The 1940 AFL season was the first season of the third American Football League. The league was formed when the New York Yankees, Boston Bears, and Buffalo Indians were joined by the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs of the minor American Professional Football Association (the mass defection doomed the minor league). After the announcement of the formation of the AFL (July 14, 1940),[1] applications for membership by former APFA members St. Louis Gunners and Kenosha Cardinals were rejected by the upstart league, which started with six members.
The Columbus Bullies were declared league champions after compiling an 8-1-1 record, just edging the 7-2 of the Milwaukee Chiefs.
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pct.= Winning Percentage, PF = Points for, PA = Points against
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Bullies | 8 | 1 | 1 | .889 | 134 | 69 | |
| Milwaukee Chiefs | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 180 | 59 | |
| Boston Bears | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 120 | 79 | |
| New York Yankees | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 138 | 138 | |
| Buffalo Indians | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 45 | 138 | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 53 | 187 |
The standings include two forfeits: Buffalo forfeited to New York due to the field being deemed unplayable on November 17, 1940, while Cincinnati forfeited to Buffalo on November 24, 1940 due to injuries leaving the Bengals unable to field a team. [2]
The league's coaches selected the all-league team:[4]
| width=16% | Position | width=42% | First Team | width=42% | Second Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End | Sherman Barnes, Milwaukee | Keith Ranspot, Boston | |||
| Harlan Gustafson, New York | Joel Mason, Boston | ||||
| Tackle | Ed Karpowich, Buffalo | Ralph Niehaus, Columbus | |||
| Bob Eckl, Milwaukee | Alec Shellogg, Buffalo | ||||
| Guard | Jim Karcher, Columbus | Vic Marino, Boston | |||
| Alex Drobnitch, Buffalo | Len Akin, Milwaukee | ||||
| Center | Joe Alexus, Columbus | Joe Ratica, Boston | |||
| Back | Andy Karpus, Boston, QB | Bob Davis, Columbus | |||
| Bill Hutchinson, New York, HB | Ray Cole, Milwaukee | ||||
| Nelson Peterson, Columbus, HB | Lee Elkins, New York | ||||
| Al Novakofski, Milwaukee, FB | Paul Shu, Cincinnati |