The "Dixie League" was a professional American football minor league founded in 1936 originally as the "South Atlantic Football Association", with six charter member teams in the Middle Atlantic states of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Like the American Association (nicknamed the 'A.A.', which was another minor league in pro football that formed in 1936, (not to be confused with another "American Association", an early famous major league baseball group from 1881 to 1892), its popularity (and attendance) rivaled that of another earlier established "major league" grouping, the National Football League of 1922 (originally the "American Professional Football Conference" formed in 1920, later quickly renamed "American Professional Football Association"). Unlike most professional football minor leagues, the "Dixie League" had a relative stability in membership during the "Great Depression" in the years prior to World War II, maintaining a five or six-team lineup membership of franchises (and adding a team in North Carolina upon the demise of their Washington team franchise in 1941).
Like the competitor 'AA' and the third "American Football League", the "Dixie League" suspended operations after the Pearl Harbor attack by Japan, on the "Day of Infamy" – Sunday, December 7, 1941; unlike the AFL, the football minor league reorganized after the end of the War and resumed competition in the first post-war season year of 1946. The following year, the 'D.L.' collapsed when one of its member teams purchased the assets of a defunct team in the other pro football minor loop, the "American Association" (which then changed its name to the "American Football League" in 1946) and opted to jump leagues.Nothing Minor About It: The American Association/AFL of 1936–1950 – Bob Gill, Pro Football Researchers Association (1990)
Origin
The "Dixie League" began its existence in 1936 when six independent teams joined forces for the purposes of competition. Charter members included the Maryland Athletic Club (which moved to Washington, D.C. in 1936 to become the Washington Pros), the Baltimore Orioles (also known sometimes as the Baltimore Blue Jays, but no relation to the later major league "Orioles" baseball team in the American League, (1954 to present), Norfolk Clancys, Richmond Arrows, Portsmouth Cubs, and the Alexandria Celtics (the last was a "traveling team" with no regular home city). Charles Hamilton became the new "Dixie League's" first president.
Although the new League officially called itself at first, the "South Atlantic Football League" in its first year of existence, various sportswriters repeatedly unofficially called it the "Dixie League." The name was officially adopted for the second 1937 pro season.A History of the Dixie League – Bob Gill, Pro Football Researchers Association (1988)
1936
Like the New York Yankees pro football team of the first "American Football League", the Richmond Arrows provided the financial backbone of the Dixie League in its first year, averaging twice as many paying spectators per home game as the other league members. The Arrows played all their games at home, offering the visiting teams a five percent bonus for the privilege. On November 15, 1936, Richmond's team coach (Dave Miller) and the players walked off the team in an effort for more pay. Richmond manager Blair Meaney, Jr. hired a new head coach (Bob Burdette) and new players (to join the five who didn't strike) to finish the season.
Baltimore's Ted Wright led the scoring, while the Orioles/Blue Jays also featured the League's top passer, Leroy "Sunshine" Campbell. Until the player strike, back Mush DeLotto provided an explosive running game for the Richmond Arrows.
TeamWLTPct.PFPA Washington Pros632.6676647 Richmond Arrows433.5716143 Baltimore Orioles (Baltimore Blue Jays)442.5009785 Portsmouth Cubs452.4447182 Norfolk Clancys342.4295669 Alexandria Celtics351.3754166
"Playoffs": Washington defeated Richmond; Baltimore defeated Alexandria "Championship": Washington beat Baltimore, 3–0, on a Willis Brenner field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation.
Fourth-place finisher Portsmouth declined to participate in the playoffs, opting for a game against nearby rival Norfolk. Despite finishing in last place, Alexandria took Portsmouth's place against Baltimore.
In the first game of a series between the 'D.L.' champion and the winners of the American Association, the Washington Pros (Dixie League) defeated the Brooklyn Bay Parkways (American Association) 13–6 in Richmond, Virginia, January 1, 1937. While there would be more exhibition games involving members of the two leagues, this was the last time that an "American Association" team lost to a team in the "Dixie League" on the gridiron.
1937 Compared to most sporting leagues in their beginning years, the "Dixie League" had begun strongly. All six charter members were in strong enough shape to compete in a second season (three of the six remained 'D.L.' members from the 1936 beginning to the aborted 1947 season).
Richmond was still recovering from the effects of the player rebellion when the strikers formed a new team, the Richmond Rebels, and tried to replace the Arrows in the league. After being rebuffed, the Rebels tried to compete against the Arrows by forming the "Virginia-Carolina Football League" and then marched through the season undefeated. The 'V-CFL' lasted only the 1937 season; the Rebels folded along with the league.
Despite the competition from the Rebels, the Arrows held their own, both on the field and at the turnstiles with their fans. Despite their improved record, the Arrows could finish no higher than third place, behind the undefeated defending champion Washington (which became the Presidents) and the newly rechristened Baltimore Blue Jays or Blue Birds.
TeamWLTPct.PFPA Washington Presidents5021.0005320 Baltimore Blue Jays (or Blue Birds)511.8338918 Richmond Arrows621.7509028 Alexandria Celtics250.2863063 Norfolk Clancys151.16734112 Portsmouth Cubs061.0002075
Championship: no playoffs – Washington clinches title on 3–3 tie with Baltimore
While the league featured balance from top to bottom in its maiden season, it clearly divided into the "haves" and "have nots" in 1937. Five members of the Washington Presidents (including backfield mates Tom Oliver and Gene Augusterfer) were named to the all league team. Baltimore's Ted Wright was once again the league's leading scorer while teammate "Sunshine" Campbell dented defenses with his passes. Richmond placed three linemen on the all league team, including league most valuable player Lyle Graham. The winless Portsmouth team had a future team member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on its roster, player-coach "Ace" Parker, who played in only one game for the Cubs before he signed with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers team in early November.
1938
After two years of stability, the "Dixie League" made some adjustments in 1938. William Nickels, Jr. became the league's second president, replacing Charles Hamilton. The DL was forced to play with only five teams after the folding of the Baltimore Blue Jays/Blue Birds, and the Washington Patriots minor league squad became a traveling team (having been upstaged by the NFL's former Boston Braves, later renamed the Boston Redskins later becoming the Washington Redskins and the League's entry into the District of Columbia, the Nation's Capital, the year before) under owner George Preston Marshall.
A. E. Stutz, the founder and owner of the Norfolk Clancys, died in late 1937; in 1938, new owner Harry Howren started stockpiling talent (including back Mush DeLotto, formerly of Richmond), sufficient for the newly renamed the "Shamrocks" to dominate League play that year. Another Shamrock player, tackle Vernon "Buck" Miles, was named the league's most valuable player at the end of the season.
The Portsmouth Cubs, winless in 1937, reached .500 in 1938 as quarterback Larry Weldon led the League in scoring.
TeamWLTPct.PFPA Norfolk Shamrocks 511.8335930 Richmond Arrows 530.6258138 Portsmouth Cubs440.5009686 Washington Patriots131.2502750 Alexandria Celtics150.16742101
"No playoffs": Norfolk was declared league champions
After the season, Norfolk was defeated 16–14 by the Hazelton Redskins, of Pennsylvania, champions of the Eastern Pennsylvania Football League in a game for the "National Minor League title". Two members of the 1937 Baltimore Blue Jays/Blue Birds ("Sunshine" Campbell and John Spirida) provided the difference in the game, with Campbell throwing two touchdown passes and Spirida scoring ten points in the game.
1939
The number of traveling teams in the "Dixie League" was halved with the folding of the Alexandria Celtics team in Virginia. The number of league members stayed at five with the entrance of the Newport News Builders, which actually played its home games in neighboring Hampton southeast of Newport News on the Virginia Peninsula.
“Buck” Miles became the league "M.V.P." as he repeated his feat of scoring the most points in the "Dixie League". His Cubs finished the season in a tie for the league lead with the Richmond Arrows (the Cubs had a 6–1 record, the Arrows 6–1–1). For the last game, the Cubs added Ace Parker (after he finished an All-Pro season with the NFL's team, the Brooklyn Dodgers). He scored the only touchdown in a 7–0 Cubs victory over Newport News Builders to force a playoff with the Richmond Arrows for the league championship (in which Parker scores the only touchdown in a Cubs 7–0 win).
TeamWLTPct.PFPA Richmond Arrows611.8337731 Portsmouth Cubs610.8337942 Newport News Builders241.3334547 Washington Presidents241.3334362 Norfolk Shamrocks061.2863496
Playoff: Portsmouth 7, Richmond 0 – Portsmouth wins league championship
1940
With the addition of the Roanoke Travelers, the "Dixie League" returned to having six teams for the 1940 season. While the team made a successful debut, finishing in second place, the Travelers had the misfortune of having almost half of its season canceled as a result of bad weather.
Two early losses deprived Richmond of a chance for competing for the league title (which was easily won by Portsmouth), but the Arrows entertained the fans by being the first 'D.L.' team to average more than two touchdowns a game. "Sunshine" Campbell, returning to the Dixie League after playing in the American Association and the E.P.F.L., provided the passes, and A. B. Conner became the "M.V.P." of the "Dixie League" by scoring 49 points.
Portsmouth's Larry Weldon set a new league record by throwing seven touchdown passes in the span of ten games. Over a span of 20 games in 1939 and 1940, Weldon and the Cubs won 16 games, lose two, and tie two games (a .889 winning percentage) – and win two league titles.
Washington's Presidents struggled through its third consecutive season as a "traveling team", and left the League after the end of the 1940 season.
TeamWLTPct.PFPA Portsmouth Cubs811.88910151 Roanoke Travelers420.6675558 Richmond Arrows540.55615569 Washington Presidents232.4004799 Norfolk Shamrocks361.33373105 Newport News Builders170.2004392
No playoffs: Portsmouth declared league champions for the second straight year.
1941
For the first time, the "Dixie League" had six teams with actual home fields, with the Charlotte Clippers of Charlotte in North Carolina replacing Washington. As the United States started preparing for a war with the "Axis powers", (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) that appeared to be inevitable in the fall of 1941, the League benefited from the addition of military personnel from bases in the region.