Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Who else besides Hardy Brown?

Ben Agajanian (also the NFL).

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... ajBe20.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Agajanian

I like this question. What if we expand it a little and say players who played in the '40s (AAFC, NFL, or both) and played in the AFL? The only one I could think of was wrong - Tobin Rote - rookie in '50.

Yeah, this is a great topic. Agajanian is the only guy I could think of off the top of my head. Weren't there a few players that played AAFC/NFL/AFL, though?

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Yeah, this is a great topic. Agajanian is the only guy I could think of off the top of my head. Weren't there a few players that played AAFC/NFL/AFL, though?

Brown played in 4 leagues, AAFC, AFL, NFL and CFL (Hamilton 1956).
Agajanian played in the AAFC, AFL and NFL.

Per Brown's Wikipedia page: He (Brown) was one of only two men who played in the AAFC, NFL, and the AFL (the other was Ben Agajanian).
So, I am guessing that is it for players who played in all three leagues.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardy_Brown

https://www.statscrew.com/football/rost ... HAM/y-1956

TanksAndSpartans wrote:I like this question. What if we expand it a little and say players who played in the '40s (AAFC, NFL, or both) and played in the AFL? The only one I could think of was wrong - Tobin Rote - rookie in '50.

George Blanda comes to mind.
He was a rookie for the Bears in 1949 and did just a few things in the AFL (like win the first two championships).
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... anGe00.htm

Mac Speedie played for the Browns in the AAFC and coached the Broncos for most of two seasons and a few games of a third (1964-66)... but there are probably lots of those guys (duh J, like Lou Saban...).

TanksAndSpartans wrote:I like this question. What if we expand it a little and say players who played in the '40s (AAFC, NFL, or both) and played in the AFL? The only one I could think of was wrong - Tobin Rote - rookie in '50.

Frank Tripucka did that -- NFL from 1949-52 and AFL from 1960-63 or so, with a long stretch in Canada in between.

JuggernautJ wrote:

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Yeah, this is a great topic. Agajanian is the only guy I could think of off the top of my head. Weren't there a few players that played AAFC/NFL/AFL, though?

Brown played in 4 leagues, AAFC, AFL, NFL and CFL (Hamilton 1956).
Agajanian played in the AAFC, AFL and NFL.

For what it's worth, Agajanian also played in the Pacific Coast League for two full seasons (1943 and '46), plus a couple of games in 1942 and '44. At that point he wasn't just a kicker either, but also played end, probably both ways, and even scored three touchdowns.

JuggernautJ wrote:

TanksAndSpartans wrote:I like this question. What if we expand it a little and say players who played in the '40s (AAFC, NFL, or both) and played in the AFL? The only one I could think of was wrong - Tobin Rote - rookie in '50.

George Blanda comes to mind.
He was a rookie for the Bears in 1949 and did just a few things in the AFL (like win the first two championships).
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... anGe00.htm

Mac Speedie played for the Browns in the AAFC and coached the Broncos for most of two seasons and a few games of a third (1964-66)... but there are probably lots of those guys (duh J, like Lou Saban...).

Blanda did not play in the AAFC, although he has the distinction of having played for George Halas and John Madden. He did play in one game for the former AAFC Colts one years after the franchise joined the NFL.

Lee Elder wrote:

JuggernautJ wrote:

TanksAndSpartans wrote:I like this question. What if we expand it a little and say players who played in the '40s (AAFC, NFL, or both) and played in the AFL? The only one I could think of was wrong - Tobin Rote - rookie in '50.

George Blanda comes to mind.
He was a rookie for the Bears in 1949 and did just a few things in the AFL (like win the first two championships).
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... anGe00.htm

Mac Speedie played for the Browns in the AAFC and coached the Broncos for most of two seasons and a few games of a third (1964-66)... but there are probably lots of those guys (duh J, like Lou Saban...).

Blanda did not play in the AAFC, although he has the distinction of having played for George Halas and John Madden. He did play in one game for the former AAFC Colts one years after the franchise joined the NFL.

Understood.
The "expanded" criteria was asking for someone who'd played in the 1940's (NFL orf AAFC) and then the AFL.
Blanda fits that description.