The Seaboard Football League was an

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 ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

that operated from 1971 to 1974.Bob Gill, with Steve Brainerd and Tod Maher, ''Minor League Football, 1960-85'' (McFarland and Co., 2002), pp84, 99-100 It folded during the 1974 season as a result of the founding of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

, which deprived the league of talent. Some of the more notable Seaboard Football league alumni include

Vince Papale Vincent Francis Papale (born February 9, 1946) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver. He played three seasons with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, primarily on special teams, following two ...

, who went on to the WFL's Philadelphia Bell and later the NFL's

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

;

Joe Klecko Joseph Edward Klecko (born October 15, 1953) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football fo ...

, who "was never paid a penny" for his time and used the opportunity to earn a college scholarship and propel himself into a professional career; wide receiver Jack Dolbin, who later appeared in

Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1977 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1977 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos to dec ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

; and King Corcoran, the career minor-league quarterback who would also go on to play for the Bell in the WFL. While players (such as Klecko) could play as amateurs, most players were paid a sum of $50 per game; a starting quarterback could make as much as $600 per game. During the 1972 season, after the folding of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

, the Seaboard Football League was the second-highest ranking professional football league in the United States, behind only the NFL. The NFL played an interleague

exhibition match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against an SFL team in 1972, when the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

rookies defeated the SFL's Long Island Chiefs 29–3"Hartford Gets Grid Franchise", ''Reading Eagle'' - May 31, 1972, p58 The Chiefs played an exhibition game against the

rookies on July 29, 1972, losing 29-3
"Packer Excels at Quarterback As Jets Top L.I. Chiefs, 29-3"
''New York Times'', July 30, 1972, pS-3
"Rookie QB Fires Jets"
''Pittsburgh Press'', July 30, 1972, pD-8 the last such game against other pro league (In 1974 the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

rookie squad would play a preseason game vs the semi-pro San Antonio Toros). The league dropped to third-tier after the Hartford Knights left for a revived ACFL and the league picked up teams from the semi-pro Empire Football League for play in 1973. The league was founded with eight teams in 1971, five of which came from the Interstate Football League, two from the Mason-Dixon Football League, and one independent. The teams played a 14-game season, with all games taking place on Saturday nights. In 1972, the Hartford Knights of the ACFL joined the league, going undefeated and winning the championship then returned to the reincarnated ACFL for its 1973 season. The Seaboard League again had eight franchises, but played a ten-game season. After the ACFL folded, the Bridgeport Jets and the New England Colonials joined the Seaboard League, which fielded six teams in 1974, only two of which (the Jets and Wilkes-Barre Barons) would survive to season's end.

Championship games

The following championship games took place in the Seaboard Football League: *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Schuylkill Coal Crackers 13, Hagerstown Bears 0 *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

Hartford Knights 17, Chambersburg Cardinals 7 *

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Chambersburg Cardinals 31, Albany Metro Mallers 12 *

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

Wilkes-Barre Bullets 20, Bridgeport Jets 9

Teams

The following teams played in the Seaboard Football League: * Albany Metro Mallers (NY) (1973)The team was described in 1972 as "a farm team of Montreal of the Canadian Football League", "Ex-Ag signs pro contract, ''Deseret News'' (Salt Lake City), August 9, 1973, p2-D *Aston (PA) Knights (1972–73) / Ridley Township (PA) Knights (1971) (known as the "Green Knights" to distinguish them from the Hartford Knights in 1972) *Tri-Cities (NY) Jets (1973) *Boston Colonials (1974) * Bridgeport Jets (1974) *Bucks County (CT) Steelers (1973) * Chambersburg Cardinals (PA) (1971–74) *Conshohocken (PA) Steelers (1971–72) *Frederick (MD) Falcons (1971) *Hagerstown (MD) Bears (1971–73) * Hartford Knights (1972) *Long Island (Freeport, NY) Chiefs (1972) *Portsmouth (VA) Bucks (1972) *Reading (PA) Coal Crackers (1972) *Schuylkill County Coal Crackers (Pottsville PA) (1971)"Bronco Recalls Days He Was Busted"
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', January 13, 1978, p9 *Lackawanna County (PA) Eagles (1973–74) *Valley Forge (PA) Minutemen (1974) *Washington (PA) Generals (1971) *Westminster (MD) Chargers (1971) *Wilkes-Barre (PA) Bullets (1974) *Wyoming Valley (PA) Giants (1973)

References

External links

complete record
Empire Football League
history * {{Profootball Defunct American football leagues in the United States Semi-professional American football