The 1936 Professional Football Season

The American Football League 2.0 was a brief but exciting attempt at establishing a rival professional football institution. Many of the AFL franchises raided the rosters of NFL teams with which they shared cities. That is except for Booston who refused to take any players from the NFL Boston Redskins franchise. (We will see in a bit how this may have benefitted the Redskins)

This AFL was the second of three instances in which an alternate League by that name would compete with the NFL, the first being the one organized by Red Grange and C.C. Pyle back in 1926. This second-generation AFL would feature a six-team league organized by former New York Giants personnel director Dr. Harry March. The popularity of the rival League was evident when fifteen cities launched applications to join the AFL—after careful consideration and addressing viability items, March and a few others selected the six best choices to help the new League. Dr. March spearheaded the effort to establish a league with the players' input in decision-making. March served as the president of the fledgling association until his resignation in October, when he was replaced by James Bush, owner of the New York Yankees Football franchise.

✦ The teams in this edition of the American Football League were:

✦ Boston Shamrocks - The eventual AFL Champions.

✦ New York Yankees - The second time a pro football franchise used this iconic MLB name in an organization called the AFL.

✦ Cleveland Rams - The inaugural season of the current LA Rams franchise in pro football

✦ Brooklyn Tigers

✦ Pittsburgh Americans

✦ Syracuse Braves

The AFL had attendance issues with five of its teams. New York, Cleveland, and Boston had substantial box office numbers, but their revenue needed to increase to carry the load of the entire League. The AFL was looking for some additional viable franchises after it first season.

✦ Summary of the 1936 NFL Season

✦ The National Football League, despite the competition, kept rolling along. The NFL's nine teams comprised the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cardinals, Boston Redskins, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Detroit Lions.

✦ Philadelphia Owner Bert Bell's suggestion of holding a League-wide Draft came to fruition that year with the Eagles picking former University of Chicago Maroons star Jay Berwanger. Though Berwanger never played a snap in the League, the process of teams with the worst records the previous season set the standard for parity in not only the NFL and pro football but for professional sports across the globe.

✦ The third season of the NFL's 12-year ban on black players

Green Bay ran away with the NFL's Western Division by outclassing the competition with a stellar record of 10-1-1. In the Eastern Division, there was a race between three teams to claim the right to win the Division. Near the end of the scheduled season, a big game was on the docket to help determine the Eastern representative in the postseason. The Pittsburgh Pirates were at 6–5 and the Boston Redskins at 5–5 when they met on November 29 in Boston before a crowd of only 7,000. The lack of fan support did not deter Boston, and on the arm of Sammy Baugh, defeated the  Pirates 30–0. The Redskins, now at 6–5, had a showdown set in the final game of their regular season with the 5–5–1 New York Giants, who remained contenders for the Divisional crown. On December 6, the Boston Redskins won the contest 14–0 before 18,000 spectators in the Polo Grounds.

Redskins Owner George Preston Marshall, unhappy with the way his team had been supported in Beantown, decided to change the location of the 1936 Championship from his homefield in Boston to the New York Polo Grounds, where his team defeated the Giants a game earlier in front of a nice sized crowd. 

The Green Bay Packers had the best regular season record, and they defeated the Boston Redskins in the NFL Championship Game, 21-6.

The Packers were led by quarterback Arnie Herber, who threw for 1,239 yards and eight touchdowns. Herber's favorite target was receiver Don Hutson, who caught 536 yards and six touchdowns.

The Redskins were led by quarterback Sammy Baugh, who threw for 913 yards and eight touchdowns. Cliff Battles was the Redskins' leading rusher with 830 yards and eight touchdowns.