The United American Football League (UAFL) (also referred as ''United American Professional Football League (UAPFL)'') 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 ...

that played in 1967. The league was an attempt by Hal Shapiro to revive professional football 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 ...

after 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 ...

from the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

had folded. The league featured five teams, but best team in the league was Shapiro's Richmond Mustangs, while the other teams talent-level was closer to a semi-pro squads. Although the Mustangs and Knoxville Bears drew good crowds, the league folded after only one year with large debts to the players. The UAFL was featured in a short segment in

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

Heywood Hale Broun Heywood Hale Broun (; March 10, 1918 – September 5, 2001) was an American author, sportswriter, commentator and actor. He was born and reared in New York City, the son of writer and activist Ruth Hale and newspaper columnist Heywood Broun. ...

History

The UAFL was formed in 1967 by Hal Shapiro in attempt to revive professional football 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 ...

after the last incarnation of the

had folded in 1966. Shapiro build a team from local football stars, called them "Mustangs" and appointed former

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 ...

running back

Dick James Dick James (born Leon Isaac Vapnick; 12 December 1920 – 1 February 1986) was a British music publisher and singer. He and Brian Epstein established the Beatles' publisher Northern Songs. Later, with his son Stephen, James founded the DJM rec ...

as the head coach. The league teams were hastily put together, with local players which resembled more of sandlot or

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

football than a professional. Richmond and Knoxville were able to attract good crowds, but the other teams in the league had trouble to attract spectators, especially the Georgia Raiders from

Marietta, GA Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marie ...

who attracted only 100 fans to a their home games. Richmond beat the other opponents by blowout fashion, but decided to run the score against

Savannah Indians The Savannah Pathfinders was the original name of the American minor league baseball franchise that represented Savannah, Georgia, during the 20th century. While Savannah's minor league teams sported at least ten nicknames during the century, t ...

, because one of their players spit in on one of the Mustangs players, finishing with a 105-0 win. After the game the Indians decided to drop out the league and played the rest of the season (and onward) in the South Carolina Semi-Pro Football League. After the season the Mustangs changed it name to the "Richmond Roadrunners", and continue playing three more independent games under new management, and later joined the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league pai ...

for the 1968 season.

Standings

The Richmond Mustangs were considered "Champions" after finishing the season undefeated.

References

{{Professional gridiron football leagues in North America Defunct American football leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States 1967 establishments in the United States

History

Standings

See also

References