The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team based in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

that competed in the third American Football League in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

and in

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl at State Fair Park in West Allis, a suburb just west of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. Originally formed as an expansion team for the minor league formerly known as the American Professional Football Association for the 1940 season, the new team joined fellow AFL members

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and Columbus Bullies in becoming charter members of a new major-league AFL (the triple defection triggered the demise of the minor league, allowing the new major league to adopt the AFL name). The team president was George M. Harris, and the head coach was Tiny Cahoon. The team's first training camp in 1940 was held at Weyauwega in Waupaca County. The second camp in 1941 was closer to home, with lights, at West Bend in Washington County. In the two seasons of the league's existence, the Chiefs fielded a competitive team. In 1940, the team scored the most points and gave up the fewest over the course of the season, but lost to Columbus in the final game to give the league championship to the Bullies. The following year, the Chiefs and the Bullies were joined by the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

in a three-way race for the championship, with the Chiefs' continuing inability to defeat the Bullies (losing in Columbus and tying in Milwaukee) led to Columbus repeating as AFL champions and Milwaukee finishing third. For the two years of the league's existence, the Chiefs were a popular draw as they played in Wisconsin's largest stadium. The AFL had accepted the 1941 entrance of a new Detroit team and deferred it until 1942, but the

Pearl Harbor attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

and the subsequent U.S. entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

put all plans for football to a halt. In September 1942, league president William D. Cox announced the suspension of league activities until after the war, but the league – and the Chiefs – never returned.

References

{{AFL III Defunct American football teams American football teams established in 1940 1940 establishments in Wisconsin Sports in Milwaukee Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1942 American Football League (1940) teams