NFL Reaction
As might be expected, the NFL did not welcome its new rival. In 1945, Layden remarked that the AAFC, still a year from its first game, should “first get a ball, then make a schedule, and then play a game.” This insult, often paraphrased as "Tell them to get a ball first," would be long remembered.
Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall was perhaps the NFL's hardest-liner regarding the AAFC. In 1945, he commented “I did not realize there was another league, although I did receive some literature telling about a WPA project”. Later he declared, “The worst team in our league could beat the best team in theirs.” After the AAFC put a team in Baltimore, Marshall’s opposition to it would be a major obstacle to interleague peace. Not coincidentally, his team was badly hurt by the AAFC. A top team from 1936 to 1945, the Redskins began a decades-long title drought after coach Ray Flaherty and many key players defected in 1946.
Layden’s successor, Bert Bell, pursued a policy of official non-recognition, generally answering “no comment” to queries about the other league. In 1947, Pro Football Illustrated previewed both leagues in its annual publication and was banned from NFL stadiums.
Read more about this topic: All-America Football Conference
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