The American Football League existed in various forms and various times from 1926-1969. Sometimes the AFL would be a rival Pro Football league, and compete directly with the NFL. Such was the case in 1926, 1936-1937, 1940-1941, and 1960-1969. Other times it would be a Semi-Pro Football league, and would not compete directly with the NFL, but would be more of a farm system for the NFL Clubs. Such was the case in 1938. The Louisville Tanks won championships in the three years of the existence of the Midwest Football League. Prior to joining the AFL, the St. Louis Gunners were an independent team that actually played three games in the NFL in 1934 as a replacement for
the ill-fated Cincinnati Reds. After the demise of the AFL, the Gunners returned to an independent status. The Cincinnati Blades disbanded October 13, 1938 (after playing three games, all Blades victories); the scheduled games were not cancelled, and as a result, they were officially recorded as forfeit losses for the Blades. League requests for the Cincinnati Bengals (a team that was founded by Blades head coach Hal Pennington) to replace the Blades for the remaining games were rebuffed. On the field, the Chicago Indians would lead the way with an impressive 5-1-0 record, followed by the St. Louis Gunners (4-3-1), the Louisville Tanks (4-3-0), and the Nashville Rebels (2-2-1), and all four teams would qualify for the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, it was Louisville over Chicago 13-0, while St. Louis would take care of Nashville 19-13, setting up the AFL Championship game. Louisville defeated St. Louis 3-0 to win their fourth consecutive championship of MFL/AFL. Following the three Midwest Football League champions from 1935 to 1937, the Tanks became the first professional football team to win four consecutive league championships. Only the Cleveland Browns (AAFC 1945-1949, NFL 1950) have managed to match this feat so far.