Dixie League ( American football ) The Dixie League was a professional American football league founded in 1936 as the South Atlantic Football Association , with six charter member teams in Maryland , Virginia , and Washington , D . C . . Like the American Association ( another minor league that formed in 1936 ) , its popularity ( and attendance ) rivaled that of the established National Football League . Unlike most minor professional football leagues , the Dixie League had a relative stability in membership in the years prior to World War II , maintaining a five - or six - team lineup ( and adding a team in North Carolina upon the demise of the Washington team in 1941 ) . Like the AA and the second American Football League , the Dixie League suspended operations after the Pearl Harbor attack ; unlike the AFL , the minor league reorganized after the end of the war and resumed competition in 1946 . The following year , the DL collapsed when one of its member teams purchased the assets of a defunct team in the American Association ( which changed " its " name to the American Football League ) … and opted to jump leagues . Origin . The Dixie League began its existence in 1936 when six independent teams joined forces for the purposes of competition . Charter member s included the Maryland Athletic Club ( which moved to Washington in 1936 to become the Washington Pros ) , Baltimore Orioles ( no relation to the major league baseball team ) , Norfolk Clancys , Richmond Arrows , Portsmouth Cubs , and the Alexandria Celtics ( the last a traveling team ) . Charles Hamilton became the new league ' s first president . Although the new league officially called itself the South Atlantic Football League in its first year of existence , various sportswriters repeatedly called it the " Dixie League . " The name was officially adopted for the 1937 season . 1936 . Like the New York Yankees of the first American Football League , the Richmond Arrows provided the financial backbone of the Dixie League in its first year , averaging twice as many paying spectators per home game as the other league members . The Arrows played all their games at home , offering the visiting teams a five percent bonus for the privilege . On Nov . 15 , 1936 , Richmond ' s coach ( Dave Miller ) and players walked off the team in an effort for more pay . Richmond manager Blair Meaney , Jr . hired a new head coach ( Bob Burdette ) and new players ( to join the five who didn ’ t strike ) to finish the season . Baltimore ’ s Ted Wright led the scoring , while the Orioles also featured the league ' s top passer , Leroy " Sunshine " Campbell . Until the player strike , back Mush DeLotto provided an explosive running game for the Richmond Arrows . Playoffs : Washington defeated Richmond ; Baltimore defeated Alexandria < br > Championship : Washington beat Baltimore , 3 - 0 , on a Willis Brenner field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation . Fourth - place Portsmouth declined to participate in the playoffs , opting for a game against nearby rival Norfolk . Despite finishing in last place , Alexandria took Portsmouth ’ s place against Baltimore . In the first game of a series between the DL champion and the winners of the American Association , the Washington Pros ( Dixie League ) defeated the Brooklyn Bay Parkways ( American Association ) 13 - 6 in Richmond , Virginia , January 1 , 1937 . While there would be more exhibition games involving members of the two leagues , this was the last time that an American Association team lost to a team in the Dixie League on the gridiron . 1937 . Compared to most sporting leagues in their beginning years , the Dixie League had begun strongly . All six charter members were in strong enough shape to compete in a second season ( three of the six remained DL members from the 1936 beginning to the aborted 1947 season ) . Richmond was still recovering from the effects of the player rebellion when the strikers formed a new team , the Richmond Rebels , and tried to replace the Arrows in the league . After being rebuffed , the Rebels tried to compete against the Arrows by forming the Virginia - Carolina Football League with a handful of semi - pro teams … and then marched through the season undefeated and giving up no points . The VCFL lasted only the 1937 season ; the Rebels folded along with the league . Despite the competition from the Rebels , the Arrows held their own , both on the field and at the turnstile s . Despite their improved record , the Arrows could finish no higher than third place , behind the undefeated defending champion Washington ( which became the Presidents ) and the newly - rechristened Baltimore Blue Birds . Championship : no playoffs – Washington clinches title on 3 - 3 tie with Baltimore While the league featured balance from top to bottom in its maiden season , it clearly divided into the " haves " and " have nots " in 1937 . Five members of the Washington Presidents ( including backfield mates Tom Oliver and Gene Augusterfer ) were named to the all league team . Baltimore ' s Ted Wright was once again the league ' s leading scorer while teammate " Sunshine " Campbell dented defenses with his passes . Richmond placed three linemen on the all league team , including league most valuable player Lyle Graham . The winless Portsmouth team had a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on its roster , player - coach Ace Parker , who played in only one game for the Cubs before he signed with the NFL ' s Brooklyn Dodgers in early November . 1938 . After two years of stability , the Dixie League made some adjustments in 1938 . William Nickels , Jr . became the league ' s second president , replacing Charles Hamilton . The DL was forced to play with only five teams after the folding of the Baltimore Blue Birds , and the Washington Patriots became a traveling team ( having been upstaged by the Washington Redskins ' entry into the market the year before ) . A . E . Stutz , the founder and owner of the Norfolk Clancys , died in late 1937 ; in 1938 , new owner Harry Howren started stockpiling talent ( including back Mush DeLotto , formerly of Richmond ) sufficient enough for the newly - renamed Shamrocks to dominate league play that year . Another Shamrock player , tackle Vernon " Buck " Miles , was named the league ' s most valuable player at the end of the season . Portsmouth , winless in 1937 , reached . 500 in 1938 as quarterback Larry Weldon led the league in scoring . No playoffs : Norfolk was declared league champions After the season , Norfolk was defeated , 16 - 14 , by the Hazelton Redskins , champions of the Eastern Pennsylvania Football League . Two members of the 1937 Baltimore Blue Birds ( " Sunshine " Campbell and Johnny Spirida ) provided the difference in the game , with Campbell throwing two touchdown passes and Spirida scoring ten points in the game . 1939 . The number of traveling teams in the Dixie League was halved with the folding of the Alexandria Celtics . The number of league members stayed at five with the entrance of the Newport News Builders , which actually played its home games in nearby Hampton . “ Buck ” Miles became the league MVP as he repeated his feat of scoring the most points in the Dixie League . His Cubs finished the season in a tie for the league lead with the Richmond Arrows ( the Cubs had a 6 - 1 record , the Arrows 6 - 1 - 1 ) . For the last game , the Cubs added Ace Parker ( after he finished an All - Pro season with the NFL Dodgers ) . He scored the only touchdown in a 7 - 0 Cubs victory over Newport News Builders to force a playoff with the Richmond Arrows for the league championship ( in which Parker scores the only touchdown in a Cubs 7 - 0 win ) . Playoff : Portsmouth 7 , Richmond 0 – Portsmouth wins league championship 1940 . With the addition of the Roanoke Travelers , the Dixie League returned to having six teams for the 1940 season . While the team made a successful debut , finishing in second place , the Travelers had the misfortune of having almost half of its season cancelled as a result of bad weather . Two early losses deprived Richmond of a chance for competing for the league title ( which was easily won by Portsmouth ) , but the Arrows entertained the fans by being the first DL team to average more than two touchdowns a game . " Sunshine " Campbell , returning to the Dixie League after playing in the American Association and the EPFL , provided the passes , and A . B . Conner became the MVP of the Dixie League by scoring 49 points . Portsmouth ’ s Larry Weldon set a new league record by throwing seven touchdown passes in the span of ten games . Over a span of 20 games in 1939 and 1940 , Weldon and the Cubs managed to win 16 games , lose two , and tie two games ( a . 889 winning percentage ) – and win two league titles . Washington struggled through its third consecutive season as a traveling team … and left the league after the end of the 1940 season . No playoffs : Portsmouth declared league champions for the second straight year . 1941 . For the first time , the Dixie League had six teams , all of them with actual home fields , with the Charlotte Clippers replacing Washington . As the United States started preparing for a war that appeared to be inevitable in the fall of 1941 , the league benefited from the addition of military personnel from bases in the region . Playing for the Newport News Builders , two such newcomers broke passing and scoring records that were established just the previous year . George Cafego had eight of his passes go for touchdowns , while Ken Fryer scored 61 points , more than any minor league player in a single season before the entry of the US into World War II . Despite the records on offense , the Builders finished the 1941 season in third place . Charlotte had a successful freshman season in the Dixie League , scoring 184 points , roughly 30 more than Newport News and Norfolk … and the previous record set in 1940 by Richmond . The Clippers finished second to Norfolk , whose star back Pete Sachon was billed as " Pistol Pete " three decades before Pete Maravich . " Pistol Pete " Sachon was selected the DL most valuable player for 1941 . No playoffs : Norfolk declared league champion 1942 - 1946 . Like two other professional football leagues – the American Association and the third American Football League – the Dixie League suspended its operations in early 1942 in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack and the US entry into World War II . Norfolk Shamrocks owner Harry Howren disagreed with the decision of the league and opted to form the Virginia Football League for the 1942 season with DL members Portsmouth , Newport News , and Richmond . The plans were short - lived as Newport News failed to field a team and the other three teams played few games before competition was cancelled due to lack of spectator interest . The league stayed in limbo until 1946 . As American troops returned to the United States after the end of World War II , the owners of the Dixie League member teams , led by Howren , announced plans for " reorganizing " the league . With the exception of Roanoke ( which was replaced by a team from Greensboro ) , the Dixie League of 1946 resembled the DL of five years earlier , although a couple of members ( Richmond and Portsmouth ) opted for changes in the team name . William Nickels , Jr . continued as the league president . While the league opted to maintain continuity on the playing field , the Dixie League joined forces with the American Association ( which changed its name in 1946 to the American Football League ) and the Pacific Coast Professional Football League . On March 24 , 1946 , PCPFL president J . Rufus Klawans announced the " big three " minor leagues had formed the Association of Professional Football Leagues . The APFL entered into a working compact with the NFL , prohibiting the participation of players signed to " outlaw leagues " ( originally directed toward the third AFL – which never returned from " its " limbo – but was subsequently applied to the newly - formed All America Football Conference ) . The Association lasted less than two years . 1946 . The new working relationship the " big three " minor leagues and the NFL reaped positive benefits for the Dixie League as the DL teams lined up " sponsors " in the major league . While both Dixie League and AFL teams acted as " farm teams " for their " sponsors , " rules were in place to prevent the stockpiling of talent for later use by the NFL . As a result , the major league teams were not permitted to " raid " their minor league brethren , and the quality of play , and the players , was a step up compared to before World War II . In addition to the new Greensboro franchise , the Dixie League of 1946 had two charter members change their names . The former Portsmouth Cubs became the Portsmouth Pirates , while the former Richmond Arrows adopted a familiar name : the Richmond Rebels . The 1946 Dixie League campaign featured a tight race between two teams with potent offenses , the Charlotte Clippers ( with backs Casey Jones and Butch Butler ) and Richmond ( with backs Glenn Knox and Tony Gallovich ) . League records for offense fell as Butler threw 11 touchdown passes and Richmond ' s Morgan Tiller had eight touchdown receptions . The two teams were even in their battle for the league title until the Rebels lost their final two games . The Dixie League had a successful revival in 1946 . No one could have foreseen its sudden demise a mere one year later . No playoffs : Charlotte declared Dixie League champions 1947 and the demise of the Dixie League . After a successful revival in 1946 , the Dixie League prepared for a season of change in 1947 . It inaugurated a new president , Tom Hanes . The Greensboro Patriots moved to Winston - Salem , while the Roanoke Travelers returned to the fold , replacing the defunct Newport News franchise . Plans for possible expansion were being made for the 1948 season . The optimism of the league started to disappear just before the first week of competition . Both Winston - Salem and Roanoke withdrew , leaving the Dixie League with a mere four teams . The week after the opening day ( October 5 ) games , the league itself disappeared . On October 7 , control of the Portsmouth Pirates was transferred from an ailing Charles Aberson to a group based in Charlottesville , with the agreement that the team would revert to Aberson in 1948 . The next day , the league was blindsided by the announcement that longtime DL member Richmond purchased the assets of a defunct American Football League franchise ( the Long Island Indians , which lost all three games they played that season ) and defected to the other minor league . The move inflicted a fatal wound to the Dixie League . A month earlier , the DL had six members ready for competition ; after the Richmond defection , only three teams remained . The league was forced to call it quits . While there were discussions of a possible reorganization for 1948 , the Dixie League was no longer a viable entity . The Charlotte Clippers continued through 1949 as an independent team , while members of the Portsmouth Pirates and Norfolk Shamrocks combined forces to test the waters of independence in 1948 . The Richmond Rebels , Dixie League ( American football ) charter members like Portsmouth and Norfolk , continued their participation in the American Football League until the league had " its " implosion in 1950 ( the Rebels won the last two AFL championships , in 1949 and 1950 ) . The team petitioned to join the All America Football Conference for the 1950 season , but the major league ’ s merger with the National Football League thwarted the club ’ s intentions .