American Football League ( 1940 ) American Football League , also known as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name , was a major professional American football league that operated from 1940 - 1941 . It was created when three teams , the original Cincinnati Bengals , the Columbus Bullies , and the Milwaukee Chiefs , were lured away from the minor - league American Professional Football Association and joined three new franchises in Boston , Buffalo , and New York City in a new league . It competed against the National Football League ( NFL ) , the oldest existing professional football league . The organization was the third major league to bear the name American Football League . Its establishment resulted in the dissolution of the American Professional Football Association , which had just announced its intentions to compete with the NFL as a major league organization . In 1941 American Football League became the first football league to play a schedule ( five home games and five away games ) . However , it folded after the end of the 1941 season . Origin . Although the third American Football League was not directly connected to any previous American football leagues of the same name , its formation was at the cost of an already - existing minor football league of the same name . By the spring of 1940 , the former American Professional Football Association announced intentions of turning itself into a major league with the addition of a Milwaukee team for the upcoming season over the protests of the Green Bay Packers . As the teams prepared for the upcoming season , the announcement of a rival major league resulted in the fracturing of this edition of the American Football League . On July 14 , 1940 , a press conference introduced a new American Football League , not a continuation of the former minor league , but a new one with franchises in New York , Boston , and Buffalo . Bill Edwards ( former president of the first AFL ) was slated to be both the president of the new league and co - owner of the New York Yankees franchise , and Joseph Carr Jr . ( son of former NFL president Joe Carr ) was touted as a potential backer of the Columbus franchise . The group of businessmen based on the American East Coast behind the formation of the new league had resorted to a trick done by the first two AFLs : they raided the established minor league by enticing APFA members Cincinnati , Columbus , and the new Milwaukee team to join their circuit . The move fractured the APFA as two of its members decided not to field teams for 1940 , one ( the Los Angeles Bulldogs ) had already left the league , and there were only three left with only two months to go before the start of the new season . As the Kenosha Cardinals and St . Louis Gunners applied to join the new league ( and were subsequently denied ) , the APFA went out of business . After a 30 hour long meeting of the owners ( and other representatives ) of the six invited teams in Buffalo ' s Hotel Lafayette , the bylaws and officials of the new league were determined . Each team was scheduled to play a double round robin schedule ( five home games , five away games ) , with games on either Sunday or Wednesday to reduce the likelihood of conflicts with baseball teams sharing the stadium in five of the six AFL cities ( all except Buffalo ) . The agreement was signed by the team owners , Oct . 5 , 1940 . While Bill Edwards did not take over the league as previously announced ( that job eventually went to former Ohio State University publicity director William D . Griffith ) , the 1940 season began with six teams owned by people who were , for the most part , in better financial standing than their NFL counterparts ( in the NFL , many of the owners had their franchise as their primary investment and source of income ; in the AFL of 1940 , most of the owners had most of their money invested in other fields , such as the local newspaper ) . Teams . Boston Bears . Disbanded in 1941 , before the beginning of the second AFL season . Buffalo Indians . Became the Buffalo Tigers for the 1941 season after a change in ownership . Cincinnati Bengals . Previously a member of the second AFL , and the American Professional Football Association , the " original Bengals " joined the third AFL with traditional rival Columbus Bullies . Columbus Bullies . Former APFA member which won the AFL championship both years the league was in existence . Quarterback Jay Arnold , formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles , led the team in 1940 ; when Arnold returned to the Eagles in 1941 , John LeBay took over the signal calling role . Milwaukee Chiefs . Former APFA member joined the AFL without being in an official APFA contest . New York Yankees . The third major league professional football team with the name , it became the New York Americans in 1941 after a change of ownership . League standings and All - League teams . Final 1940 standings . 1940 All - League Team . Sherman Barnes , Milwaukee ( end ) < br > Ed Karp , Buffalo ( tackle ) < br > Jim Karcher , Columbus ( guard ) < br > Joe Alexus , Columbus ( center ) < br > Alex Drobnitch , Buffalo ( guard ) < br > Bob Eckl , Milwaukee ( tackle ) < br > Harlan Gustafson , New York ( end ) < br > Andy Karpuls , Boston ( quarterback ) < br > Bill Hutchinson , New York ( halfback ) < br > Nelson Peterson , Columbus ( halfback ) < br > Al Novakofski , Milwaukee ( fullback ) Final 1941 standings . Encouraged by the success of the New York and Columbus franchises , Detroit , Baltimore , and Philadelphia apply to join the league for the 1941 season . While the Detroit application was accepted for play in 1942 , the latter two are turned down by a league that is not interested in further expansion . Promoter Douglas Grant Hertz purchases the New York Yankees , changes their name to the New York Americans , and then announces ( in August ) the team ' s withdrawal from the league . The league refuses to acknowledge the " withdrawal . " Boston folds before the start of the 1941 season . Buffalo changes the team name upon new ownership assuming control of the team . New York Americans president William B . Cox becomes new AFL league president in 1941 . 1941 All - League Team . Earl Ohlgren , Milwaukee ( end ) < br > Alec Shellogg , Buffalo ( tackle ) < br > Ted Livinston , Columbus ( guard ) < br > Paul Humphrey , Milwaukee ( center ) < br > Tex Akin , Milwaukee ( guard ) < br > Bob Eckl , Milwaukee ( tackle ) < br > Joe Kruse , Cincinnati ( end ) < br > Bob Davis , Columbus ( quarterback ) < br > Charlie Armstrong , New York ( halfback ) < br > Bill McGannon , Cincinnati ( halfback ) < br > John Kimbrough , New York ( fullback ) Columbus was league champion again in 1941 , with a final record of 5 - 1 - 2 . Demise of the third major league AFL . Although the AFL lost the Boston Bears franchise prior to the beginning of the 1941 season , its owners were optimistic about the league ' s long - term future . Although the league ' s average attendance was less than that of the more - established NFL , the AFL seemed to be on as firm a financial footing as the older league . By the end of the 1941 season , a new franchise was awarded to Detroit for the 1942 season . The league was the first major football league to complete a double round robin schedule , in which each team played each other twice . All the plans for 1942 came to a sudden stop upon the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II on December 7 , 1941 . With the induction of college and professional players into the U . S . military , it became increasingly apparent to the AFL owners that the global conflict would put the continued success of the league into question . On September 2 , 1942 , AFL president William B . Cox announced the suspension of league activities until the end of the war . : Unlike Douglas MacArthur , the league did not return . The NFL was without a competitor until the formation of the All America Football Conference in 1946 , one year after the end of World War II .