The "Dixie League" was a professional

american football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

founded in 1936 originally as the "South Atlantic Football Association", with six charter member teams in the

Middle Atlantic Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

states of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Like the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

(nicknamed the 'A.A.', which was another

in pro football that formed in 1936, (not to be confused with another "

", an early famous

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

group from 1881 to 1892), its popularity (and attendance) rivaled that of another earlier established "major league" grouping, the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

of 1922 (originally the "American Professional Football Conference" formed in 1920, later quickly renamed "American Professional Football Association"). Unlike most professional football minor leagues, the "Dixie League" had a relative stability in membership during the "

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

" in the years prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, maintaining a five or six-team lineup membership of franchises (and adding a team in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

upon the demise of their

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

team franchise in 1941). Like the competitor 'AA' and the third "American Football League", the "Dixie League" suspended operations after the

Pearl Harbor attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, on the "Day of Infamy" - Sunday, December 7, 1941; unlike the AFL, the football minor league reorganized after the end of the War and resumed competition in the first post-war season year of 1946. The following year, the 'D.L.' collapsed when one of its member teams purchased the assets of a defunct team in the other pro football minor loop, the "

" (which then changed its name to the "American Football League" in 1946) and opted to jump leagues.Nothing Minor About It: The American Association/AFL of 1936-1950
– Bob Gill, Pro Football Researchers Association (1990)

Origin

The "Dixie League" began its existence in 1936 when six independent teams joined forces for the purposes of competition.

Charter member A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

s included the Maryland Athletic Club (which moved to

in 1936 to become the Washington Pros), the

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Orioles (also known sometimes as the

Baltimore Blue Jays Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, but no relation to the later major league "Orioles" baseball team in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, (1954 to present),

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Clancys,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Arrows,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Cubs, and the Alexandria Celtics (the last was a "

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

" with no regular home city). Charles Hamilton became the new "Dixie League's" first president. Although the new League officially called itself at first, the "South Atlantic Football League" in its first year of existence, various sportswriters repeatedly unofficially called it the "Dixie League." The name was officially adopted for the second 1937 pro season.A History of the Dixie League
– Bob Gill, Pro Football Researchers Association (1988)

1936

Like the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

pro football team of the first "American Football League", the Richmond Arrows provided the financial backbone of the Dixie League in its first year, averaging twice as many paying spectators per home game as the other league members. The Arrows played all their games at home, offering the visiting teams a five percent bonus for the privilege. On November 15, 1936, Richmond's team coach (Dave Miller) and the players walked off the team in an effort for more pay. Richmond manager Blair Meaney, Jr. hired a new head coach ( Bob Burdette) and new players (to join the five who didn't strike) to finish the season. Baltimore's Ted Wright led the scoring, while the Orioles/Blue Jays also featured the League's top passer, Leroy "Sunshine" Campbell. Until the player strike, back Mush DeLotto provided an explosive running game for the Richmond Arrows. "Playoffs": Washington defeated Richmond; Baltimore defeated Alexandria
"Championship": Washington beat Baltimore, 3-0, on a Willis Brenner

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

with 13 seconds left in regulation. Fourth-place finisher

declined to participate in the playoffs, opting for a game against nearby rival

. Despite finishing in last place,

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

took Portsmouth's place against

. In the first game of a series between the 'D.L.' champion and the winners of the American Association, the Washington Pros (Dixie League) defeated the

Brooklyn Bay Parkways The Brooklyn Bay Parkways was a semi-professional baseball team based out of Erasmus Field of Erasmus Hall High School. Owned by Joe Rosner, brother of Max Rosner, owner of the Brooklyn Bushwicks, as well as Nat Strong, a prominent figure in orga ...

(American Association) 13-6 in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, January 1, 1937. While there would be more exhibition games involving members of the two leagues, this was the last time that an "

" team lost to a team in the "Dixie League" on the gridiron.

1937

Compared to most sporting leagues in their beginning years, the "Dixie League" had begun strongly. All six charter members were in strong enough shape to compete in a second season (three of the six remained 'D.L.' members from the 1936 beginning to the aborted 1947 season). Richmond was still recovering from the effects of the player rebellion when the strikers formed a new team, the Richmond Rebels, and tried to replace the Arrows in the league. After being rebuffed, the Rebels tried to compete against the Arrows by forming the " Virginia-Carolina Football League" and then marched through the season undefeated. The 'V-CFL' lasted only the 1937 season; the Rebels folded along with the league. Despite the competition from the Rebels, the Arrows held their own, both on the field and at the

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

s with their fans. Despite their improved record, the Arrows could finish no higher than third place, behind the undefeated defending champion

(which became the Presidents) and the newly rechristened

or Blue Birds. Championship: no playoffs – Washington clinches title on 3-3 tie with Baltimore While the league featured balance from top to bottom in its maiden season, it clearly divided into the "haves" and "have nots" in 1937. Five members of the Washington Presidents (including backfield mates

Tom Oliver Tom Oliver (born 12 June 1938) is a British-born Australian retired actor who started his career in theatre in his native country, before emigrating to Australia. Oliver, a staple of the small screen since the early 1960s, is best known for h ...

and

Gene Augusterfer Eugene Francis Augusterfer (October 4, 1913 – January 15, 1957) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a fullback and defensive back for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Football League (NFL) in 1935. Augus ...

) were named to the all league team. Baltimore's Ted Wright was once again the league's leading scorer while teammate "Sunshine" Campbell dented defenses with his passes. Richmond placed three linemen on the all league team, including league most valuable player Lyle Graham. The winless Portsmouth team had a future team member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

on its roster, player-coach "Ace" Parker, who played in only one game for the Cubs before he signed with the NFL's

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

team in early November.

1938

After two years of stability, the "Dixie League" made some adjustments in 1938. William Nickels, Jr. became the league's second president, replacing Charles Hamilton. The DL was forced to play with only five teams after the folding of the Baltimore Blue Jays/Blue Birds, and the Washington Patriots minor league squad became a traveling team (having been upstaged by the NFL's former Boston Braves, later renamed the Boston Redskins later becoming the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and the League's entry into the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the Nation's Capital, the year before) under owner

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American businessman best known for founding the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He founded the team as ...

. A. E. Stutz, the founder and owner of the Norfolk Clancys, died in late 1937; in 1938, new owner Harry Howren started stockpiling talent (including back Mush DeLotto, formerly of Richmond) sufficient enough for the newly renamed the "Shamrocks" to dominate League play that year. Another Shamrock player, tackle Vernon "Buck" Miles, was named the league's most valuable player at the end of the season. The

Portsmouth Cubs Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dense ...

, winless in 1937, reached .500 in 1938 as quarterback Larry Weldon led the League in scoring. "No playoffs": Norfolk was declared league champions After the season, Norfolk was defeated 16-14 by the Hazelton Redskins, of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, champions of the Eastern Pennsylvania Football League in a game for the "National Minor League title". Two members of the 1937 Baltimore Blue Jays/Blue Birds ("Sunshine" Campbell and John Spirida) provided the difference in the game, with Campbell throwing two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

passes and Spirida scoring ten points in the game.

1939

The number of traveling teams in the "Dixie League" was halved with the folding of the Alexandria Celtics team in Virginia. The number of league members stayed at five with the entrance of the

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

Builders, which actually played its home games in neighboring

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

southeast of Newport News on the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...

. “Buck” Miles became the league "M.V.P." as he repeated his feat of scoring the most points in the "Dixie League". His Cubs finished the season in a tie for the league lead with the Richmond Arrows (the Cubs had a 6-1 record, the Arrows 6-1-1). For the last game, the Cubs added Ace Parker (after he finished an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

season with the NFL's team, the

). He scored the only touchdown in a 7-0 Cubs victory over Newport News Builders to force a playoff with the Richmond Arrows for the league championship (in which Parker scores the only touchdown in a Cubs 7-0 win). Playoff: Portsmouth 7, Richmond 0 – Portsmouth wins league championship

1940

With the addition of the Roanoke Travelers, the "Dixie League" returned to having six teams for the 1940 season. While the team made a successful debut, finishing in second place, the Travelers had the misfortune of having almost half of its season canceled as a result of bad weather. Two early losses deprived Richmond of a chance for competing for the league title (which was easily won by Portsmouth), but the Arrows entertained the fans by being the first 'D.L.' team to average more than two touchdowns a game. "Sunshine" Campbell, returning to the Dixie League after playing in the

and the E.P.F.L., provided the passes, and A. B. Conner became the "M.V.P." of the "Dixie League" by scoring 49 points. Portsmouth's Larry Weldon set a new league record by throwing seven touchdown passes in the span of ten games. Over a span of 20 games in 1939 and 1940, Weldon and the Cubs won 16 games, lose two, and tie two games (a .889 winning percentage) – and win two league titles. Washington's Presidents struggled through its third consecutive season as a "traveling team", and left the League after the end of the 1940 season. No playoffs: Portsmouth declared league champions for the second straight year.

1941

For the first time, the "Dixie League" had six teams with actual home fields, with the Charlotte Clippers of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

replacing

. As the United States started preparing for a war with the "

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

", (

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Fascist Italy, and

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

) that appeared to be inevitable in the fall of 1941, the League benefited from the addition of military personnel from bases in the region. Playing for the Newport News Builders, two such newcomers broke passing and scoring records that were established just the previous year.

George Cafego George Cafego (August 29, 1915 – February 9, 1998) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, earning varsity letters 1937 - 1939, and professionally in the N ...

had eight of his passes go for touchdowns, while Ken Fryer scored 61 points, more than any minor league player in a single season before the entry of the U.S. into

. Despite the records on offense, the Builders finished the 1941 season in third place. Charlotte had a successful freshman season in the "Dixie League", scoring 184 points, roughly 30 more than Newport News and Norfolk... and the previous record set in 1940 by Richmond. The Clippers finished second to Norfolk, whose star back Pete Sachon was billed as "Pistol Pete" three decades before

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised in ...

. "Pistol Pete" Sachon was selected the 'D.L.' most valuable player for 1941. No playoffs: Norfolk declared league champion

1942-1946

Like two other professional football leagues – the "American Association" and the third "American Football League" – the "Dixie League" suspended its operations in early 1942 in the wake of the December 7, 1941

and the U.S. entry into

. The League stayed in limbo until 1946. As

American troops The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

returned to the homefront in the United States after the end of

, the owners of the "Dixie League" member teams, led by Howren, announced plans for "reorganizing" the League.All for One… The Minor Leagues' "Big Three" Make History in 1946
– Bob Gill, Pro Football Researchers Association (1989) With the exception of Roanoke (which was replaced by a team from

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

), the "Dixie League" of 1946 resembled the 'D.L.' of five years earlier, although a couple of members (Richmond and Portsmouth) opted for changes in their team names. William Nickels, Jr. continued as the League president. While the league opted to maintain continuity on the playing field, the "Dixie League" joined forces with the "American Association" (which now had changed its name in 1946 to the (third) third "American Football League") along with the far western

Pacific Coast Professional Football League The Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), also known as the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league based in California. ...

. On March 24, 1946, P.C.P.F.L. president

J. Rufus Klawans ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

announced the "Big Three" of the U.S.A.'s pro football's minor leagues had formed the coordinating "

Association of Professional Football Leagues The Association of Professional Football Leagues was a compact formed in 1946 among the National Football League and three minor leagues of professional American football: the American Association (which subsequently changed its name to the Ameri ...

". The new A.P.F.L. entered into a working compact with the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, prohibiting the participation of players signed to "outlaw leagues" (originally directed toward the third AFL – which never returned from ''"its"'' limbo – but was subsequently applied to the now newly formed pro football "major league" competitor to the old

, known as the "

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

" of 1946-1949 which competed with the older pro football loop). The new coordinating

Association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

however, lasted less than two years.

Virginia Football League (1942)

Norfolk Shamrocks owner Harry Howren disagreed with the decision of the League (and getting inspiration from 32nd President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, who was quoted as saying that it would be good if the national baseball and football leagues were able to continue to play some games of their seasons, giving inspiration and entertainment to weary war-workers) and opted to form the " Virginia Football League" for the 1942 season with 'D.L.' member teams Portsmouth, Newport News, and Richmond. The plans were short-lived as Newport News failed to field a team and the other three teams played only a few games before competition was canceled due to lack of spectator interest (or else the extremely high work-load in the numerous local defense plants and shipyards just getting started up to speed in the War's first year).

Games

Richmond Rockets 32 vs. Portsmouth Cubs 18 (October 11, 1942 in Richmond, VA)
Norfolk Shamrocks 17 vs. Richmond Rockets 0 (October 18, 1942 in Greensboro, NC)
Richmond Rockets 33 vs. Portsmouth Cubs 6 (October 27, 1942 in Norfolk, VA)
Richmond Rockets 19 vs. Norfolk Shamrock 26 (November 1, 1942 in Richmond, VA) The Rockets played an exhibition game in City Stadium against the ''"Norfolk Soldiers"'' (won 54-6), while the Shamrocks finished the season in a benefit exhibition game against

Camp Lee Fort Lee, in Prince George County, Virginia, United States, is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the U.S. Army Quartermaster Scho ...

soldiers (won 24-7) that drew 12,500 spectators.

1946

The new "working relationship" that the "Big Three" minor leagues and the older "major league"

reaped positive benefits for the "Dixie League" as the 'D.L.' teams lined up various "sponsors" with team franchises in the major pro football league. While both "Dixie League" and AFL teams acted as " farm system teams" for their big league "sponsors," rules were in place to prevent the stockpiling of talent for later use by the old

. As a result, the major pro league teams were not permitted to "raid" their minor league brethren, and the quality of play, and the players, was a step-up compared to before

. In addition to the new

franchise, the "Dixie League" of 1946 had two charter members change their names. The former

became the Portsmouth Pirates, while the former Richmond Arrows adopted a familiar old name: the

Richmond Rebels The Richmond Rebels were one of eight teams in the United States Baseball League, and were based in Richmond, Virginia. The league collapsed within two months of its creation from May 1 to June 24, 1912. The Rebels were managed by Alfred Newma ...

. The 1946 "Dixie League" campaign featured a tight race between two teams with potent offenses, the Charlotte Clippers (with backs

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Ce ...

and Butch Butler) and Richmond (with backs Glenn Knox and Tony Gallovich). League records for offense fell as Butler threw 11 touchdown passes and Richmond's Morgan Tiller had eight touchdown receptions. The two teams were even in their battle for the league title until the Rebels lost their final two games. The "Dixie League" had a successful revival in 1946. No one could have foreseen its sudden demise a mere one year later. No playoffs: Charlotte declared Dixie League champions

1947 and the demise of the "Dixie League"

After a successful post-war revival in 1946, the "Dixie League" prepared for a season of change in 1947. It inaugurated a new president,

Tom Hanes Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. The Greensboro Patriots moved to

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, while the Roanoke Travelers returned to the fold, replacing the defunct

franchise. Plans for possible expansion were being made for the 1948 season. The optimism of the League for its new season started to disappear just before the first week of competition. Both Winston-Salem and Roanoke withdrew, suddenly leaving the "Dixie League" with a mere four teams. The week after the "Opening Day", (October 5, 1947) games, the League suddenly announced that it was suspending operations for the 1947 season. On October 7, 1947, control of the Portsmouth Pirates was transferred from an ailing Charles Aberson to a group based in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

, with the agreement that the team would revert to Aberson in 1948. The next day, the League was blindsided by the announcement that longtime 'D.L.' member team, Richmond had purchased the assets of a defunct "American Football League" (former "American Association") franchise, (the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Indians, which lost all three games they played that season) and defected to the other minor league. The move inflicted a fatal wound to the "Dixie League". A month earlier, the Dixie's had six members ready for competition; after the Richmond defection, only three teams remained. The League was forced to call it quits a day after. Dixie League president Tom Hanes protested to NFL president

Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...

, but since it didn’t involve any member team of the National Football League, he – and the Association of American Professional Football Leagues – could do nothing about it since the agreement didn't include terms of territorial rights between minor leagues and their teams. While there were discussions of a possible reorganization for a season in 1948, the "Dixie League" was no longer a viable entity. The Charlotte Clippers continued through 1949 as an independent team, while members of the Portsmouth Pirates and Norfolk Shamrocks combined forces to also test the waters of independence competition in 1948. The

, "Dixie League" charter members like Portsmouth and Norfolk, continued their participation in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

of 1946 until that league had ''"its"'' later implosion in 1950 (the Rebels won the last two AFL championships, in 1949 and 1950). The team petitioned to join the competing major league, the new "

" for their fourth 1950 season, but the A.A.F.C. - major league's pending merger negotiations and later agreement with the old

of 1920/1922 thwarted the club's intentions.

Virginia Negro Football League

In 1946 four Virginia teams formed an all-black league, making it in essence a scaled-down black version of the segregated Dixie League. The league lasted only one season, and most remembered by the fact that they played also against local historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs):

Virginia Union Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

, Virginia State and

Norfolk State Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 ...

. Fred Cooper from the Richmond Rams would later become the first black player of the

in 1949, after they moved to the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

. No playoffs: Richmond declared League champions after beating out Norfolk. The teams would later play a "Post-season exhibition game" in Greensboro, NC to a 0-0 tie.