American Football League (AFL) Game Programs Collection

Collection

Identifier: FBP_615

Staff Only
Please use the Collection Organization below to place requests

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of about 400 American Football League regular season and pre-season exhibition game programs. This collection excludes post-season playoff game programs and all-star game programs. The programs typically contain pictures, articles, and statistics about the players on the teams. Most programs also include pictures and information about coaches, other team personnel, data about the participating teams, and advertisements. The programs tend to become longer and more substantial through the years.

Formats include programs.

Dates

Creation: 1960-1969

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Founded in the late 1950s, by investors who were unable to obtain franchise in the established National Football League, the American Football League formed during the late 1950s. The AFL was in direct competition with the NFL during the early 1960s, with leagues bidding on players and sometimes raiding rosters in the other league. By 1966, owners in the NFL and the AFL reached an agreement for cooperation and collaboration between the two former rivals. The first championship game—later renamed the Super Bowl—occured in January 1967, and the two leagues fully merged in 1970.

Extent

3.5 Cubic Feet (15 flat boxes (letter))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Programs are arranged alphabetically by issuing (home) franchise, and then chronologically; franchises are alphabetized by the last name used by the organization (within the chronological span of the list). Programs issued by the same franchise under previously used team names are considered predecessors in a chronological sequence, and are grouped accordingly.