Pacific Coast Professional Football League The Pacific Coast Professional Football League ( PCPFL ) , also known as the Pacific Coast Football League ( PCFL ) and Pacific Coast League ( PCL ) was a professional American football league based in California , USA , and competed from 1940 through 1948 in sports . One of the few American professional sports leagues that competed in the years of World War II , the PCPFL was regarded as a minor league of the highest level , particularly in 1940 - 1945 , at a time in which the major National Football League did not extend further east than Chicago and Green Bay . It was also the first professional football league to have a team based in Hawaii ( the Hawaiian Warriors ) . Formed from the wreckage of a failed California Pro Football League , the PCPFL showcased the Los Angeles Bulldogs and the Hollywood Bears . The league became the “ home ” of African American football stars ( including Kenny Washington , Woody Strode , and , briefly , Jackie Robinson ) as the NFL had developed and enforced a color barrier in 1934 and extended until 1946 . After reaching a peak in 1945 , the importance and popularity of the PCPFL declined rapidly in the post - World War years as the NFL ’ s Los Angeles Rams and the All - America Football Conference ’ s Los Angeles Dons established a major league presence with games in the Coliseum . The resulting competition was devastating to the PCPFL : teams averaging over 10 , 000 spectators per game in 1944 and 1945 were having difficulty drawing 1000 fans in 1946 . In December 1948 , the PCPFL folded . The Los Angeles Bulldogs , the only league member to have participated in every season of the league ’ s existence , was in such financial straits that they didn ’ t play the last two scheduled games in 1948 , and the Hollywood Bears had become a traveling team in 1948 . Origin of league . History of professional football in California before 1937 . Prior to 1936 , the history of professional football in California was not a hopeful one . While there were two “ major league Los Angeles teams ” in 1926 ( the Buccaneers of the NFL and the Los Angeles Wildcats of the first American Football League ) , both were actually traveling team s ( the Buccaneers were based in Chicago , the Wildcats in Moline , Illinois ) that lasted only one season , but several NFL and AFL teams would also play exhibition contests in the West , sometimes with other NFL or AFL teams , but also against some of the local semi - pro teams in the region , in the following year or two . A league that formed in 1926 in the wake of an exhibition by Red Grange was called the Pacific Coast League , but it failed to survive the first year of competition . In 1934 , four teams from the Los Angeles area and two from San Francisco formed another Pacific Coast League ; when the two San Francisco teams withdrew from the league after the 1934 season , the four L . A . teams continued to compete in 1935 as the American Legion League ( some called it the American Legion Football League , or ALFL ) . It folded after one season under the new name . The 1930s proved to be a boon for professional football leagues in the United States ( the NFL grew in popularity even in light of competition of the second AFL in 1936 and 1937 ) , but it was a “ golden age ” for minor league football . The year 1936 also marked the first year of the Dixie League of the American South ( the DL lasted until the fall of 1947 ) , the American Association ( which changed its name to the American Football League in 1946 and lasted until 1950 ) … and a team that formed for the expressed purpose of joining the National Football League , but was passed over in favor of the Cleveland Rams : the Los Angeles Bulldogs . The Los Angeles Bulldogs and the formation of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League . Owned by the local chapter of the American Legion , managed by Harry Myers , and coached by Gus Henderson , the fledgling Bulldogs played all the games in its inaugural season in Gilmore Stadium , playing local teams like the Salinas Packers and the Hollywood Stars , but also the Philadelphia Eagles ( won , 10 - 7 ) , Pittsburgh Pirates ( won , 21 - 7 ) , Chicago Cardinals ( won , 13 - 10 ) , Brooklyn Dodgers ( tied , 13 - 13 ) , Chicago Bears ( lost , 7 - 0 ) , and Green Bay Packers ( lost , 49 - 0 ) . In their six games against the NFL , the Bulldogs compiled a 3 - 2 - 1 record while having a 6 - 3 - 1 season overall . Myers was confident of receiving an NFL franchise in the 1937 league owners meeting , but after seeing presentations from Houston , Cleveland , and Los Angeles , the owners offered the franchise to Cleveland , then a member of the second American Football League . The Bulldogs were invited to replace the Rams in the fledgling league , and proceeded with the first perfect season in major league professional football : eight wins in AFL games ( and the only AFL team with a winning record in the 1937 season ) , 18 wins including exhibition games , no losses , no ties . Not even the Miami Dolphins , who lost an exhibition game immediately prior to their " perfect " 1972 season , can make the claim . The Bulldogs ’ complete dominance of the league exacerbated the financial difficulties of the AFL to the point that the league was forced to fold after the end of the 1937 season . Another attempt at a league in California in 1936 barely got off the ground . One of the teams , the Hollywood Stars , was sold to Paul Schissler , who coached the Chicago Cardinals ( 1933 - 34 ) and Brooklyn Dodgers ( 1935 - 36 ) of the NFL . Schissler planned yet another league , this one to showcase the Bulldogs and his Stars . Myers declined the invitation to join the new California and opted for a season in which the Bulldogs were an independent team ( as was the case for another “ survivor ” of the second AFL , the Cincinnati Bengals ) . After a 7 - 2 - 2 record in 1938 , the Bulldogs joined the Bengals in becoming members of yet another American Football League ( which later changed its name to the American Professional Football Association ) for the 1939 season . The Bulldogs won the 1939 league title ( and had a new owner , Jerry Corcoran ) , and before the end of league play , had already given notice that they would be leaving at the end of the season to become a charter member of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League ( the AFL / APFA would subsequently end after yet another AFL signed three APFA member clubs and split the older league ) . Charter members of the 1940 edition of the PCPFL include the Bulldogs , the Hollywood Bears ( which Paul Schissler had renamed in honor of his " alma mater " , UCLA ) , the Phoenix Panthers , the Oakland Giants , and the San Diego Bombers History and season standings . 1940 . The Bears ’ and Bulldogs ’ losses were to each other ( two each ) . Kenny Washington and Woody Strode starred for the Bears after being denied entrance into the NFL due to their race . The Bears also had the leading scorer of the league , former New York Giant Kink Richards . Phoenix and Oakland dropped out at the end of the 1940 season ; the San Francisco Bay Packers joined for 1941 . 1941 . The season was cut short after the attack on Pearl Harbor ( the military was fearing another West Coast attack ) . Kenny Washington led the Bears to a perfect season , having beaten Los Angeles three times to clinch the title . Washington ' s UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson played briefly for the Bulldogs before moving to Honolulu . Steve Bagarus of San Diego had a 100 yard interception return against the Bears . Kink Richards repeated as the league ’ s high scorer . 1942 . Unlike the American Football League of 1940 and the American Association , both of which suspended operations after 1941 , the PCPFL decided to continue play during World War II . Military service , nonetheless , wreaked havoc with the teams ’ rosters . Bears owner / coach Paul Schlisser left for the war as Kenny Washington was injured most of the abbreviated season . The Bulldogs roster was depleted by the war effort . Members of the PCPFL also played games with two military teams , the March Field Flyers and the Santa Ana Flyers in response to increasing public interest . San Diego ’ s Steve Bagarus became a star with his versatility as his team won the league title and held its own against the March Field Flyers . The Santa Ana Flyers were 5 - 0 against the league and claimed the “ extended PCL championship . ” 1943 . Growing in influence , the PCPFL underwent several changes before the 1943 season . Temporarily gone were the Hollywood Bears as owner Paul Schlisser was still overseas ; the Oakland Giants returned after a two year absence ; the Alameda Mustangs , Richmond Boilermakers , and the Los Angeles Mustangs joined the league . Controversy ensued when Los Angeles Mustangs owner Bill Freelove raided the roster of Jerry Corcoran ’ s crosstown Bulldogs . When all was said and done , virtually all the members of the 1942 Bulldogs became members of the 1943 Mustangs . While the controversy was raging , Hollywood got a “ leave of absence ” from the league until the return of Schlisser from World War II . The former Bears ( including former player - coach Kink Richards ) became Bulldogs for the 1943 season . Ramifications from Freelove ’ s actions ensued over the next few years . Richmond leaves the PCPFL at the end of the season . 1944 . The Alameda Mustangs moved to San Jose and became the San Jose Mustangs ; the Hollywood Wolves entered the league for 1944 ; and the membership of the Los Angeles Mustangs was revoked by the team owners to protest owner Bill Freelove ’ s raiding of Jerry Corcoran ’ s Los Angeles Bulldogs roster . Freelove responded by forming a new league , the American Football League ( with Jerry Giesler as president ) . In 1944 , an unprecedented five Los Angeles area teams were competing in either of the rival leagues . 1944 PCPFL Standings . Both leagues had undefeated champions ( the PCPFL Bombers had won their third consecutive title ) . On December 21 , 1944 , PCPFL league president J . Rufus Klawans announced a merger between the two leagues . Immediately afterward , the AFL champion Hollywood Rangers and PCPFL champion San Diego Bombers scheduled two games , one at each team ’ s home , to decide the “ unified ” Pacific Coast championship . Hollywood swept San Diego , winning 42 - 7 and 21 - 10 , for the bragging rights . 1945 . The merger resulted in a “ new 1945 PCL ” looking remarkably similar to the previous year ’ s edition . The Seattle and Portland AFL teams did not participate in the new league ; the AFL champion Hollywood Rangers refused to merge with the Hollywood Bears , which returned after a two - season absence ( the Rangers became an independent team in 1945 instead … and then folded after six games ) . Bill Freelove ’ s Los Angeles Mustangs were refused admittance into the merged league and met the same fate as the Rangers when they tried to play as an independent team in 1945 . When the dust of the merger settled , the new PCPFL team lineup was the same as it was in 1944 , except with the AFL San Francisco Clippers replacing the Packers and the returning Hollywood Bears replacing the short - lived Wolves of the same locale . With the end of World War II , more changes were afoot in the newly - merged PCPFL . Kenny Washington and Paul Schlisser returned to the Bears , who ended San Diego ’ s string of league championships . Tailback Dean McAdams , hero of the Rangers ’ championship campaign of 1944 , was scoring touchdowns for the Bulldogs in 1945 . San Diego had Bosh Pritchard , who would later be rushing for the Philadelphia Eagles , and the Bulldogs had a new quarterback who would later make a name for himself in San Francisco : Frankie Albert . The NFL ’ s color line was still about a year from being erased ; Oakland ’ s Mel Reid , banned by the NFL because of his race , was the PCPFL ’ s most valuable player in 1945 . 1946 . Seismic changes in the world of professional football were the trend in 1946 . The Hollywood Bears and the Los Angeles Bulldogs once had Los Angeles to themselves in 1945 , but in 1946 , they faced competition from the NFL ( with the Los Angeles Rams ) and the All - America Football Conference ( with the Los Angeles Dons ) . While two occupants of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum were drawing dozens of thousands to their home games in 1946 , the Bulldogs ( in Gilmore Stadium ) and the Bears ( in Gilmore Field ) were having difficulty getting paying people to their much smaller stadia . Another major change came with the rebreaking of the NFL ' s 12 - year - old " color barrier : " when the Rams signed two of the PCPFL ' s top stars , Woody Strode and Kenny Washington ( both of the Hollywood Bears ) , it began a slow erosion of the PCPFL ' s most important talent base : the black players in American professional football that , up to that point , the NFL had refused to allow into their league . In the meantime , the PCPFL expanded to a record nine teams and had divisional play for the only time in its history ( the two division champions would play a single game for the league title ) . New teams include the Tacoma Indians , Salt Lake ( City ) Seagulls , Sacramento Nuggets , and the Hawaiian Warriors . The Hawaiians played all their games at home , and generally in two - game sets to minimize travel expenses for the mainland opponents . With their own officiating crew , the Warriors had a perceived advantage as they consistently played in front of crowds of upward of 15 , 000 people . The PCPFL , the Dixie League , and the American Association ( which changed its name to the American Football League for the 1946 season ) entered into a working arrangement with the NFL , agreeing to being , in essence , a farm league to the “ big boys ” and not allowing any participants in “ any outlaw league ” ( specifically the AAFC ) to be a member of any PCPFL team . The compact was formalized March 24 , 1946 , with the announcement of the formation of the Association of Professional Football Leagues . Southern Division . The season ended in controversy as the Northern Division title was determined by a game in which the San Francisco Clippers apparently defeated the Los Angeles Bulldogs by a score of 24 - 19 and claimed the top spot in the division . When Clippers owner Frank Ciraolo entered his team ’ s locker room to participate in the victory celebration , he noticed that John Woudenberg , tackle for the San Francisco 49ers , was wearing a uniform that was assigned to the Clippers ’ Courtney Thorell . After the “ discrepancy ” was reported to league officials , the game was declared a 1 - 0 forfeit to the Bulldogs . As a result , the Northern Division champions were the Tacoma Indians . The Bulldogs , with 11 players with NFL experience , defeated Tacoma in the league championship game , 38 - 7 , on January 19 , 1947 . It was the last game of the Indians ’ existence . Although the Salt Lake Seagulls had three games cancelled in 1946 , they would return for another season ; but not so the Oakland Giants . The Hollywood Bears took another " leave of absence . " 1947 . Back Buddy Abreu was the league ’ s leading rusher and scorer as his Hawaiian Warriors won a narrow “ race ” with the defending champion Bulldogs ( led by quarterback Mel Reid ) by beating the team from L . A . 7 - 6 . Sacramento and Salt Lake dropped out of the league after canceling their home - and - home series that was scheduled to finish the PCPFL season . But having only three active members was not the only issue threatening the continuation of the existence of the league . An investigation led by league president J . Rufus Klawans revealed that members of the Hawaiian Warriors were placing bets on games in which they were participating . Four ( Abreu , Ray Scussell , Floyd “ Scrap Iron ” Rhea , and Jack Keenan ) were permanently banned from the league ; another ten team members were “ suspended indefinitely . ” 1948 and the demise of the PCPFL . As the PCPFL continues unraveling , the Hollywood Bears return to the fold after a second “ leave of absence . ” The revitalized Bears were under the watchful eye of former Bulldogs owner Jerry Corcoran as they re - entered the league as a traveling team . The Bulldogs , who used to sell out games at 18 , 000 - seat Gilmore Stadium , had to move to Long Beach , California , after two years of failing to attract 1000 fans in their home games . The Warriors were the class of the league , averaging 30 points of offense per game despite losing over half of the 1947 squad . They had claimed at least tie for the league title with a 5 - 1 record , with the Bulldogs having two games left to play ( one with the Bears , one with the Clippers ) in Long Beach ' s Veterans Memorial Stadium . The games were " not " played . The legendary Los Angeles Bulldogs ( who were the Long Beach Bulldogs in 1948 ) had called it quits after drawing only 850 fans in the only PCPFL game in Long Beach ; the league soon followed suit and folded .