Tales from the American Football League
Preserving the legacy of the AFL
NEW YORK, OCT. 15 – OVERSHOOTS HIS TARGET – Dainard Paulson, 40, New York Titans defensive back, soars past San Diego Chargers halfback Paul Lowe as Lowe carries theball to the Titans five-yard line in the first quarter of the game in New York/s Polo Grounds today. Lowe carried the ball for a gain of [...]
Thanks to reader, Tex Noel, for passing along this information. Former New York Titans defensive back, Fred Julian, passed away on May 4. He was 75 years old. Fred Julian’s obituary can be found HERE.
Here is a story by guest blogger, Dave Steidel, about former NFL, AFL and CFL quarterback, Lee Grosscup. Drafted by the New York Giants in 1959 Lee Grosscup, an NEA All-American quarterback out of the University of Utah, had an uphill battle to break into the lineup of one of the NFL’s premier team. From [...]
Here is a neat piece by Dave Steidel… In today’s bloated world of college bowl games you will find a plethora of events around the country in sun soaked, exotic locations that entice teams to come and participate in what is pretty much the Who Really Cares Bowl. Schools allow their 7-4 teams to play [...]
Football historian, Bob Swick, recalls the AFL making a big splash in New Haven when the Buffalo Bills and New York Titans played an exhibition game in Connecticut in 1962. You can read more of Bob’s football history in his magazine, Gridiron Greats, which can be found at www.gridirongreatsmagazine.com. On August 12, 1962 New Haven, [...]
After recently bringing us the Miracle of the Polo Grounds, Dave Steidel reports on a similar game with last-minute fireworks, this time that ended in the Titans’ favor! Only a week after the New York Titans lost to Boston on a miracle finish when Titans punter Ray Sapienza fumbled the snap from center with only seconds [...]
There is a feeling among AFL fans that the American Football League players are consistently overlooked for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In truth there are many players, the bulk of whose careers were spent in the AFL, that deserve serious consideration, if not outright induction. In an effort to spark some [...]
Sadly, several players died while members of American Football League teams. Guest blogger, Dave Steidel, remembers one such young man, the New York Titans’ Howard Glenn. Howard Glenn was only twenty-six years old out of Linfield College near Portland, Oregon, when he earned a spot on the first edition of the New York Titans of the [...]
Dave Steidel shares the Miracle of the Polo Grounds! In only the second week of their first season in 1960 American Football League fans were treated to the Miracle of the Polo Grounds, eighteen years before the Miracle of the Meadowlands. It happened in the Polo Grounds on September 17, as the New York Titans [...]
Bob Reifsnyder was a highly-touted defensive lineman from the Naval Academy when he tore his Achilles tendon in his senior year. He played one season in the NFL, and then joined the Los Angeles Chargers of the American Football League in 1960. His time with the Chargers was short, and he was traded to the [...]
