American Football League - Fictional History

Unlike their expansion brethren, St. Louis owner Arthur Dixon knew exactly what to name the team. Dixon is a high-ranking executive within Anheuser-Busch, and a good friend of St Louis Brewers owner and lead executive Gussie Busch. The last team that was in town, the St. Louis Arrows, was fairly successful in bringing in fans but the financials were never right, with PAFC president Virgil Bradshaw controversially merging them with the Kansas City team and leaving the city without a pro football team. Busch immediately stepped up to bring the sport back into town, and gave Dixon the funds needed to get an expansion team in the AFL. Busch gave only three requirements, that for Dixon to fully run the team, the team had to represent his company in some way, and that they played in Busch Stadium along with the Brewers. Dixon would then announce to the press the name of the new St. Louis team: the St. Louis Stallions. The team would be named after the Clydesdale horses that would travel arou

Almost immediately after the announcement of the return of football to the City of Brotherly Love, new owner Sy Thompson put out a name-the-team contest in The Philadelphia Inquirer, stating a preference for patriotic themed names. The only name that was excluded was the Federals, a former name for one of the football teams in the city, now being used by Washington. Among the names that were seriously considered were the Liberty Bells, Rattlesnakes, Keystones, Stars, Patriots, Cannons, and Americans. The Americans, Stars, and Patriots were almost immediately ruled out due to Washington owner Bernard McCullough putting a moratorium on any blue/red/white identities to not be so close to the Federals. Thompson would then meet members of the press at the Warwick Hotel to unveil the new team to the world: the Philadelphia Rattlesnakes. The name comes from the Gadsden flag, an early symbol of the Revolutionary War, and the timber rattlesnake being one of the old national symbols of the U.S.,

Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford Hotel would be the home of both the league meetings and the upcoming draft to welcome the next slate of expansion teams into the league. The football world around the AFL has been rapidly changing, and the owners were ready to adapt to the new landscape around them. Commissioner Hasenkamp officially welcomed Philadelphia and St. Louis as the league’s two newest teams, and the meetings began with haste. PHILADELPHIA, ST. LOUIS WELCOMED TO LEAGUE The Philadelphia and St. Louis football clubs were officially welcomed as the 11th and 12th teams, both announcing their full identities at a later date. With the two entering the league, it now needed to align itself again like last year. Unlike past years’ struggles with aligning teams, these two teams will slot in without any issue, with Philadelphia joining the East Division and St. Louis the West. Just like the year prior, this season’s expansion draft will see both teams selecting 3 players from each team,

PAFC ENDURES CHAOS, EXPANDS SOUTHWARD The PAFC endured one of its most chaotic seasons and offseasons since the split with the AFL in 1950. Several teams facing financial issues had the looming threat of either folding or relocating to a different city if they could not improve their attendance. The Louisville Colts and Columbus Aviators were the two teams that were affected the most, each not having a single successful season in their short time in the league. Louisville did not have a single winning season since their introduction to the league in 1952 as a hasty replacement for the departing AFL teams, and Columbus was entered in due to the AFL abandoning the city due to attendance but only had 1 “good” season in their 3 short years. With both teams faltering for another year, it was only a matter of time after the PAFC season concluded for both teams to announce that they would be seeking new ownership. The Boston Rebels had been the worst team in the Championship the past two year