American Football League (1940) - Demise of The Third Major League AFL

Demise of The Third Major League AFL

Although the AFL lost the Boston Bears franchise prior to the beginning of the 1941 season, its owners were optimistic about the league's long-term future. Although the league's average attendance was less than that of the more-established NFL, the AFL seemed to be on as firm a financial footing as the older league. By the end of the 1941 season, a new franchise was awarded to Detroit for the 1942 season. The league was the first major football league to complete a double round robin schedule, in which each team played each other twice.

All the plans for 1942 came to a sudden stop upon the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II on December 7, 1941. With the induction of college and professional players into the U.S. military, it became increasingly apparent to the AFL owners that the global conflict would put the continued success of the league into question.

On September 2, 1942, AFL president William B. Cox announced the suspension of league activities until the end of the war.:

Unlike Douglas MacArthur, the league did not return. The NFL was without a competitor until the formation of the All-America Football Conference in 1946, one year after the end of World War II.