Demise
After a 1946 season that saw continued success for the minor leagues, and the NFL weathering the AAFC challenge, no one could envision the quickness of the demise of the Association of American Professional Football Leagues the following fall.
Just before the start of the 1947 season, two members of the Dixie League dropped out of the league, leaving the circuit with only four competing teams. On October 5, 1947, they played the first games of the season. Three days later, the Richmond Rebels of the Dixie League purchased the assets of the defunct Long Island Indians of the AFL and jumped to the other league. Dixie League president Tom Hanes protested to NFL president Bert Bell, who agreed that he did not agree to such a shift, but since it didn’t involve any member team of the National Football League, he – and the Association of American Professional Football Leagues – could do nothing about it.
Left with only three teams, the Dixie League folded the next day. The compact effectively ended when the DL collapsed. On February 4, 1948, the NFL officially ended it by dissolving the links to the AFL.
The Pacific Coast Professional Football League lasted one more season, limping to the end after the Los Angeles Bulldogs moved to a small stadium in Long Beach, California and cancelled their last two scheduled games for the 1948 season, ending the league. The AFL lasted through the 1950 season as the transplanted Rebels won the last two championships before the league called it a day.
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