WLAF History
The original WLAF was a spring developmental American football league which had 10 teams playing a 10-game regular season. Two additional franchises were initially proposed in Paris and Mexico City. Teams were aligned in three divisions:
- North American West: Birmingham Fire, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders
- North American East: Montreal Machine, New York/New Jersey Knights, Orlando Thunder, Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks (replaced by Ohio Glory in 1992)
- European: Barcelona Dragons, Frankfurt Galaxy, London Monarchs
The playoff format consisted of four teams: the three divisional champions, plus a wild card with the best overall non-division winning record. The two teams emerging from the World League of American Football semifinal playoffs met at the end of the season in the World Bowl. The first two World Bowl games were held at predetermined locations much like the modern Super Bowl.
The original WLAF was less than popular in the United States. This might also have been caused by the surprising domination of the three Europe-based teams in 1991, which had a combined 24-6 record, while no North American team managed to be better than 5-5. The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks even lost all 10 games as well as their franchise, which was moved to Ohio for 1992.
In 1992, fortunes changed and none of the European teams had winning seasons. Despite this, the European fans remained loyal, but operations of the WLAF were suspended after the 1992 season as the league lost money and the involved NFL owners were not willing to invest more. However, the National Football League still liked the idea of a spring developmental league—and they needed another pro Football league to help their cause in the antitrust and free agency lawsuit with the National Football League Players' Association.
The Sacramento and San Antonio franchises left the WLAF and were set to join the Canadian Football League in 1993. San Antonio folded prior to the season but the Sacramento Gold Miners did play in the CFL for three years, starting the CFL USA initiative created in the wake of the WLAF's suspension.
Read more about this topic: World League Of American Football
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