Separate but Equal
When the American Football League set up shop in 1960 as challenger to pro football's prosperous National Football League, skeptics gave the rookie league the actuarial chances of Weeping Wa ter State Teachers facing the Chicago Bears. The A.F.L.'s players were mostly second-rate collegians, or castoffs from Canada and the N.F.L. -- and the sandlot football they played bore scant resemblance to the tightly disciplined N.F.L. brand. That first ' season, one team scored four touchdowns in 20 min. to salvage a 38-38 tie; another opened up a 30-0 half-time lead, still had to kick a last-second field goal to win, 33-30.
N.F.L. types made no secret of their amusement. They dubbed the A.F.L. the "Kook League." And when sportswriters suggested a "world series" playoff between the champions of each league, they were referred to the historic crack of Elmer Layden, who served as N.F.L. commissioner during the formation of the ill-fated All-America Conference in the 1940s. "First," said Layden, "let them get a football."
Fans & Money. By last week, the wags were wide-eyed. Attendance in the A.F.L. this year is up 22% to 32,500 per game--18,000 fewer than the N.F.L., but perfectly respectable, considering that the A.F.L. has no ballparks to compare with Cleveland's Municipal Stadium (77,096). Another 10 million fans watch American League football on television every weekend --precisely the same number who tune in to National League games. With each A.F.L. club receiving $900,000 a year in TV revenue (v. $1,000,000 for the N.F.L.), the young league is holding its own in the expensive battle for promising college stars. Last week the New York Jets signed up (for $200,000) Oklahoma's All-America Linebacker Carl McAdams, who was also the No. 1 draft choice of the N.F.L.'s St. Louis Cardinals.
Most National League officials still insist that the A.F.L. cannot come close to the N.F.L. on the playing field. "My impression," says Giant Coach Allie Sherman, "is that the caliber of ball in the American League is closer to that of the Big Ten than the N.F.L." Remarks like that provoke wrath in such A.F.L. coaches as San Diego's Sid Gillman and New York's Weeb Ewbank--both of whom coached title-winning teams in the N.F.L. before switching. "The two leagues are absolutely equal now," says Gillman. "Our top teams are every bit as good as the top teams in the N.F.L., and our weaker teams are every bit as strong as the weaker N.F.L. teams."
That might be an overstatement. Yet much as N.F.L. coaches like to talk about the A.F.L.'s "weak defenses" and "basketball scores," the facts do not bear them out. So far this season, an average of 41 points has been scored in each A.F.L. game; N.F.L. teams have scored an average of 45. The top punter in pro football (at 46.9 yds. per punt) is Gary Collins of the N.F.L.'s Cleveland Browns; the next two are American Leaguers. True, the A.F.L. has no runner to match Cleveland's Jimmy Brown. But the American League has at least one superstar of its own: San Diego's Lance ("Bambi") Alworth, the most dangerous receiver in football, with 62 completions so far this season,
for twelve touchdowns and 1,428 yds. --
a phenomenal 23 yds. per catch.
Unitas of the Future. If the A.F.L. has one glaring weakness, it is at quarterback--mostly because, as one A.F.L. coach admits, "it takes time to develop a topnotch passer." Nine National League quarterbacks have completed better than 50% of their passes this season--against only three for the American League. But what does it matter how well a man can throw a ball if he can't get out of bed? Last week no fewer than five of the N.F.L.'s first-string quarterbacks were nursing injuries, and Baltimore's Johnny Unitas, who damaged a knee against the Chicago Bears, was lost for the rest of the season. The Unitas of the future may well be the A.F.L.'s $400,000 rookie, Joe Namath of the New York Jets.* Even the N.F.L. coaches are enthusiastic about Namath. "He drops back quickly, releases quickly, has a strong arm and a winning attitude," says a Los Angeles Rams official. "When he gets a good offensive line and capable receivers, he'll really be something."
What makes the A.F.L. really mad is criticism of its defenses--and it gets plenty. "They don't rush the passer," says one National League coach. "Their quarterbacks have all day to get the ball away." American League coaches, on the other hand, charge that such "sophisticated" maneuvers as the safety blitz are actually pirated A.F.L. inventions. And When it comes to sheer size and strength on defense, the A.F.L. refuses to take a back seat to anybody. The defensive line of the champion Buffalo Bills averages 275 Ibs. per man--18 Ibs. per man more than the N.F.L.'s champion Browns. Then there are the San Diego Chargers. Defensive End Earl Faison, at 280 Ibs., would be a big man on anybody's ballclub, but he looks like an underfed schoolboy next to Tackle Ernie Ladd, who stands 6 ft. 9 in., weighs 315 Ibs.
Could Jimmy Brown run through Ernie Ladd? Nobody knows. As far as San Diego Coach Gillman is concerned, the time has come to find out. "Let's quit arguing," says Gillman, "and start playing."
* Who last week became something of a cause celebre in Washington, D.C., when he was classified 4-F by the Army because of a bad knee. The Pentagon defended its action in a 600-word statement describing Joe's knee in intimate detail. "This knee," said the Pentagon, "has had the medial meniscus [cartilage] removed; it is a knee which shows that the patient has a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament; it is a knee that has pathology on the lateral side, most likely a torn posterior third of the lateral meniscus with osteoarthritic changes." It was, the report concluded, O.K. for Joe to play football, where "he is closely watched and professional assistance is close at hand." But in Viet Nam, where "the life and safety of his comrades could depend on Namath's performing his duties under extremely adverse conditions," the Army could not guarantee that a trainer or physician would always be around.
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