The World Football League was a professional american football

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 ...

which operated for three seasons, from 2008 through 2010. It was named for the short-lived

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

which served as a competitor to 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 ...

in the mid-1970s.

History

In 2007, the rights to the "World Football League" name and logo were purchased by Chip Pierce of

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

. The league was brought back to life as a minor league system that did not compete with the NFL, but gave players of a higher talent level than that of the many players involved in semi-pro football the opportunity to showcase their skills. Players like

Willie Ponder Willie Columbus Ponder (born February 14, 1980 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for 3 seasons for the New York Giants and one season with Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. He has ...

who have exited the NFL but had aspirations of returning and players like Kejuan Jones or Prentiss Elliot who were looking to get a shot to make in the NFL. At the end of the season SiteInDeX, Inc., purchased the WFL from Pierce.

2008

The inaugural rebirth season of the WFL as a minor league system had 8 teams in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals (September 6, 2008):
''Dallas Diesel'' 66 vs. Arkansas War Cats 6
Southeast Texas Demons 0 vs. ''Texas Bulldogs'' 6 Semifinals (September 20, 2008):
''Austin Gamebreakers'' 32 vs. Dallas Diesel 10
''Oklahoma Thunder'' 66 vs. Texas Bulldogs 6 World Bowl II (October 18, 2008):
''Oklahoma Thunder'' 29 vs. Austin Gamebreakers 6
World Bowl II (continuing the number from the original league) was held at

Independence Stadium Independence Stadium may also refer to: * Independence Stadium (Bakau) in Gambia * Independence Stadium (Namibia) in Windhoek * Independence Stadium (South Africa) in Mthatha, a football stadium in South Africa * Independence Stadium (Tanzania) ...

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, and crowned Thunder as the first champion of the WFL in the minor league era.

2009

The second season saw large increase, as the league now contained 14 full time teams, and featured teams in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Iowa and Arkansas. The league was divided to three separate divisions and Oklahoma Thunder (Great Plains), Iowa Sharks (Heartland) and Dallas Diesel (South) finished as divisions champions.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals (August 15, 2009):
Texas Bulldogs 13 vs. ''Austin Gamebreakers'' 30
''Dallas Diesel'' 34 vs. Kansas Kaos 14
Iowa Eagles 0 vs ''Iowa Sharks'' 34
''Oklahoma Thunder'' 70 vs. Arkansas War Cats 7 Semifinals (August 22, 2009):
''Dallas Diesel'' 20 vs. Iowa Sharks 10
Austin Gamebreakers 6 vs. ''Oklahoma Thunder'' 101 World Bowl III (August 29, 2009):
''Oklahoma Thunder'' 43 vs. Dallas Diesel 12
World Bowl III was held at LaFortune Stadium in Tulsa, as the Thunder repeated the result from previous year.

2010

The third and final year of the WFL featured 13 teams that were divided to four divisions, with Oklahoma (Great Plains), Des Moines Blaze (Heartland), Saint Louis Bulldogs (Central) and Eagle Creek Marauders (South) finishing on top. The Thunder finished the season 11–0, and won all 40 of their games in WFL history.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals (July 17, 2010):
''Saint Louis Bulldogs'' 55 vs. Oklahoma City Wolverines 14
Kansas Kaos 15 vs ''Eagle Creek Marauders'' 45 Semifinals (July 24, 2010):
''Des Moines Blaze'' 50 vs. Saint Louis Bulldogs 21
''Oklahoma Thunder'' 63 vs. Eagle Creek Marauders 0 World Bowl IV (July 31, 2010 at East Tulsa Sports Complex):
''Oklahoma Thunder'' 52 vs. Des Moines Blaze 10

End

Before the 2011 season, most of the teams in the new WFL either folded or left for other leagues. In a key defection, three-time World Bowl winner

Oklahoma Thunder The Oklahoma Thunder are a professional American football team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Starting with the 2011 season, the team competes in the Gridiron Developmental Football League, playing in the Midwest-North Division in the GDFL's Impact C ...

left for the Gridiron Developmental Football League. The new WFL merged with another league to become the Alliance Football League. The merged league began the 2011 season with six teams: the Texas Bulldogs, Dallas-Fort Worth Heat, Dallas Diesel, Central Texas Gorillas, Houston Pride of Texas, and Oklahoma City Wolverines. World Bowl V, scheduled for Tulsa, was moved to

, and renamed the National Championship. This merger and renaming ended the minor league rebirth of the WFL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Football League (2008-10) Defunct American football leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2008 Sports leagues disestablished in 2011 2008 establishments in the United States 2011 disestablishments in the United States

History

2008

Playoffs

2009

Playoffs

2010

Playoffs

End

See also

References