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Charles O. Finley announces his plans for a new
professional football league. The North American
Football League would be created by merging the
Canadian Football League with nine new teams
located in the United States. Finley named
Birmingham, New York, Chicago, Baltimore,
Philadelphia, Memphis, Phoenix, Jacksonville and
Dallas-Fort Worth as potential candidates for
the U.S. franchises. Finley, a native of
Birmingham, plans to own the Chicago team. He
owned the Southern League's
Birmingham Athletics and is a former owner
of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics.
"I'm confident beyond a shadow of a doubt
that if we get a TV contract, the Canadian
Football League will be very happy, extremely
happy, to get in bed with us," Finley said.
However, the CFL officials dismiss the merger
talk, but concede that anything is possible for
the right amount of money. CFL spokesman John
Laboni said, "Right now the idea of a merger is
a dead issue. But if Finley came up with a $20
million (television) contract and offered it to
us, we'd have to take a good look at it." The
current CFL Commissioner says the CFL "intends
to operate in its present format and if any
expansion takes place, it will occur within the
boundaries of Canada."
The CFL's former television contract, which
provided $11 million yearly, has expired and
this year's agreement is expected to bring in
less than $4 million. "We have already done our
homework. We know what the Canadian Football
League needs. We know what their TV contract is
worth now; peanuts. If we went out and put a
lucrative TV contract in front of them, what do
you think they would do? I'll tell you what
they'd do. They'd be kissing both sides of my
cheeks," Finley said. |
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Finley is confident that the city will be the
home of a NAFL franchise. "Birmingham's going to
be in a third pro football league. You can
believe that," Finley said. Some details have
been changed, however, such as the idea to merge
with the CFL. Plans still call for a 1988-89
inaugural season. When asked why the NAFL will
succeed where the
United States Football League just failed,
Finley said, "It didn't have Charlie Finley in
back of it. That's the big thing. This league
will. I didn't spend twenty years in baseball
and win five division championships in a row and
three World Championships in a row without
learning something. I wasn't in hockey three
years without learning anything. I wasn't in
basketball two years without learning anything.
I'm the only individual who ever owned three
professional sports teams at one time, hockey,
baseball and basketball. I'm in the process of
developing this league. You'll hear more about
it. We'll have individual owners with deep
pockets. They'll have staying power." Finley has
owned the Athletics, the National Hockey
League's California Golden Seals and the
American Basketball Association's Memphis Tams.
No local ownership has been found but Finley
claims to have had talks with potential owners. |
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In 2004, former
United States Football League executive
director Steve Ehrhart was reported as saying
the National Football League was one reason the
NAFL never came about. "We talked about it some
years ago, and actually Charlie Finley came down
to visit with me three or four times and we
talked about it. But the NFL got wind of that,
and that’s one reason I think they started the
World League of American Football. In those
first few years, they played in the spring, and
they used the international component. Now, I
think there was a window, but I’m not sure that
we can do it. We tried to get the CFL (Canadian
Football League) to grow up and become a
North American football league, but that didn’t
really take. The Arena teams have filled some of
the void. Ten years ago I was very bullish about
it. But now I’m not sure any network is willing
to stand up and take the chance of angering the
NFL.” |
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