FanPost

Historian Bradfather in the House: Happy Birthday AFL!


Yes, as a historian nerd, I keep records of everything you can imagine. In today's blast from the past, I have come across a snippet that, much to my chagrin, many of my NFL cohorts on Twitter are overlooking, August 14 is the 55th anniversary of the original AFL franchises, which includes our beloved Denver Broncos.

Via information from www.profootballhof.com, one of the best repositories of NFL history in existence, along with profootballreference.com, and my trusty Broncos' desk calendar, I learned that on August 14, 1959, the legacy of professional football in this country changed forever.

It was on this day that Dallas-based businessman Lamar Hunt, the owner and founder of the Dallas Texans (not to be confused with today's Houston Texans who were founded in 2002, but actually everyone's favorite friends, the Kansas City Chiefs), organized what would be known as the AFL.

Charter franchises were awarded to Dallas, of course, as well as Denver (to Mr. Bob Howsam), Houston (to the late Mr. Bud Adams), Los Angeles (the Chargers, to Mr. Barron Hilton), Minneapolis (the Vikings later defected to the NFL as the old-school owners gave them the franchise in hopes of quelling the rising league) and New York (to Mr. Harry Wismer who was actually originally a media person like me :). Later, Buffalo (to the late Mr. Ralph Wilson) and Boston (to Mr. Billy Sullivan who once tried to lure Joe Paterno away from Penn State in the 80's).

The Raiders came into the equation once Minneapolis was no longer an option with a triumvirate of partners, Mr. Eddie McGah, Mr. Chet Soda and Mr. F. Wayne Valley. I know it will amuse many who read this that the Raiders were not the #1 option for the first AFL rough draft, but they remain the only AFC West team who is historically our superior, for the time being anyway.

Many of you, I presume, have seen the Full Color Football series and if not, all episodes are on YouTube and sometimes NFL Network rebroadcasts it but if you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. This series goes more into depth about the AFL and tells us about our past.

Additionally, the series is narrated by megastar Peter Coyote, who is also known for Ken Burns' "The West" on PBS, Burns' "The National Parks, America's Best Idea, also on PBS and perhaps my favorite role of his, as Rodney Penhallow, on the CBC/Disney Channel series Road To Avonlea.

So, raise a glass of Orange Crush to our beloved Broncos on the anniversary of their illustrious impetus.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.