Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I just came across a tidbit of information that I had not known before. When George Halas and the NFL reacted to the formation of the AFL, the initial expansion plan was to award franchises to Clint Murchison of Dallas and Craig Cullinan of Houston for the 1960 season. There was no thought of expanding to Minneapolis. But when Cullinan couldn't secure a stadium lease in Houston, the NFL made overtures to Max Winter of the AFL Minneapolis group, and the rest is history.

Bryan wrote:I just came across a tidbit of information that I had not known before. When George Halas and the NFL reacted to the formation of the AFL, the initial expansion plan was to award franchises to Clint Murchison of Dallas and Craig Cullinan of Houston for the 1960 season. There was no thought of expanding to Minneapolis. But when Cullinan couldn't secure a stadium lease in Houston, the NFL made overtures to Max Winter of the AFL Minneapolis group, and the rest is history.

I never heard that one. Thanks for sharing.

If Dallas and Houston enter the NFL together, Minnesota stays in the AFL, butterflying away the Raiders.

That has huge ramifications. For one, where does Al Davis end up? He may not have as big of an imprint on the game as he did.

Also, it would have affected Bill Walsh. He was an assistant with the Raiders before going to Cincinnati.

Professional football fans should never forget what Wayne Valley did for his beloved Raiders as a founding owner of the team. By hiring Al Davis, the Raiders went from a laughingstock to a powerhouse franchise and Valley rewarded Davis by bringing him back to the team after his stint as AFL Commissioner and giving him a stake in the franchise as Davis shrewdly manipulated fellow owner Ed McGah into nudging out Valley from team ownership by 1972-73. Valley holds a place in the Raiders Commitment To Excellence that finally ended after the Raider's disastrous defeat to Tanpa Bay in the 2002/03 Super Bowl. Though the team has been irrelevant since, hopefully, true Raider fans can understand and appreciate the role that Valley played in making the Raiders a team that could have easily folded into a household name throughout the globe ...

Brian wolf wrote:Professional football fans should never forget what Wayne Valley did for his beloved Raiders as a founding owner of the team. By hiring Al Davis, the Raiders went from a laughingstock to a powerhouse franchise and Valley rewarded Davis by bringing him back to the team after his stint as AFL Commissioner and giving him a stake in the franchise as Davis shrewdly manipulated fellow owner Ed McGah into nudging out Valley from team ownership by 1972-73. Valley holds a place in the Raiders Commitment To Excellence that finally ended after the Raider's disastrous defeat to Tanpa Bay in the 2002/03 Super Bowl. Though the team has been irrelevant since, hopefully, true Raider fans can understand and appreciate the role that Valley played in making the Raiders a team that could have easily folded into a household name throughout the globe ...

Davis also encouraged the Morabito Family to sell the 49ers to someone else other than Valley after his bid was too low.

Bryan wrote:I just came across a tidbit of information that I had not known before. When George Halas and the NFL reacted to the formation of the AFL, the initial expansion plan was to award franchises to Clint Murchison of Dallas and Craig Cullinan of Houston for the 1960 season. There was no thought of expanding to Minneapolis. But when Cullinan couldn't secure a stadium lease in Houston, the NFL made overtures to Max Winter of the AFL Minneapolis group, and the rest is history.

For us researchers, where did you come across this tidbit?

Lee Elder wrote:

Bryan wrote:I just came across a tidbit of information that I had not known before. When George Halas and the NFL reacted to the formation of the AFL, the initial expansion plan was to award franchises to Clint Murchison of Dallas and Craig Cullinan of Houston for the 1960 season. There was no thought of expanding to Minneapolis. But when Cullinan couldn't secure a stadium lease in Houston, the NFL made overtures to Max Winter of the AFL Minneapolis group, and the rest is history.

For us researchers, where did you come across this tidbit?

It was in an early chapter of a book called "Dallas Cowboys: Pro or Con?" by Sam Blair that was published in 1970.