A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1962 |
| Ceased | 1979 |
| Claim to fame | The last league to feature NFL farm teams |
| No. of teams | varied (from 4 to 8) |
| Most titles | Macomb County / Pontiac / Michigan Arrows (6) |
The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a low-level professional American football minor league that played games from 1962 to 1978. The league was based mainly in Michigan, until the collapse of the Continental Football League in 1969, when it became more of a regional league.[1]
During its lifetime, the MFL had a working relationship with the National Football League (NFL), as the NFL had the right to sign any player at any time from the league for $1000, while the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns had agreements with the Columbus Bucks and Youngstown Hardhats (respectively), and the Detroit Lions had agreements with both the Indy Caps and Lansing All Stars, to act as farm teams.
History
Formation
By April 1961, six cities had been approved for franchises in the Midwest Football League: Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Indianapolis; and Louisville, Kentucky.[2] Players were to be paid $50 salaries per game played, with 30 players on each team's roster.[2] The league played its games on Saturday nights.[2] George Gareff from Columbus was initially league commissioner,[2] with Homer VanHablenbeck from Detroit gaining the title by 1962.[3]
A group of Des Moines, Iowa, investors applied for a franchise in the league in April 1961.[2] New teams were to pay a $2,000 fee to join the league and send a $5,000 security deposit to ensure the full season would be played.[2] The Lakeview Athletic Club Bears joined the league on January 28, 1962.[3]
The six initial teams in the league were announced on January 31, 1962, as the Battle Creek Bears, Dearborn Vikings, Detroit Rockets, Lansing All Stars, Macomb County Arrows (also called the Mt. Clemens Arrows), and Toledo Thunderbirds.[4] The Lansing All Stars were an independent team in the 1961 season.[5] An application for a franchise from Dayton, Ohio, was approved on March 11, 1962.[6] The Battle Creek, Dayton, and Toledo franchises did not play in the 1962 season.
1962 season
The 1962 season began on September 8, 1962,[6] with four teams participating. The Mt. Clemens/Macomb County Arrows were declared league champions for the 1962 season,[7] after beating the Dearborn Vikings 34–20 in the title game.[1]
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Clemens/Macomb County Arrows† | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 |
| Dearborn Vikings | 4 | 2 | 0 | .666 |
| Detroit Rockets | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 |
| Lansing All Stars | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 |
† Midwest Football League champions.
1963 season
The Spartan Athletic Club received approval to join the league in April 1963,[8] and they initially chose a team name of Dayton Spartans.[9] They were later called the Cedarville Spartans.[10] The Dayton franchise had previously played in the American Football Conference as the Dayton Triangles from 1959 to 1961.[11] The Battle Creek Bears (also known as the Cereal City Bears) joined for the 1963 season,[12] after initially being accepted into the league in 1962. Six teams participated in the 1963 season.[13]
The Arrows won the league championship for a second year in a row after posting a record of 13–1,[14] including a 9–1 record in league play.[1] The Spartans, who finished second in the league in 1963 after going 6–3–1, played against the Hudson Bar in a game called the Semi-Pro Bowl on December 14, 1963.[15] The All Stars placed third for the season with a record of 5–4–1.[16]
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macomb County Arrows† | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 |
| Cedarville Spartans[a 1] | 6 | 3 | 1 | .650 |
| Lansing All Stars[a 2] | 5 | 4 | 1 | .550 |
| Detroit Rockets | 4 | 5 | 1 | .450 |
| Petersburg/Dearborn Vikings | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 |
| Cereal City Bears | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 |
† Midwest Football League champions.
1964 season
Ed McCracken from Dayton was elected league commissioner in March 1964.[17] The league also added teams in Toronto, Ohio, and Van Wert, Ohio.[17] The Van Wert team was named the Van Wert Tigers,[18] but they did not participate in the 1964 season.[a 3] The Toronto team was the Toronto Tigers.[20] The Cedarville Spartans became the Dayton Colts in 1964,[21] and the Cereal City Bears did not return after the 1963 season.[a 3]
The Association of Minor Football Leagues was formed in April 1964, with the Midwest Football League joining together with five of the other seven minor league football teams in the country.[22] The other leagues to join were the Atlantic Coast Football League, Central States Football League, New England Football Conference, Southern Football League, and United Football League.[22] McCracken was named secretary of the association.[22]
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing All Stars† | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 |
| Dearborn Vikings | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 |
| Dayton Colts | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 |
| Macomb County Arrows | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 |
| Detroit Rockets | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 |
| Toronto Tigers | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 |
† Midwest Football League champions.[23]
The Lansing All-Stars played against the Central States Football League champion Racine Raiders in an exhibition game after the season on November 28, 1964.[24]
The Toronto team did not show up to a game against Lansing, and were subsequently removed from the league in the middle of the season.[25] The Detroit Rockets were removed from the league after the season after they did not adhere to financial protocols.[26]
1965 season
In searching for two new teams to join the league for the 1965 season, following the expulsion of the Detroit and Toronto franchises, commissioner Ed McCracken asked for a $300 new team fee with a security deposit of $200.[27] The Macomb County Arrows became the Pontiac Arrows and the Dearborn Vikings became the Milan Vikings for the 1965 season.[28][29][30] A Flint, Michigan, team called the Flint Blue Devils joined the league.[28][29] A team from Sturgis, Michigan, played some games against league members in the hopes of joining the league for the 1966 season.[28]
Dayton was purchased by a new ownership group in 1965.[31]
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontiac Arrows† | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 |
| Dayton Colts | 5 | 2 | 1 | .688 |
| Lansing All Stars | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 |
| Flint Blue Devils | 2 | 4 | 2 | .375 |
| Milan Vikings | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 |
† Midwest Football League champions.[32]
The Dayton Colts had to cancel and forfeit a game against Milan due to bad weather.[33] Dayton scheduled the game to be played at a local high school football field, but the school would not allow the game to be played, citing a long-standing policy about wet fields.[33] Dayton was placed a one-year probation by the league as punishment.[34]
The Pontiac Arrows were named league champions, and they went against players from the other four teams in an all-star game on November 13, 1965.[32]
1966 season
John Abel from Pontiac was named commissioner of the league in January 1966, replacing McCracken, who resigned to be the head coach for the Dayton Colts.[35][36]
The Milan franchise was moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan,[37] to become the Ypsilanti Vikings.[38] The Detroit Rockets franchise rejoined the league in River Rouge, Michigan, as the River Rouge Steelers.[39][40] The Dayton Colts played an exhibition game of basketball with the National Football League's Cleveland Browns in March 1966 as a fundraiser.[41]
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontiac Arrows† | 9 | 0 | 1 | .950 |
| Ypsilanti Vikings | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 |
| Dayton Colts[a 4] | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 |
| Flint Blue Devils | 5 | 4 | 1 | .550 |
| Lansing All Stars | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 |
| River Rouge Steelers | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 |
† Midwest Football League champions.[42]
The Pontiac Arrows were named league champions for the second straight season, and they went against players from the other five teams in an all-star game on November 12, 1966.[42]
1967 season
The River Rouge Steelers became the Detroit Steelers,[43] the Flint Blue Devils became the Flint Wildcats,[44] and the Pontiac Arrows moved back to Mt. Clemens to become the Michigan Arrows for the 1967 season.[45] The Pontiac Firebirds joined the league as a new franchise.[45]
The Lansing All Stars signed their players to $1 per year contracts in 1967 due to financial constraints.[46] In October 1967, the NFL agreed to pay MFL teams $1,000 to sign a player off of their rosters.[47]
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Arrows† | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 |
| Pontiac Firebirds | 10 | 2 | 0 | .818 |
| Ypsilanti Vikings | 8 | 4 | 0 | .727 |
| Dayton Colts | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 |
| Flint Wildcats | 2 | 9 | 1 | .208 |
| Lansing All Stars* | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 |
| Detroit Steelers* | 0 | 10 | 1 | .045 |
† Midwest Football League champions.[48][49]
* Record before final game of season.[50]
1968 season
A franchise from Lackawanna, New York, joined the league in April 1968,[51] as the Lackawanna Lancers.[52] The Detroit Steelers moved to Hamtramck, Michigan, to become the Hamtramck Chargers for the 1968 season.[53] The Lansing All Stars team folded before the 1968 due to financial reasons.[54][55][56] The Dayton Colts were sold to Recreation Projects, Inc. in April 1968.[57] The Michigan Arrows were purchased by a group from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and subsequently relocated to the city to become the Fort Wayne Tigers.[54] The Flint franchise was part owned by Minnesota Vikings player Paul Krause.[58]