The Atlantic Coast Football League ( ACFL ) was a professional American football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid a base salary of $ 100 per game and had 36 players on each active roster.
21-435: ACFL may refer to: Atlantic Coast Football League , minor American football league that operated from 1962 to 1973 Laois All-County Football League , an annual Gaelic football competition Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title ACFL . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
42-449: A depiction of the Newark skyline over a baseball diamond. The "Newark Bears" wordmark was centered at the base of the logo and included white accents and a black outline. The Bears' uniforms were traditional in design. The home cap was navy blue throughout with a white block "N" centered on the front. The home jerseys were white with traditional navy blue pinstripes. A navy blue, block "N"
63-402: A sportswriter, much of that time with Sports Illustrated . Hall of Fame running back Steve Van Buren coached in the league from its launch through 1966. One of the most unusual players in league history was DB Kiyo "Doc" Tashiro , a practicing doctor and Harvard alum, who was the oldest player to play in a pro football league when he retired after 1964 season at the age of 47 (his record
84-639: The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball . The Bears played their home games at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium . The team folded after the 2013 season. Newark was the home of several former minor league baseball teams, from the formation of the Newark Indians in 1902 and the addition of the Newark Eagles of
105-712: The Negro National League in 1936. A Federal League team, the Newark Peppers , also played in 1915. The original Newark Bears were a team in the International League from 1926 to 1949. They played their home games at the former Ruppert Stadium in what is now known as the Ironbound section of Newark. The Newark Bears are named for the former Newark Bears team of the International League. The new team
126-578: The Sussex Skyhawks . The Skyhawks, however, elected to stop operating after the 2010 season. In 2010, the Newark Bears were purchased by New Jersey radiologist Dr. Douglas Spiel and his partner, Danielle Dronet. The Can-Am League announced on November 28, 2013, the Newark Bears would not operate in 2014, with the remaining four teams now a division in the American Association. An auction for
147-522: The 1973 season. Commissioner Cosmo Iacovazzi was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey . They were a member of
168-882: The Bears for 2004. Also in 2003, the late José Lima pitched for the Bears at the beginning of the season; after the Kansas City Royals signed him away from Newark, Lima won his first seven decisions for the Royals. Other notable alumni included Edgardo Alfonzo , Billy Ashley , Armando Benítez , Wes Chamberlain , Carl Everett , Keith Foulke , Jay Gibbons , Brian Giles , Pete Incaviglia , Lance Johnson , Jacque Jones , Jim Leyritz , Ramiro Mendoza , Hensley Meulens , Jamie Navarro , Alonzo Powell , Scott Spiezio , Daryle Ward , Scott Williamson and Craig Worthington . The Newark Bears, under former owner Marc Berson, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 24, 2008. The team's existence
189-590: The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball on October 6, 2010. The Bears were one of three teams to join the league for the 2011 season, with the traveling New York Federals and the expansion Rockland Boulders . Newark was originally to be one of three cities to represent New Jersey in the Can-Am League along with Little Falls, home of the New Jersey Jackals , and Augusta, home of
210-768: The CoFL. In 1970, the Orlando Panthers signed a husband and wife duo, Steven and Patricia Palinkas , as a kicker and holder respectively. Steven did not make the team, but Patricia did, making her the first female professional football player. Other notable ACFL players included Pro Bowl fullback Marvin Hubbard , league leading running back Mel Meeks , kicker Booth Lusteg , three-time championship winning quarterback Jim "The King" Corcoran , eventual 11-year NFL veteran Bob Tucker , and offensive lineman Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmermann , who shortly after his retirement began an over 40-year career as
231-758: The County Executives' Cup to formalize this geographical contest. Bears games were aired on WSOU-FM 89.5 from 1999 to 2003, and again from 2007 to 2008. Previous announcers for the team include Seton Hall color commentator Dave Popkin, former WNEW-FM disc jockey Jim Monaghan, MLB Network host Victor Rojas , Somerset Patriots announcer Brian Bender, former New York Islanders broadcaster Jim Cerny, Jason Page, Ray Alexander, and Erie Otters broadcaster Paul Roper. In 2009, longtime New York sportscaster Spencer Ross served as both radio broadcaster and team on-field MC. The Newark Bears' official mascots were anthropomorphic bears named Ruppert and Effa. They wore
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#1732844404620252-762: The franchises (the Hartford Charter Oaks, Newark Bears and Springfield Acorns) joined with five teams from the United Football League to create the Continental Football League . The league picked up four franchises from that league when it folded in 1969 (Norfolk Neptunes, Orlando Panthers, Jersey Jays and Indianapolis Capitols); the Neptunes and Panthers were exactly the same teams as the Acorns and Bears respectively, having relocated during their time in
273-599: The league announced it was leaving with the intent to reform the ACFL. The ACFL returned for one final season in 1973 with Hartford, Bridgeport, and several teams promoted up from the SFL (which led to a trickle-up that brought Empire Football League teams upward to the SFL to fill the old SFL teams' void). The return, however, was short-lived; the league determined it would not compete with the World Football League and folded after
294-463: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ACFL&oldid=1154928685 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Atlantic Coast Football League For the first few years, Joe Rosentover served as league president. He had served in
315-746: The same capacity for the American Football League (formerly the American Association) from 1947 to 1950; a relative, John Rosentover, had run the league from 1936 to 1947. In fact, several of the teams from the AA were revived in the ACFL, including the Providence Steam Roller , Newark Bears and a team in Paterson, New Jersey . By 1968, Rosentover had left the organization and been superseded by commissioner Cosmo Iacavazzi . In 1965, three of
336-412: The team's assets was held on April 26, 2014. The Newark Bears went through three phases of logos and uniform colors. When the franchise began, it had a purple, black and white color scheme. In the mid-2000s, the team went to red, black, and white. When the club ceased operations, its colors were navy blue and white. The primary logo consisted of a stylized bear holding a baseball bat superimposed over
357-579: The years, the Bears attracted star talent to their club. Ozzie Canseco played for the Bears in 2000 and 2001, and his brother José Canseco was with the team for part of 2001 as well. Rickey Henderson played the first half of the 2003 season with the Bears and was named Most Valuable Player in the Atlantic League All-Star Game. He was subsequently signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers but was released at season's end, and he returned to
378-557: Was almost compromised until the Bases Loaded Group, LLC purchased the team, guaranteeing a $ 1 million line of credit to the Atlantic League. The Bases Loaded Group consisted of executives from Philadelphia and New Jersey , some hailing from Newark. The primary leader of the group was Tom Cetnar, former General Manager of the Bears in 2001. He served as president and was a member of the ownership group. The Newark Bears joined
399-602: Was formed in 1998 by former New York Yankees catcher Rick Cerone , a Newark native. However, the Bears played their "home" schedule at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut that season while awaiting the completion of their new home field. In addition, the Bears played several home games during the first half of the 1999 season at Skylands Park in Augusta . The Bears inaugurated their new park, Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium , in Newark on July 16, 1999. Over
420-652: Was later broke by George Blanda in 1975). He played for Newark Bears and Mohawk Valley Falcons from 1962 to 1964. Most of the ACFL's teams, including all of the teams that had been in the Continental League, folded following the 1971 season. The Hartford Knights and Bridgeport Jets survived, and both moved down to the Seaboard Football League in 1972. Hartford accrued a perfect season in that league in 1972, including several games with margins of victory over 40 points, and after much dissatisfaction with
441-523: Was prominently displayed on the left breast. The road jersey was gray with the cursive "Newark" wordmark in navy blue, centered diagonally across the front. Both home and away jersey sleeves sported the Bears' primary logo. The Bears wore navy blue belts and socks with all uniforms. Shortly after the Newark Bears joined the Can-Am League, they announced a formal rivalry with the New Jersey Jackals . Since both teams played in Essex County , they established
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