American Football League ( 1936 ) Sometimes called AFL II , the second American Football League ( AFL ) was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937 . The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League ( NFL ) throughout its existence . While the American media generally ignored its operation ( often relegating game coverage to " page filler " status ) , the second AFL was the first " home " of the Cleveland Rams , which joined the National Football League after one year in the AFL . In 1937 , the Los Angeles Bulldogs , the first professional football team to play its home games on the West Coast , also became the first professional football team to win a league championship with a perfect record ( no losses , no ties ) - 11 years before the Cleveland Browns ( AAFC ) and 35 years before the Miami Dolphins ( NFL ) accomplished the same feat . Origin of League . The brainchild of former New York Giants personnel director Harry March , plans for the formation of the second American Football League were announced on November 15 , 1935 . Fifteen cities bid for charter franchises for the new league , and on April 11 , 1936 , eight ( Boston , Cleveland , Jersey City , New York , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , Providence , and Syracuse ) were awarded . Within a few months , Jersey City , Providence , and Philadelphia pulled out and Rochester was granted a franchise . Two weeks later , the newest franchise was transferred to Brooklyn even though there was no stadium available at the time . The league was envisioned to be a players league , with veteran players involved in the management of the participating teams . March served as the AFL ' s president until his resignation in October . He was succeeded by James Bush , president of the New York Yankees AFL franchise . Most of the new AFL franchises were built on the raiding of nearby NFL franchises in the league ' s first season . While first - season AFL champion Boston did not plunder the roster of the struggling Redskins team , the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Americans had no such qualms with their crosstown rivals , the Giants and the Pirates . Similarly the Cleveland Rams signed their head coach , Damon Wetzel , from the backfield of the Chicago Bears . Teams . Boston Shamrocks . The offensive powerhouse of the AFL in the 1936 season , the George Kenneally - led Shamrocks were in a three - way battle with Cleveland and New York for the league championship when Boston beat the other two on consecutive weeks at the end of the season . The following year , the Shamrocks were beset with player defections and struggled to a 2 - 7 record . Playing its home games at Fenway Park and Braves Field , the team folded along with the league at the end of the 1937 season . Brooklyn Tigers . Awarded a franchise in 1936 although no home field was available in Brooklyn , the Tigers had a short , troubled existence . In mid - November , the team moved to Rochester ( changing its name to the Rochester Tigers ) and played in Red Wing Stadium despite the failure of another AFL team based in that city mere weeks before . The team limped to the end of the 1937 season before fading into oblivion . The Tigers were coached by Mike Palm , who owned the team along with Harry Newman . Cleveland Rams . Owned by Homer Marshman and playing its home games in Cleveland Municipal Stadium , the Rams competed in the AFL for only one season ( finishing second with a 5 - 2 - 2 record ) with the league ' s stingiest defense and one of the league ' s two most potent offenses ( along with Boston ) . When the NFL announced that it was willing to expand , Marshman applied for a franchise in the more - established league ( along with representatives from Houston and Los Angeles ) . As a result , the Rams left the AFL for 1937 season , to be replaced by the people from Los Angeles whose NFL application was turned down . The 1936 Rams had Sid Gillman as a rookie end in his only season as an active professional player . New York Yankees . The second New York Yankees football team for an American Football League was coached by Jack McBride and featured the talents of star back Ken Strong . Team president James Bush doubled as league president in the latter half of the 1936 season . Like the defending league champion Boston Shamrocks , the 1937 Yankees team was plagued by player defections to the NFL . Unlike the other New York Yankees football teams , the Yankees of AFL II had " two " home stadia : Yankee Stadium and Triborough Stadium on Randall ' s Island . Pittsburgh Americans . While the Americans were holding their own on the football field in 1936 , they lagged the rest of the league in attendance ( 2500 average attendance for home games in Forbes Field ) ; although the Americans survived the first season as a middle - of - the - pack AFL team , the team was folded after the third game in 1937 . The Americans were not without stars : they signed former Pirates Ben Smith and Loran Ribble . Syracuse Braves . The existence of the Braves was doomed from lack of fan support while losing every game at Municipal Stadium ( Don Irwin and end Red Badgro were the head coaches ) . The team moved to Rochester at midseason and called itself the Rochester Braves for a few weeks before calling it quits . At the lone home game in Red Wing Stadium ( November 1 , 1936 ) the second half was delayed 40 minutes by Braves players demanding back pay . The game was finished ; the franchise folded immediately afterward . Soon afterwards , another AFL team ( Brooklyn ) followed the Braves to Rochester in an effort to survive the 1936 season . Cincinnati Bengals . Not related to the current NFL franchise , the Bengals joined the AFL for the 1937 season . Playing at Crosley Field , the team was a steady draw despite the team having a losing record . When the league folded at the end of the year , the Bengals continued as an independent team for 1938 , joined the short - lived minor American Professional Football Association for 1939 , and became a charter member of the third AFL in 1940 . Hal Pennington was the team ' s originator ; he was also the first head coach and general manager of the Bengals . Los Angeles Bulldogs . While an independent team , the Bulldogs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in 1936 . After being turned down for the NFL for the 1937 season , the Bulldogs joined the AFL and became the first professional football team to play its home games on the West Coast . Averaging 14 , 000 in attendance for its home games in Gilmore Stadium , the Bulldogs were drawing twice as many fans per game as the rest of the league . Los Angeles did not lose or tie a game in its one season with the AFL , the first Professional Football team to win its league title with a perfect record . When the league folded at the end of the season , the Gus Henderson - led Bulldogs continued on as an independent team before joining the minor league American Professional Football Association in 1939 and becoming a charter member of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League the following year . All - League selections . There was no All - League team named for the 1936 season . 1937 . Bill Moore , Los Angeles ( end ) < br > Bill Steinkinber , Cincinnati ( tackle ) < br > Pete Mehringer , Los Angeles ( guard ) < br > Lee Mulleneaux , Cincinnati ( center ) < br > Alex Drobnitch , New York ( guard ) < br > Harry Fields , Los Angeles ( tackle ) < br > Red Fleming , Boston ( end ) < br > Harry Newman , Los Angeles ( quarterback ) < br > Don Geyer , Cincinnati ( halfback ) < br > Al Nichelini , Los Angeles ( halfback ) < br > Gordon Gore , Los Angeles ( fullback ) Demise of the second AFL . While league champion contenders Boston , Cleveland , and the Yankees were consistent draws in 1936 ( Boston nearly outdrawing the NFL rival Redskins , which moved to Washington the following year ) , the other four franchises presented problems for the AFL . Pittsburgh drew only 2500 customers per home game , Syracuse drew less than 5000 before moving to Rochester ( and folding after one game ) , and Brooklyn didn ' t have a home until the team followed the Braves to Rochester . With the departure of two franchises ( the Braves and the Rams ) , it was clear that change was in order for the AFL . In the beginning of 1937 , the league inaugurated its third president in less than 14 months , J . J . Schafer , added Jack Dempsey and Bing Crosby to its board , and proceeded to restock its franchise line - up with a franchise in a city in which an NFL franchise failed a mere three years earlier ( Cincinnati ) and a touring team based in Los Angeles whose application to join the more established league was turned down in favor of the Rams . Unlike the NFL , AFL teams tended to have local interest only . Out - of - town newspapers rarely covered the league ' s activities , and when they did , the coverage was usually a bare - bones mention of the scores inserted as page filler . Three weeks into the 1937 season , the poorly - drawing Pittsburgh Americans gave up the ghost while the other eastern teams were suffering the results of player raids by NFL teams ( defending champion Boston was virtually gutted , leaving it in no shape to repeat its success ) . The entry of the Los Angeles Bulldogs into the league also helped lead to the league ' s demise . The new team simply overwhelmed the rest of the AFL as the only team with a winning record . The Bulldogs played all of its away games in the first half of the season and then finished the demolition as they stayed home for the second half . While the Bulldogs had attendance figures comparable to that of the 1936 Shamrocks and Yankees ( about 14 , 000 per home game ) , the former eastern powers lost their draw . Shamrocks owner Bill Scully noted that the team lost $ 37 , 000 in 1937 ; the rest of the league ( excluding Los Angeles ) fared worse . With the optimism that began the 1937 season gone , the second American Football League closed up shop at the end of the season . After the second AFL . While the existence of the second American Football League was relatively brief , its influence in American sports was actually more than realized at that time . It introduced " major league " football to the West Coast , which had a team based in Los Angeles and played its games there ( in contrast to the Los Angeles Buccaneers , an NFL team that was actually based in Chicago ) . The success of the Boston Shamrocks was a prod for George Preston Marshall to move his Boston Redskins south to Washington . The AFL was the first " home league " of the Cleveland Rams , which continue to exist as the St . Louis Rams . The Los Angeles Bulldogs returned to the independent circuit in 1938 , as did the Cincinnati Bengals , which joined the fledgling minor league , the American Professional Football Association , in 1939 and became a charter member of the third AFL in 1940 . The Bulldogs also joined the APFA for 1939 , before becoming a charter member of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in 1940 . More than a quarter - century after the demise of the third AFL , the Bengals name would be revived by Paul Brown for his Cincinnati expansion franchise in the fourth AFL , a team that continues to play in today ' s NFL .