Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson's monster game on Sunday got me thinking again about something that has bothered me for a while. Johnson tied the record for most career games with 200+ yards receiving. He tied the record of five held by former San Diego Chargers and Hall of Fame receiver Lance Alworth. Alworth spent most of his career, certainly the best years of his career, in the rival American Football League. I think that it's great that the NFL recognizes the statistics and records of the league that drove them nuts for most of the 1960s. I think that it's wrong that the NFL doesn't recognize the statistics and records of the teams and players from the All-America Football Conference.
The AAFC lasted four years, 1946-49. When the league folded following the 1949 season, the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts joined the NFL. According tho the NFL, not recognizing the football played in this rival league is because official scoresheets of AAFC games were not made available to the NFL after the merger. This is ridiculous. Not many statistics were kept back then, in either league. It wouldn't be that difficult to go back and determine those statistics. People already have. There are statistics available.
Another explanation is that only three teams from the AAFC joined the NFL. It wasn't a complete merger as with the AFL so the overall quality of the AAFC is considered suspect. This doesn't fly either. The AAFC folded for financial reasons not for competitive reasons. The talent was there. The money wasn't there. The Cleveland Browns would probably have beaten the best of the NFL from each of they four years that both leagues existed. The San Francisco 49ers and New York Yankees might have been able to do the same. The Browns took apart the defending NFL Champion Philadelphia Eagles in their first NFL game in 1950. The Browns went on to win the NFL title at the end of that 1950 season. They played in each of the NFL Championship games from 1950-55. Winning in 1950, '54, and '55. The best team of the AAFC was the best team in the NFL the moment that they joined the supposedly superior league.
Basically, the AAFC records should be recognized by the NFL.
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