Note: There were three earlier and unrelated American professional football leagues of the same name: One in 1926, one in 1936-1937 and one in 1940-1941. They are listed at the end of this article.The American Football League (AFL) was a professional
football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when it merged with the
National Football League (NFL). The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League throughout its existence. Initially viewed as inferior, the AFL began attracting top talent from colleges and the NFL by the mid-1960s, well before the
Common Draft which began in
1967. In fact, even in its first year, 1960, the AFL signed half of the
NFL's first-round draft choices, including All-American
Billy Cannon, perennial All-Star
Johnny Robinson, and Hall of Famer
Ron Mix. In
1966, a
merger between the two leagues was announced, but was not finalized until
1970. During its final two years of existence, the AFL won two upset victories over the NFL in
Super Bowl III and
IV, the former considered one of the biggest upsets in American sports history. When the merger took place all ten AFL franchises became part of the merged league's
American Football Conference, while only the NFL retained its old name and logo.
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