People may think certain teams were really iffy in recent NFL history (deflategate, for example), but modern football teams have nothing on the NFL (and AAFC) of yesteryear. Franchises had to check for spies in nearby tall buildings around stadiums because opponents would send someone to map out the plays from afar. That’s one minor example of the landscape of the early NFL.
How could another football league get the better of a league that knew no bounds? The AAFC thought long and hard about that, and they created the two secret drafts of 1949. The speakeasy vibe of the football drafts of yesteryear is appealing for some reason. Let’s bring back a little mystique.
The All-American Football Conference
The All-American Football Conference (AAFC) was created specifically to challenge the NFL, which was “established” in the 1940s. The National Football League was created in the early 1920s, so there had been time for it to work through the numerous problems it experienced in its infancy.
The AAFC was nothing to sneeze at either. Many leagues tried to challenge the NFL, but few got as far as they did.
The league was started by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward in 1944. Having someone like Ward start the All-American Football Conference was smart. He had a very personal connection with the media.
Some other things they did that were business savvy that made them such a sizable threat were the fact that they had rich people investing their money in the league; they were targeting markets where the NFL didn’t have teams yet; and there was a surplus of young men who were coming back from war looking for work who were interested in football.
The AAFC was plagued with problems like low turnouts, franchises folding, and huge skill differentials between the best of the league and the worst of the league (like we see with the UFL in 2024).
Eventually, the All-American Football Conference was dominated by the NFL, to the point that the two leagues “merged.” Two teams we still have today, the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, were brought in along with the Baltimore Colts. The Los Angeles Dons team and the Los Angeles Rams team combined into one franchise.
The AAFC Secret Drafts of 1949
In an attempt to stay relevant against their biggest contenders, the AAFC did not hesitate to begin scheming.
Granted, they tried to do the right thing and create a draft that both leagues participated in. The NFL stuck its nose up at working with people like the new league, so that plan didn’t work out. It’s ironic that the NFL had such a superiority complex when they struggled as badly or worse for roughly the first 10–20 years of their own league.
The AAFC had drafts for several years with the NFL’s knowledge. They tried something a bit different than the NFL. The new league targeted college football players who had used up their eligibility and who had an interest in professional football. The NFL tended to target players before their eligibility was up (a much more common phenomenon in modern football) and the best players in college who had no interest in going professional.
However, the All-American Football Conference got sneaky in 1949. Both 1949 drafts have been labeled “secret,” but it was really the July 8th draft that was under wraps. The AAFC decided they would have an early draft under the NFL’s nose before the college season began to snap up the best before the established league could.
Besides having the first secret draft, the new league was also the first football league that traded draft picks between teams.
Also Read: It’s “Any Given Sunday” for the New 2024 Chicago Bears Draft Picks
The NFL is Bamboozled
The AAFC “merged” or collapsed in 1949. However, before they left, they gave the NFL a run for their money. One of those was stealing the most talented in their secret drafts of 1949.
In a way, it worked. They got talented players like Abe Gibron, who was a much better player than the coach, who chose the AAFC over the NFL. However, in terms of getting future Hall of Famers, the secret draft may have gotten them access to the best first, but they would still have to compete for the players and lose each time.
Chuck Bednarik, George Blanda, Norm Van Brocklin, Art Donovan, Doak Walker, and Ernie Stautner were all drafted but never played for the new league. Ernie Stautner was deemed ineligible, or he may have played. Doak Walker and Art Donovan took a year off and then played for the NFL once the new league was already dissolved. Bednarik, Blanda, and Van Brocklin played for the NFL in 1949. Hard pills to swallow.
The AAFC was able to get some future greats by playing fair and square; there’s a lesson in there somewhere. They had Otto Graham, Y.A. Tittle, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie, and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, to name a few hall of famers that had graced their league.
If you love content like this, sound off below! For an article about the history of another sport, catch a fantastic article on the history of the New York Yankees here.
About the Author
The author, Julie Miller, has two degrees that barely have anything to do with sports. They do offer insight on the health, body, and mind of athletes, as well as a background in statistics. Injury reports are a delight! Keep an eye on Julie, because her interests vary far and wide within the realm of sports, with an eye for the abstract.
You can find Julie Miller on X and Instagram at @itsmillercrime. She also has two weekly podcast shows, one on True Crime within the world of sports and another on general sports updates, that can both be found here.
