	Bluefield Stadium
1984	XVIII	Los Angeles Rams	Lewis Marines	Texas Stadium
1985	XIX	Miko Chiefs	Havana Cubans	Memphis Memorial Stadium
1986	XX	Miko Chiefs	San Diego Chargers	Kingdome
1987	XXI	Brooklyn Dodgers	Washington Senators	North Harbor Field
1988	XXII	Lewis Marines	Baltimore Colts	Detroit Metro Park
1989	XXIII	San Diego Chargers	New York Titans	Kelvin Dome
1990	XXIV	Halifax Hurricanes	Cincinnati Redskins	Jack Murphy Stadium
1991	XXV	Brooklyn Dodgers	Columbus Hawks	Marine Memorial Stadium
1992	XXVI	Halifax Hurricanes	Buffalo Bills	McKinley Field
1993	XXVII	New York Titans	Brooklyn Dodgers	Lakedome
1994	XXVIII	Havana Tempest	Memphis Cherokees	Harbor Park
1995	XXIX	Chicago Cardinals	Indianapolis Tornadoes	Georgia Dome
1996	XXX	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dallas Mustangs	Sun Devil Stadium
1997	XXXI	Milwaukee Flyers	Boston Patriots	Hoosier Dome

All-stars[]

Mississippi Bowl[]

The Mississippi Bowl is the all-star conference game for AFL players in teams based east of the Mississippi River (or in those bordering it). Players selected for the Mississippi Bowl are considered the "best of the best", or the elite, of the League's eastern half and are sometimes referred to as "M-Bowlers". It has been traditionally held at the Louisiana Dome in Manheim, Louisiana every first Friday in March (post-Super Bowl) since the event's inception in 1971.