Atlantic Coast Football League (1963-1969)
Tombstone
Born: 1963
Folded: Postseason 1969
First Game: August 24, 1963 (T 26-26 @ Boston Sweepers)
Last Game: November 21, 1969 (L 28-7 @ Long Island Bulls)
ACFL Championships: None
Stadia
1963:Bishop McDevitt High School
1964: Small Athletic Field
????: Susquehanna High School
1964-1969: New Island Park Field
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership & Affiliation
Trophy Case
ACFL Offensive Most Valuable Player
- 1963: Don Jonas
Our Favorite Stuff
Harrisburg Capitols ACFL
Logo T-Shirt
The latest defunct team drop from our friends at Cincinnati’s Old School Shirts is a navy & blue throwback to Harrisburg’s Baltimore Colts farm club of the 1960’s. (Yes, NFL teams had farm clubs once upon a time).
This Capitols design is available today in sizes Small through 5XL and can also be ordered as a Hooded or Crewneck Sweatshirt!
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Background
The Harrisburg Capitols were a minor league football outfit in Pennsylvania’s capital city during the mid/late 1960’s. The Capitols were members of the Atlantic Coast Football League. The ACFL was a bus league with clubs clustered in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
From 1966 to 1969 Harrisburg served as a farm club for the NFL’s Baltimore Colts and the team went by the name “Capitol-Colts” during the 1968 and 1969 seasons.
On The Field
After a promising 8-3-1 debut season in 1963, the Capitols were consistently awful. The team endured six straight losing seasons from 1964 until the club’s demise, including a winless 0-11 campaign in 1967 and a 1-11 mark in 1969.
The Capitols quarterback during their finest season was ex-Penn State running back Don Jonas. Jonas, who enjoyed a brief cameo with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 1962 NFL season, started the 1963 season at flanker. After five games, Harrisburg was 2-2-1 and Jonas ranked as the ACFL leader in receiving yardage. But injuries at quarterback forced the Caps to put Jonas under center. He responded by leading Harrisburg to six victories in of their final seven games and leading the league in total offense. For good measure, he also handled the Caps’ placekicking duties that autumn. The ACFL named Jonas its offensive Most Valuable Player for the 1963 season, the first of four MVP awards Jonas would earn in America’s minor leagues during the 1960’s.
Jonas would play two seasons for Harrisburg before the team sold his contract to the Newark Bears of the Continental Football League for $1,500 in August 1965.1ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Harrisburg Sells Jonas To Newark”. The News-Dispatch (Shamokin, PA). August 13, 1965 Jonas moved up to the Canadian Football League in 1970 and earned his fifth Most Valuable Player award as quarterback of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the 1971 season.
Harrisburg Capitols Shop
Our Favorite Stuff
ACFL Logo T-Shirt
The Atlantic Coast Football League of 1962 – 1973 was likely the closest pro football has ever come to having a true “triple-A” minor league, similar to baseball. At the league’s peak in the late 1960’s, NFL teams such as the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins maintained farm clubs in the ACFL.
This ACFL design is also available today as a Crewneck or Hooded Sweartshirt, 3/4 sleeve Raglan or Women’s Tank Top at Old School Shirts!
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Links
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5 Responses
I have bought a jersey from a antique mall shop that is red with number 72 in white with ACFL patch and is stamped Harrisburg Caps. Any one interested ?
Yes I’m interested. How much
Did Kenneth Duffin ever play for the Harrisburg Capital football team
I’d like to see the Harrisburg Capital football team 1965 Roster, 1965 archive
My Dad is Jim Murray from the Harrisburg Capitols