The Continental Football League (COFL) 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 that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside 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 ...

(NFL) and 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. ...

(AFL). It owed its name, at least in part, to the

Continental League The Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs (known as the Continental League or CL) was a proposed third major league for baseball in the United States and Canada. The league was announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 19 ...

, a proposed third

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), ...

organization that influenced MLB significantly, although they never played a game. Four Continental Football League contributors are in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

, the most of any league not considered a major league:

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Bill Walsh, quarterback Ken Stabler,

Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player. He played college football as a halfback at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. Walker then played professio ...

and

Steve Van Buren Stephen Wood Van Buren (December 28, 1920 − August 23, 2012) was a Honduran–American professional football player who was a halfback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 to 1951. Regarded as a powerf ...

(the last two of whom were inducted as players but were coaches in this league).

Sam Wyche Samuel David Wyche (; January 5, 1945 – January 2, 2020) was an American football quarterback and coach. He was a quarterback and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. As head coach, he ...

Bob Kuechenberg Robert John Kuechenberg (October 14, 1947 – January 12, 2019) was a National Football League guard for the Miami Dolphins for 14 seasons between 1970 and 1983, spending the 1984 season on injured reserve. He was a mainstay in a line that inclu ...

Garo Yepremian Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian (June 2, 1944 – May 15, 2015) was a Cypriot-Armenian American football placekicker who played in the National Football League for 15 seasons, primarily with the Miami Dolphins. During his nine seasons in Mia ...

and

Otis Sistrunk Otis Sistrunk (born September 18, 1946) is a former professional football player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire National Football League (NFL) career with the Oakland Raiders. Sistrunk lat ...

were among the other players and coaches who would later gain fame in the NFL, while a few others, such as

Don Jonas Donald Walter Jonas (born December 3, 1938) is a former American football player and coach. Jonas played in the American minor leagues (semi-pro) and the Canadian Football League. He was also the first head coach of the UCF Knights (1979–1981). ...

and

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

, would emerge as stars in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

History

1965 season

The formation of the Continental Football League (COFL) was announced on February 6, 1965. The league was primarily formed by minor-league teams that had played in the United Football League and

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 paid ...

. A. B. "Happy" Chandler, former

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, and retired

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

, was named COFL commissioner on March 17, 1965. The league originally adopted a "professional" appearance. Teams were sorted into two divisions and each team had a 36-man roster with a five-man "taxi" squad. The rules were primarily those of the NFL except that a "sudden death" overtime period was employed to break ties, which was not part of the NFL during the regular season at that time. To reinforce an image of league autonomy, teams were restricted from loaning players to, or receiving optioned players from, the NFL or AFL. The first COFL season opened with three games played on August 14, 1965. Before the season began, the

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, franchise moved to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. The Norfolk club went on to become the most successful team in the league at the box office and held several minor league attendance records throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

1966 season

Eastern Division * Brooklyn Dodgers *

Hartford Charter Oaks The Hartford Charter Oaks were a professional American football team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They began play in 1964 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Football League, replacing the Ansonia Black Knights. In 1965 the Charter Oaks were on ...

Norfolk Neptunes The Norfolk Neptunes were an American football franchise based in Norfolk, Virginia that played in the Continental Football League from 1965 until 1969 and the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1970 to 1971. The team played at Foreman Field a ...

Philadelphia Bulldogs ''For the Continental Football League team (1960s) known as the Philadelphia Bulldogs, see here.'' The Philadelphia Bulldogs were an inline hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Atlantic Division of the East ...

Toronto Rifles The Toronto Rifles were a minor-league professional American football team active between 1964 and 1967. It was based in Toronto, Ontario. The team's home fields were Maple Leaf Stadium (1965) and Varsity Stadium from 1966 to 1967.http://virology-on ...

Western Division *

Charleston Rockets The Charleston Rockets were a professional American football team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They began play in 1964 as a member of the United Football League, and became a charter franchise in the Continental Football League The Con ...

Montreal Beavers The Montreal Beavers were a professional American football team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The franchise began as the Indianapolis Warriors of the United Football League in 1961, where they played for four seasons. During that time the Wa ...

Orlando Panthers The Orlando Panthers were a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1958 as the Franklin Miners, the team spent its first four years in the Eastern Football Conference, then three further years in the Atlantic Coa ...

* Richmond Rebels *

Wheeling Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played for ...

In 1966, the league began abandoning the "league autonomy" posture by striving to establish working relationships with NFL and AFL clubs. Commissioner Chandler, charging that the league was altering the terms under which he had accepted the position, resigned on January 20, 1966. He was replaced by COFL Secretary Sol Rosen, owner of the Newark Bears. Rosen sold the Bears to Tom Granatell, who promptly moved the team to Orlando. The league engaged in some unsuccessful preseason negotiations with the Empire Sports Network to obtain a television broadcasting agreement. However, it was able to get

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

to broadcast the championship game on the '' Wide World of Sports''; ABC paid the league $500 for the rights to the game. The Brooklyn Dodgers, although under the general managership of baseball

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

player Jackie Robinson, failed to attract at the gate. Part of the problem was that they were playing nowhere near Brooklyn: their home games were at

Downing Stadium Downing Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J. Downing, a director at the New York City Department of Parks a ...

on Randall's Island. Evidently, the Dodgers had trouble securing home dates at Downing; a season-ticket application showed only five home games in a fourteen-game schedule. In any event, small crowds (only 29,500 combined for four games, including 12,000 for an exhibition contest) caused the franchise to become a league-operated "road club" in October; one home game against Hartford was moved to Connecticut, and their final "home" contest was shifted to Memorial Stadium in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...

. Charleston's

Coy Bacon Lander McCoy Bacon (August 30, 1942 – December 22, 2008) was a professional American football defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Wash ...

, 1966 COFL All-Star end, went on to play for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers,

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

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 ...

. The league also established

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

relationships with semi-pro clubs (for instance, the Dodgers affiliated with the Liberty Football Conference's Long Island Jets in 1966). '' = Division Champion'' '' = Clinched playoff berth''

''Home team in CAPITALS'' Semifinals * Philadelphia 31, TORONTO 14 * ORLANDO 31, Charleston 24 League Championship (December 4, 1966) * PHILADLEPHIA 20, Orlando 17 (OT)

1967 season

Atlantic North Division * Akron Vulcans *

* Richmond Rebels *

Atlantic South Division *

Western Division *

Eugene Bombers The Eugene Bombers were 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 ...

* Long Beach Admirals *

Orange County Ramblers The Orange County Ramblers were a professional football team that competed in the Continental Football League from 1967 to 1968. The Ramblers played their home games in Santa Ana, California and Anaheim, California. The team was coached both seaso ...

(

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

) * Sacramento Buccaneers * San Jose Apaches *

Seattle Rangers The Seattle Rangers were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team was founded in 1967 as a member of the Continental Football League and played in the Western Division. The original franchise name of Jets was a ...

Victoria Steelers The Spokane Shockers were a professional American football team based in Spokane, Washington. The team was founded in 1967 as the Victoria Steelers of the Continental Football League but transferred to Spokane during the 1967–68 offseason. While ...

The COFL added a Pacific Division for the 1967 season, adding three teams from the Pacific Football League to its ranks - Eugene Bombers (

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

), Seattle Rangers (

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 o ...

) and Victoria Steelers (

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

), while the rest of the division comprised from four minor-league teams in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The Pacific Division was basically a league-within-a-league and played exclusively against other Pacific Division opponents. The remaining teams in the league split into an Atlantic North Division and an Atlantic South Division. Two of the small western franchises, in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, and

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, left the league after the season, while the franchise in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

only played one game before folding. The Toronto Rifles actually folded ''mid-season'', under unusual circumstances: the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

raided the Rifles roster and signed away the Rifles head coach, starting quarterback and starting running back, leaving the team unable to continue. The remnants of the Brooklyn Dodgers were sold to Frank Hurn, who moved the team to

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

as the Akron Vulcans. Hurn used only $2,000 of his own money and $50,000 of

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

funding to buy the team and swindled numerous businessmen into providing lavish benefits for his team for which he would never pay. Under Hurn, the team lost $100,000 after just three weeks of play, forcing his big-budget head coaches,

and

Lou Rymkus Louis Joseph "the Battler" Rymkus (November 6, 1919 – October 31, 1998) was an American football player and coach in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Playing as ...

, to front their own money to keep the team afloat; Hurn never paid the either the coaches or players for their services, and the Wheeling Ironmen ended up paying the Vulcans' salaries for what would be the Vulcans' fourth and final game in order to avoid a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

. Hurn would later amass a long record of criminal activity after his time in Akron. Such instability marked the season for the COFL, particularly because the league could not improve upon its overall "semi-pro" public image. Inability to establish working relationships with NFL and AFL teams was a contributing factor. The league's breakthrough television contract with the upstart United Network was another: the network ended up folding prior to the 1967 season it was supposed to broadcast, leaving the COFL without a television partner yet again. The San Jose Apaches in 1967 were coached by Bill Walsh, who later achieved great success as the three-time

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

-winning coach of the NFL's

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. ''W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against'' '' = Division Champion''

''Home team in CAPITALS'' Atlantic Playoff * Orlando 21, NORFOLK 17 League Championship (December 10, 1967) * Orlando 38, ORANGE COUNTY 14

1968 season

Atlantic Division *

Alabama Hawks The Alabama Hawks were a professional American football team based in Huntsville, Alabama. They were members of various minor league football circuits in the 1960s: the Southern Football League (1963–64); the North American Football League ...

* Michigan Arrows *

Ohio Valley Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the O ...

Central Division * Arkansas Diamonds *

Chicago Owls The Chicago Owls were a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They were members of the Professional Football League of America (PFLA) in 1967 and, after the leagues merged, the Continental Football League (COFL) during t ...

Indianapolis Capitols The Indianapolis Capitols were a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They played in the Continental Football League from 1968 to 1969 and Midwest Football League from 1972 to 1974 and 1977 to 1978. The team was c ...

* Oklahoma City Plainsmen *

Omaha Mustangs The Omaha Mustangs were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska. They began as an independent, semi-pro team in the early 1960s before joining the Professional Football League of America, a newly formed league based on remna ...

* Quad Cities Raiders /

Las Vegas Cowboys The Las Vegas Cowboys were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their roots can be traced to the independent Quad City Raiders, who joined the new Professional Football League of America as the Rock Island Raiders in 1 ...

Pacific Division *

Sacramento Capitols The Sacramento Capitols were a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California. Formed as the Sacramento Buccaneers, the team's inclusion in the Pacific Division of the Continental Football League was announced in May 1967. Th ...

Spokane Shockers The Spokane Shockers were a professional American football team based in Spokane, Washington. The team was founded in 1967 as the Victoria Steelers of the Continental Football League but transferred to Spokane during the 1967–68 offseason. While ...

In February 1968, the COFL merged with the

Professional Football League of America The Professional Football League of America (PFLA) was an American football minor league that operated in the Midwest region of the United States from 1965 through 1967. With franchises based in the Midwest, the league played three seasons befor ...

(PFLA), in order to expand into the midwestern United States. The Quad City Raiders franchise moved to become the

after losing their first two games. Danny Hill succeeded Rosen as COFL commissioner. Hill established a weekly payroll ceiling of $200 per player and $5,000 per team. Ken Stabler played two games for the Spokane Shockers in 1968. Stabler later became the Continental league's first

inductee as a player through his work with the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. The Michigan Arrows began their season with a soccer-style kicker named

, who had played the previous season with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

but had found himself out of work because of military service. Yepremian later found Super Bowl fame in the NFL as a member of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. On September 8, 1968,

Glen Hepburn Gleanville Ervin Hepburn (November 4, 1938 – September 12, 1968) was an American football end and linebacker who played five seasons for the Omaha Mustangs in the Professional Football League of America and Continental Football League. He di ...

, a

two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...

for the Omaha Mustangs, suffered an in-game injury from which he died four days later; it would be the only fatality in the league's history. The Orange County Ramblers were featured in the 1968 film '' Skidoo'', in a credited role as stand-ins for a nude

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

team. The Ramblers offense is seen, from behind, wearing nothing but helmets, during a scene in which a security guard is hallucinating due to the effects of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. ''W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against'' '' = Division Champion''

''Home team in CAPITALS'' Playoff * ORLANDO 28, Indianapolis 14 League Championship (November 30, 1968) * ORLANDO 30, Orange County 23

1969 season

Jim Dunn replaced Hill as league commissioner for the 1969 season. The league expanded into

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

by absorbing the

Texas Football League The Texas Football League (TFL) was a low-level American football minor league that operated in primarily in the United States from 1966 through 1968, and again between 1970 and 1971 as a new incarnation called the Trans-American Football League ...

, which also brought the first and, to date, only team from Mexico to play in a professional American football league, the

Mexico Golden Aztecs The Mexico Golden Aztecs were a professional American football team based in Monterrey, Mexico. During the team's brief existence it played in the Texas Division of the Continental Football League, and its home games were played at the Estadio U ...

(whose owner,

Red McCombs Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (born October 19, 1927) is an American businessman. He is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, former chairman of Constellis Group, a form ...

, would later buy the NFL's

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

). Midway through the season, the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

franchise moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The COFL entered the 1969 season with high hopes. That optimism was exemplified by the Orlando Panthers' bidding for the services of the 1968

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner, halfback O. J. Simpson of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC). The Panthers made an offer of $400,000 (nearly double the entire team's salary) for Simpson to play for the Panthers if his negotiations with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

fell through; they did not, and Simpson signed with Buffalo for the 1969 season. But COFL attendance averaged approximately 5,700 spectators per game (the top attended team, Norfolk, had 13,000), insufficient to offset the lack of a TV contract. These economics contributed to the ultimate demise of the league after the 1969 season. Plans for an interleague exhibition between the COFL champion Capitols and the

champion

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

had been laid, but the Rough Riders backed out. The Alabama Hawks played a pre-season game against the NFL's Atlanta Falcons rookies, losing 55–0. The Indianapolis Capitols featured a rookie quarterback named

Johnnie Walton John Booker Walton (born October 4, 1947) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally as a quarterback in the Continental Football League (CFL), World Football League (WFL), National Football League (NFL), and Unit ...

during the 1969 season. Walton would become a regular in second-tier professional football; after several failed attempts to get onto an NFL roster in the early 1970s, Walton got his break in the

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 ...

, starting for the

San Antonio Wings The San Antonio Wings were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings. History The Florida Blazers ...

in 1975. Walton would spend the 1976–79 seasons as an NFL backup, then came out of retirement in 1983 to lead the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. COFL's alum

did not reach the NFL, but instead chose to play in Canada after the 1969 season. As Orlando Panthers quarterback, he played four seasons before joining the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the

(CFL). Jonas led Orlando to the 1967 and 1968 COFL championships, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player for each season. He also paced the Panthers to the 1966 championship game, which they lost to Philadelphia in overtime; and to the COFL semifinal game in 1969. Don was inducted into th
American Football Association's Semi Pro Hall of Fame in 1983
Many CFL teams used the COFL as a developmental league sending players that need time to improve their skills. Obert "Butch" Logan, a receiver, defensive back and player-coach, played his penultimate season in professional football with the Continental league's San Antonio Toros. Logan is notable for being the last professional football player to wear the singular jersey number zero (two others, Ken Burrough and

Jim Otto James Edwin Otto (born January 5, 1938) is an American former professional football player who played as a center for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He played colle ...

, would wear a double zero, 00, into the 1970s).

The end of the COFL

A number of franchises folded or defected during and after the conclusion of the 1969 season, making the end of the COFL all but inevitable. * September 21, 1969: The Mexico Golden Aztecs ceased operations and forfeited the remainder of their 1969 schedule. * December 15, 1969: The COFL revoked the franchises of the Chicago Owls, Ohio Valley Ironmen, and Omaha Mustangs for failure to meet the league's financial obligations. * February 18, 1970: The Jersey Jays moved to the

(ACFL). * February 22, 1970: The defending champion Orlando Panthers announced their departure from the league and the establishment of the "Sunshine League," a Florida-based loop. The Sunshine League never materialized. * March 6, 1970: At the annual COFL owners meeting in Chicago, the defending champion Indianapolis Capitols and the Norfolk Neptunes announced their withdrawal from the league * March 10, 1970, COFL commissioner James Dunn announced his resignation effective the end of that month. No replacement was ever found, and there was never any announcement of the league's cessation. * March 11, 1970: The San Antonio Toros announced the formation of the

Trans-American Football League The Texas Football League (TFL) was a low-level American football minor league that operated in primarily in the United States from 1966 through 1968, and again between 1970 and 1971 as a new incarnation called the Trans-American Football Leagu ...

, taking with them the Fort Worth Braves and Dallas Rockets. The TAFL initially planned to be a nationwide league with teams in various major markets; by the time it began play in fall 1970, this was not the case, and the Omaha Mustangs (the only TAFL team to play outside Texas) and Texarkana Titans had joined the league. * March 27, 1970: The Arkansas Diamonds folded. * April 4, 1970: The Indianapolis Capitols, Norfolk Neptunes and Orlando Panthers (now under new ownership) were accepted for membership by the ACFL for 1970. * May 2, 1970: The ACFL held a

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...

of players from the Las Vegas Cowboys, Ohio Valley Ironmen, Arkansas Diamonds, Chicago Owls, Tri-City Apollos, and Alabama Hawks. * July 2, 1970: The Sacramento Capitols folded after selling less than half of the 3,000 season tickets needed to remain viable. By this point, only Spokane, Portland and Seattle remained in the league. Spokane was, according to secondhand reports, ready to play, but there would not be enough teams to do so; Portland's failure to answer phone calls marked the effective end of the league.

Championship games

Notable people and achievements

Coach of the Year

* 1965:

Perry Moss Perry Lee Moss (August 4, 1926 – August 7, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and executive. Moss played tailback at the University of Tulsa and quarterback at Illinois during the 1940s. As a Tulsa tailback, he was on the Orange Bo ...

, Charleston Rockets * 1966:

, Indianapolis Capitols * 1967:

Gary Glick Gary Galen Glick (May 14, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was a professional American football safety who played six seasons in the National Football League before he concluded his career in the American Football League for one season. He was the num ...

, Norfolk Neptunes &

Homer Beatty Homer Taylor Beatty (August 31, 1915 – March 16, 2000) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at California State University, Los Angeles—renamed from Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Scie ...

, Orange County Ramblers * 1968:

Lou Blumbling Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lou (German singer) * Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most co ...

, Ohio Valley Ironmen * 1969: Ken Carpenter, Indianapolis Capitols

League MVP awards

* 1965:

Bob Brodhead Robert Edgar Brodhead (December 20, 1936 – February 11, 1996) was an American gridiron football player, executive, and college athletics administrator. He was the athletic director at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1982 to 1987. He is ...

(QB), Philadelphia Bulldogs & Joe Williams (FB), Toronto Rifles * 1966:

(QB), Orlando Panthers * 1967:

(QB), Orlando Panthers & Bob Jackson (HB), Orange County Ramblers * 1968:

(QB), Orlando Panthers * 1969: John Walton (QB), Indianapolis Capitols

Rookie of the Year

* 1966:

(QB), Tom Wilkinson * 1967:

Fred Bristo Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico R ...

(DB), Wheeling Ironmen * 1968:

Eugene Wren Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

(HB), Indianapolis Capitols * 1969: John Walton (QB), Indianapolis Capitols

Pro Football Hall of Fame alumni

* Bill Walsh, Coach, San Jose Apaches (1967) * Ken Stabler, QB, Spokane Shockers (1968) *

*, Coach, Akron Vulcans (1967) *

*, Coach, Newark Bear '' Inducted as a player''

External links

"The Continental Football League: A Mini-tragedy in Five Acts"
by Sarge Kennedy, ''The Coffin Corner'', Vol. 10, No. 5 (1988).
Booster Club of the Continental Football League

References

{{Professional gridiron football leagues in North America Sports leagues established in 1965 Organizations disestablished in 1969 ABC Sports Defunct American football leagues in the United States

History

1965 season

1966 season

1967 season

1968 season

1969 season

The end of the COFL

Championship games

Notable people and achievements

Coach of the Year

League MVP awards

Rookie of the Year

Pro Football Hall of Fame alumni

External links

See also

References