Sports What Ifs.

WI the Boston Braves sign Mickey Mantle?

IMO, the Braves probably win a few more World Series and NL pennants--does this affect their moving from Milwaukee ITTL?

The Yankees probably still win several World Series titles in the 1950s and 1960s--they were still a good team, even without Mantle...
 
More on Plunkett: I am looking at the November 10, 1973 issue of The Sporting News (on Newspaper Archive). There were two rumored trades involving teams that Plunkett would eventually end up with in OTL:

1. Plunkett to the 49ers for QB Steve Spurrier, CB Bruce Taylor, a DL, and a 1974 first rounder (the one that NE gave SF for TE Bob Windsor that turned out to be ninth overall).

2. Plunkett to the Raiders for either Daryle Lamonica or Ken Stabler, MLB Dan Conners, DL Tony Cline, and a draft choice.

In this first message, I will address the first option. If Plunkett goes to the 49ers, they may have won the division in 1974. They lost four games by six points or less, and were in the game with the Raiders in the fourth quarter (before losing 35-24). Then, in the playoffs, the Niners would have faced the Redskins (like the Rams did in OTL). I see them defeating them at home before losing to the Vikings in the NFC Title Game.

Then, in 75, the 49ers are picking 20th in the draft instead of 10th (they got DT Jimmy Webb with that pick in OTL). LT Len Rohde retired, and CB Jimmy Johnson was 37 (Bruce Taylor, the other CB, is gone to NE in this world). Doug France and Mike Williams are the prime targets, but I think the Rams (who pick earlier in this world) still take France. So, Mike Willams is their first-round pick, and I think they take Pitt DT Gary Burley in Round 2 since they did take DT's Webb and Cleveland Elam that year (they still take Elam as well).

The 75 49ers probably take some steps back (they are still in transition, as guys from their 70-72 teams like Len Rohde, Dave Wilcox, Bruce Taylor, and Ted Kwalick are gone), but they have two first-rounders the next year (those are picks they traded to NE for Plunkett in OTL, but in this world, they already have Jim) . Let's say they go 7-7, and they have the 17th and 21st picks. I can see LT, S, and LB being big needs. So, in Round 1, they draft CB Mario Clark with the 17th pick (Jimmy Johnson's replacement) and LT Mark Koncar with the 21st pick.

In reality, they were 8-6 in 76. However, with Plunkett being more comfortable with the 49ers, I could see them winning two more games and maybe getting back to the playoffs. However, they would have an ownership change, and Joe Thomas would be coming in. In OTL, he tore the team apart, but if Plunkett has led them to the playoffs two of the last three years, maybe he is less likely to do that, especially because they would have had more youth since they don't make that 76 Plunkett trade, which cost them three first rounders (one in 77) and a 77 second-rounder). If Thomas was smart, he would continue adding more youth, not getting rid of everyone. That may have butterflied away the Walsh-Montana era.
 
In this message, I want to address the second trade above. With Stabler on the Patriots, I don't see Steve Grogan ever really being a thing there. However, without the Plunkett trade in 76, they don't end up with three extra first-round picks in 1976 and 77, so maybe it takes them a little longer to get good.

Also, I could see the Raiders winning a SB with Plunkett, but do they trade him to Houston in 1980 for Pastorini? I'm not sure. I think that some people with the Raiders were becoming less enamored with Stabler, and that may not have happened with Plunkett.

Speaking of QB's, here's another WI: What if Danny White plays baseball at Arizona State, and not football?

With White not on the Cowboys in 1979, there is a good chance that they take Joe Montana in the third round when he was the #1 player on their board.
 
Expanding above 10 doesn't seem warranted until conference expansion is driven by television contracts - assuming the CFA falls apart and similar NCAA rules changes permit a 12-team conference to stage an exempt championship game... I'd also be curious of the effect Chicago remaining would have on other more academically inclined private schools that had a strong football heritage prior to the Second World War - e.g. many of the members of the University Athletic Association of which the Chicago Maroons are current members.

Regarding Michigan State - Munn/Dougherty have already had a relatively good run by the time Michigan State would have joined the Big Ten, so being a first-class independent seems to be in the cards. There simply aren't any other options of a similar caliber - the MAC/MVFC wouldn't be good enough by half. The Big 7 is a bit too far away...

I would expect Michigan State to slot in nicely in a Paterno-built Eastern Conference in the late 70s or 80s that probably expands south in later decades:
  • Michigan State
  • Pittsburgh
  • Penn State
  • West Virginia
  • Syracuse
  • Rutgers
  • Maryland
  • Boston College
Perhaps this league would be Catholic-friendly enough to lure Notre Dame out of its redolent independence, since that seems to have been a recurring issue with Big Ten membership. And when the Big Ten does go looking for new members... they would likely look to the Big 12 region.

Honestly, as an MSU alumna I might write this timeline...
Sounds kind of cool. I could see that league being pretty awesome in football and basketball. Would Maryland leave the ACC though? I'd swap them for Miami (or have the Canes join in the late 80's) and instead you could have Temple (bad football so maybe a nonstartner) or even Army or Navy if they are interested. Or maybe if Maryland leaves South Carolina come back, which might affect the SEC and their jump to 12. Maybe instead of SC and Arkansas you get Arkansas and maybe Florida State (if Florida lets them in which I doubt, plus Bobby Bowden didn't want to go through the SEC meat grinder) or maybe Clemson leaves for greener football pastures. Plus who might the Big Ten add in the 90's? If Penn State is happy in Joe Pa's eastern sports league (how would this affect big east basketball?) then do they try to raid the Big 8 or head south? Or are they stuck and are more or less a kind of Ivy League lite with a few public schools?
 
Write it! Big East Football is a great 'what if'. You might throw Temple in that Big East football as well. But you had programs like Pittsburgh and Rutgers too enamored with Big East Basketball shooting the whole idea down. Maybe if Louisville and/or UConn could be persuaded...

Big East Football would preclude Paterno's conversation with Iowa's coach over not allowing red-shirt freshman to play and forestall Penn State going to the Big 10....

My thoughts,

Louisville didn't get good in football until the 90's. In my experience, if Michigan State had never joined the Big Ten due to Chicago hanging around (as I said they'd be a 2nd Northwestern more than likely) then I see a league forming like with Michigan State, Penn State, West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers, Boston College and Temple. Later on Miami and Virginia Tech could be added (say by 1990) and maybe if they want to go further they could add Louisville and Cincinnati. Howard Schellenberger kind of used the Miami blueprints to build up Louisville and it worked. So maybe you have a 12 team Eastern Conference with good football and basketball to boot.

As for the rest of the Big East? I wonder if maybe you'd see something like today's Big East. Maybe start with Georgetown, St John's, Seton Hall, Providence, and Villanova, and then add Xavier, Notre Dame, De Paul, Marquette and St. Louis and you'd have quite a league. Eventually you could have Dayton, Creighton, Butler and maybe even Richmond or another private school (can't think of other decent b-ball schools in the midwest or upper south that would fit the bill) where you'd have a 14 team league.
 
Sounds kind of cool. I could see that league being pretty awesome in football and basketball. Would Maryland leave the ACC though? I'd swap them for Miami (or have the Canes join in the late 80's) and instead you could have Temple (bad football so maybe a nonstartner) or even Army or Navy if they are interested. Or maybe if Maryland leaves South Carolina come back, which might affect the SEC and their jump to 12. Maybe instead of SC and Arkansas you get Arkansas and maybe Florida State (if Florida lets them in which I doubt, plus Bobby Bowden didn't want to go through the SEC meat grinder) or maybe Clemson leaves for greener football pastures. Plus who might the Big Ten add in the 90's? If Penn State is happy in Joe Pa's eastern sports league (how would this affect big east basketball?) then do they try to raid the Big 8 or head south? Or are they stuck and are more or less a kind of Ivy League lite with a few public schools?
You're right about Maryland.

As for the Big Ten... They pride themselves in being a "Public Ivy League" with everyone a member of the AAU. Kansas + Missouri to make 12? If they're expanding beyond that and can't poach anyone from this *Big East or ACC to get the BosWash tv markets... they'd have to reach to Texas. Big TV markets and prime recruiting ground. Texas and A&M, or Texas & Colorado if they're feeling frisky?

Conversely, I do like the idea of the Big Ten staying at ten, the rust belt step child of the *Power Five.

As for the rest of the Big East? I wonder if maybe you'd see something like today's Big East. Maybe start with Georgetown, St John's, Seton Hall, Providence, and Villanova, and then add Xavier, Notre Dame, De Paul, Marquette and St. Louis and you'd have quite a league. Eventually you could have Dayton, Creighton, Butler and maybe even Richmond or another private school (can't think of other decent b-ball schools in the midwest or upper south that would fit the bill) where you'd have a 14 team league.

I'd say the impetus is still there to build a northeast power bball conference by the mid-80s.

My thoughts after pondering this on and off for the last week:
- Syracuse/Notre Dame[1]/Pitt/Penn State/Michigan State schedule each other pretty often in the 50s/60s as the biggest independent programs in the Northeast, with match ups helping to determine a national champion several times (e.g. Game of the Century, '66).
- West Virginia leaves the Southern Conference per OTL in '67 and schedules them more.
- The "Big Six" considers forming a conference starting in the late-60s. To make eight, they reach out to the service academies (Army/Navy). However, the Pentagon vetoes this proposal, in part because of rampant student activism on several campuses.
- Around 1975, when the NCAA basketball tournament expands, they successfully form a conference. They're all blue chip football programs with half of them claiming a National Championship since the War (Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Syracuse). Shoring up the basketball side would be the focus. A silver lining would be picking some weaker football sides to make conference play less of a gauntlet[2] - Temple and Cincinnati seem probable choices here. Both are within the footprint of the league while bringing basketball chops to the table. Add Louisville and you'd have the losing 3/4ths of the '59 Final Four[3]. On the other hand, Rutgers hasn't made a final four yet and their football team is still mostly scheduling arch-rivals Lehigh/Lafayette and the Ivy League - I'd say they make more sense in the 90s when this *Big East is looking more closely at media markets. Ditto Boston College - oddly enough Notre Dame only first played them in 1975.

As to what it is called... "Big East" seems the most obvious choice, even if Michigan State and Notre Dame are technically in the Midwest, since "Big Eight" is already taken.

[1] It doesn't seem like Notre Dame was destined to remain independent until they penned their gravy train contract with NBC in 1991. The Big Ten was pretty anti-Catholic as well which didn't help, whereas this league would seemingly be less so. It helps that John A. Hannah and Father Hesburgh served together on the US Civil Rights Commission throughout the 60s.
[2] Of the major conferences, only the Big Eight, Pac-8, and Southwest Conference were playing full round robin schedules at the time.
[3] Assuming an electrified butterfly net, of course...
 
1987 NFL post-merger
AFC East
Baltimore Stars
Buffalo Bills
Jacksonville Bulls
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
AFC Central
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Houston Oilers
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Bandits
AFC West
Arizona Outlaws
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Raiders
San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
New Jersey Generals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Cardinals
Washington Redskins
NFC Central
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Orlando Renegades
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
Atlanta Falcons
Birmingham Stallions
Los Angeles Rams
Memphis Showboats
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
 
1995 NFL
AFC East
Baltimore Stars
Buffalo Bills
Jacksonville Bulls
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
AFC Central
Carolina Bandits (relocated from Tampa Bay 1991, played at North Carolina State University in Raleigh until 1995)
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Houston Oilers
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC West
Arizona Outlaws
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders (moved back from Los Angeles 1995)
San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
New Jersey Generals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Cardinals (moved to Nashville for 1995 season)
Washington Redskins
NFC Central
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Orlando Renegades
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
Atlanta Falcons
Birmingham Stallions
Memphis Showboats
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
St. Louis Rams (moved from Los Angeles for 1995 season)
 
2020 NFL
Expansion/relocation timeline post 1995
2010
League expands to Mexico City (Diablos) and Toronto (Huskies); Toronto placed in NFC, Mexico City in AFC; New Jersey and Seattle switch conferences
AFC East: Buffalo, Miami, New England, New Jersey, NY Jets
AFC North: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh
AFC South: Arizona, Carolina, Houston, Jacksonville
AFC West: Denver, Kansas City, Mexico City, Oakland, San Diego
NFC East: Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington
NFC North: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, Toronto
NFC South: Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando, Tennessee
NFC West: New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis

2016
League expands with two teams in London, U.K.; Bulldogs placed in AFC, Monarchs in NFC; Arizona, Tennessee switch conferences; St. Louis Rams relocate back to Los Angeles
AFC East: London Bulldogs, Miami, New England, New Jersey, NY Jets
AFC North: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
AFC South: Carolina, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Tennessee
AFC West: Denver, Houston, Mexico City, Oakland, San Diego
NFC East: Dallas, London Monarchs, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, Toronto
NFC South: Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando, Tampa Bay
NFC West: Arizona, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle

2018
San Diego Chargers relocate back to Los Angeles, remain in AFC West

2020
Oakland Raiders relocate to Las Vegas, remain in AFC West
Notes: no coronavirus; massive social unrest in U.S. beginning in May leads to suspension of professional and amateur sports in July; NFL season delayed two weeks to final weekend of September (no preseason), 16 games played in 16 weeks, playoffs delayed one week, Pro Bowl cancelled, Super Bowl played on time
* London Bulldogs play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
* New Jersey Generals play at MetLife Stadium along with the New York Giants
* New York Jets moved to Manhattan in 2012 to play in the new West Side Stadium (stadium was renamed Goldman Sachs Stadium in 2016)
* Baltimore Stars play at M&T Bank Stadium
* Carolina Bandits play at Bank of America Stadium
* Jacksonville Bulls play at TIAA Stadium
* Tennessee Cardinals play at Nissan Stadium
* Houston Oilers play at Reliant Astrodome
* Mexico City Diablos play at Azteca Stadium
* Los Angeles Chargers play at SoFi Stadium
* Las Vegas Raiders play at Allegiant Stadium
* London Monarchs play at Wembley Stadium
* Washington Redskins play at Sinclair Field, Landover, MD
* Toronto Huskies play at RBC Field (capacity: 80,000, hosts the Huskies, international soccer including 2026 World Cup matches, concerts and one leg of the Toronto FC/Blizzard derby each fall)
* Birmingham Stallions (owned by Robert Johnson) play at BET Field, downtown Birmingham
* Memphis Showboats play at FedEx Stadium, on the site of the former Liberty Bowl
* Orlando Renegades play at Camping World Stadium
* Los Angeles Rams play at SoFi Stadium
* Arizona Outlaws play at State Farm Stadium in Glendale
 
NFC East: Dallas, London Monarchs, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, Toronto
NFC South: Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando, Tampa Bay
NFC West: Arizona, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle
What about having New Orleans in the NFC South, either Memphis or Atlanta in the NFC East, and Dallas in the NFC South? That would make more sense geographically.
 
1996 NASL Season
Eastern Conference
Chicago Sting
Columbus Crew
Cosmos
DC United
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Montreal Manic
New England Revolution
NY/NJ MetroStars
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Toronto Blizzard
Western Conference
Colorado Rapids
Dallas Burn
Kansas City Wiz
Los Angeles Galaxy
Portland Timbers
San Diego Sockers
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders
Tulsa Roughnecks
Vancouver Whitecaps
NASL Playoffs
Eastern Conference: Semifinals — Tampa Bay d. Toronto 2 games to 1; DC United d. Cosmos 2 games to 1; DC d. Tampa Bay 2 games to 0
Western Conference: Semifinals — LA Galaxy d. San Diego 2 games to 1; San Jose d. Seattle 2 games to 0; LA d. San Jose 2 games to 1
SOCCER BOWL ‘96 at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL — DC United 2 (Diaz Arce ‘26, Sanneh ‘57), LA Galaxy 1 (Shearer ‘87).
 
1995 NFL
AFC East
Baltimore Stars
Buffalo Bills
Jacksonville Bulls
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
AFC Central
Carolina Bandits (relocated from Tampa Bay 1991, played at North Carolina State University in Raleigh until 1995)
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Houston Oilers
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC West
Arizona Outlaws
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders (moved back from Los Angeles 1995)
San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
New Jersey Generals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Cardinals (moved to Nashville for 1995 season)
Washington Redskins
NFC Central
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Orlando Renegades
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
Atlanta Falcons
Birmingham Stallions
Memphis Showboats
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
St. Louis Rams (moved from Los Angeles for 1995 season)


Interesting. I would have expected the Bandits to win out in Tampa and the Bucs to have to fund a new home.
 
Interesting. I would have expected the Bandits to win out in Tampa and the Bucs to have to fund a new home.
Honestly I would expect so long as Hugh Culverhouse ran the Bucs, if any other football team came to Tampa and made an effort at winning, the Bucs would had been sent packing in short order.

I say this as a Tampa native and a Bucs fan. The Culverhouse years were horrorable dark years in our history. Then again outside the late 90s and early 2000s our history isn't the greatest.
 
What about having New Orleans in the NFC South, either Memphis or Atlanta in the NFC East, and Dallas in the NFC South? That would make more sense geographically.
That was proposed in the TL. Dallas would never agree to leave the NFC East, and lose games against the Redskins, Giants and Eagles nor lose the foothold into the U.K. Market that the Monarchs provide, no matter how much geographical sense it made. Plus, the Cowboys had more leverage in resisting such a move that the Cardinals, Seahawks, Generals, et al didn’t have.

New Orleans in the NFC South makes sense in this TL, but if Dallas won’t move, who will? If only Birmingham or Orlando would move west.

If only....

Birmingham won’t move, not with the franchise‘s African-American owner wanting to stay in the south, and the team being seen as a staple of the south’s African-American community and culture in a country that — without forcing this discussion to move into Chat — is more blue and progressive than OTL.

Orlando would be the likely choice to move to the NFC West, and here are your choices:
* San Antonio, Texas — sufficient market, hungry for football
* Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — slightly smaller market, hungry for some kind of pro sports
* Portland, Oregon — could support a third pro team, but there’s the problem of Aunt Teefa and her rowdy kids who fight the other kids in those WWE-style free-for-alls every Saturday and Sunday night downtown; they’re why backers are pushing the idea of Nike Stadium in Eugene...
* Honolulu, Hawaii — the Bring Back the Hawaiians movement never truly died out. If the league can put two teams in London...
* Sacramento, California —Governor Newsom’s executive order banning all sports through the end of 2020 almost did in the Monarchs and forced the Kings to look elsewhere...
* San Diego, California — even if you build it (a new NFL stadium), would the Renegades move?
 
Honestly I would expect so long as Hugh Culverhouse ran the Bucs, if any other football team came to Tampa and made an effort at winning, the Bucs would had been sent packing in short order.

I say this as a Tampa native and a Bucs fan. The Culverhouse years were horrorable dark years in our history. Then again outside the late 90s and early 2000s our history isn't the greatest.

I deliberately avoided mentioning Culverhouse by name because I didn't want to dredge up horrible memories.
 
Interesting. I would have expected the Bandits to win out in Tampa and the Bucs to have to fund a new home.
The Bandits were the new kid in town. The Bucs were established enough to keep from being overwhelmed by the Bandits, especially since the NFL version ended up a different breed of cat than its free-wheeling, popular predecessor. The USFL’s Wikipedia page for its never-played 1986 season references the suicide of the team’s minority owner Stephen Arky and the terminal illness of majority owner John Bassett, creating instability that threatened to be the franchise’s demise until the USFL found new owners to replace them. ITTL, Bassett sells the team to Lee Scarfone and Tony Cunningham, who jumped at the opportunity to own an NFL franchise. Wrong decisions in hiring general managers and coaches who made wrong decisions in the draft and in signing free agents (Freddie Joe Nunn and Buster Rhymes? Really???), which led to loss after loss after loss (remember that 0-16 season in ‘89?), took their toll on the franchise. Not even a new ownership group led by Burt Reynolds, and a slick marketing campaign built around rookies Troy Aikman, Eric Metcalf and Broderick Thomas in 1989 could reverse the team’s fortunes. After going 2-14, Scarfone and Cunningham sold the team to Jerry Richardsdon in 1990. Richardson relocated the team to Raleigh for 1991, playing at NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium until Ericsson Stadium opened in Charlotte in 1996.
 
2020 Major League Soccer season (United States top two divisions)
MLS Premiership (Division I status)

Atlanta United SC
Chicago Sting
Chivas LA
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew
Cosmos
LA Galaxy
LAFC
Houston Dynamo
Minnesota United
New York Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
San Diego Sockers
San Francisco Deltas (promoted from MLS Championship)
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders
Sporting Kansas City
Tampa Bay Rowdies

MLS Championship (Division II status)
Austin FC
Charlotte FC
Chicago Fire
DC United (relegated from MLS Premiership)
Detroit City SC
FC Dallas
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Indy Eleven
Louisville City SC (promoted from USL Championship)
Inter Miami
Las Vegas Lights SC
Miami FC
Nashville SC
New England Revolution
North Carolina SC
Orlando City SC
Phoenix Rising SC
Sacramento Republic FC
Saint Louis FC
Tulsa FC

USL Championship (Division III)
Atlanta United 2 (cannot be promoted or relegated per charter)
Austin Bold FC
Birmingham Legion
Charleston Battery
Colorado Springs Switchbacks
El Paso Locomotive FC
FC Cincinnati (relegated from MLS Championship)
Hartford Athletic
LA Galaxy II (cannot be promoted or relegated per charter)
Memphis 901 FC
New Mexico United
North Texas SC (promoted from USL League One)
Oklahoma City Energy FC
Orange County SC
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Red Bulls II (cannot be promoted or relegated per charter)
Reno 1868 SC
Rio Grande Valley FC
San Antonio FC
Tacoma Defiance

USL League One (Division IV)
California United Strikers FC (promoted from USL League Two)
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
East Bay SC (relegated from USL Championship)
FC Tucson
Forward Madison FC
Greenville Triumph SC
Lansing Ignite FC
Loudoun United (cannot be promoted or relegated)
New England Revolution II (cannot be promoted or relegated)
Orlando City B (cannot be promoted or relegated)
Penn FC
Philadelphia Union II (cannot be promoted or relegated)
Portland Timbers 2 (cannot be promoted or relegated)
Real Monarchs (cannot be promoted or relegated)
Rochester Rhinos
San Diego Loyal SC (cannot be promoted or relegated)
South Georgia Tormenta FC
Sporting Kansas City II (cannot be promoted or relegated)
Stumptown Athletic
Union Omaha
RELEGATED TO USL LEAGUE TWO: Michigan Stars FC
 
Canadian soccer (Division I status)
Canadian Premier League

Atletico Ottawa
Cavalry FC
FC Edmonton
Forge FC
HFX Wanderers FC
Montreal Impact SC
Ottawa Fury SC
Pacific FC
Toronto Blizzard
Toronto FC
Valour FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
York9 FC
 
So back in the late 40's there was a league called the All America Football Conference, and it was most notable for being where the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers got their start. The problem was that the league wanted to add a third team and there was controversy as to who this would be. Most wanted the Buffalo Bills (not the future AFL team) to join and they had good attendance and had made the playoffs and had better ownership. Instead, the Baltimore Colts (not the current Colts team as they were founded in Baltimore in 1953 and were green instead of blue) were added but folded in 1950. Now my question is, what if Buffalo had been invited instead? Plus there are lots of butterflies, including that Johnny Unitas never becomes the quintessential NFL quarterback, or does so with another team. Here's my guess for what happens.

1950. The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills are added to the NFL.

1951. The New York Yanks fold instead of moving to Dallas Texas.

1956. After being drafted but cut by the Steelers in 1953, Johnny Unitas signs with the Cleveland Browns. While he does end up becoming a starter, he isn't quite the legend he is in OTL, but does have some championships since the Browns still have players like Jim Brown.


1959. The American Football League is started. Lamar Hunt, Bud Adams, Bob Howsam and Max Winter still are owners in the league though Baltimore's Carroll Rosenbloom also gets a franchise and the league plans to start out with teams in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, Baltimore, New York and Minnesota. Eventually in an effort to undermine the new league, the NFL owners tried to lure some of the teams into the NFL. Eventually the Minnesota Vikings accepted. Baltimore, led by Carroll Rosenbloom was almost accepted but George Marshall, the Redskins owner, had not wanted a rival so close to Washington, and while he didn't want another Southern team, he accepted a team in Dallas Texas, later to become the Cowboys.

1960. The Dallas Cowboys take the field.

The American Football League also begins play with the Dallas Texans, Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans, Boston Patriots, and Baltimore Colts.

1962- The Chargers move to San Diego

1963. The Texans move to Kansas City and become the Chiefs. New York changes its name to the Jets

1966- The NFL expands and adds teams in New Orleans and Atlanta

1968. The AFL adds teams in Cincinnati and Miami.

Things mostly go the same as OTL. I'm sure there would be a whole lot of butterflies involving players, but I figure that as far as the teams themselves go, there wouldn't be many changes though if there would be, please be free to comment.
 
Honestly I would expect so long as Hugh Culverhouse ran the Bucs, if any other football team came to Tampa and made an effort at winning, the Bucs would had been sent packing in short order.

I say this as a Tampa native and a Bucs fan. The Culverhouse years were horrorable dark years in our history. Then again outside the late 90s and early 2000s our history isn't the greatest.

I remember back in the late 80s the Cleveland Browns we're an incredibly popular team down there, so much so that the number of Browns backers was several times the number of Bucs fans.

It makes me wonder, would a White Sox team Moving to St. Pete have some impact on the Buccaneers also, true Tampa and st. Petersburg are different cities but it is close enough in the market that if the White Sox do decently it might drain the number of Buccaneers fans even more, at least during the first month of the NFL season.
 
Top