Atlantic Coast Football League (1969-1970)
Tombstone
Born: March 5, 1969 – The Westchester Bulls relocate to Long Island, NY
Folded: Postseason 1970
First Game: September 5, 1969 (L 3-0 @ Bridgeport Jets)
Last Game: December 5, 1970 (L 28-14 @ Indianapolis Capitols)
ACFL Championships: None
Stadium
Hofstra Stadium
Opened: 1963
Branding
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: Roy Boe
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!
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Background
The Long Island Bulls were a minor league football outfit that played two seasons at Hofstra University. The Bulls were part of the burgeoning sports empire of Roy Boe, who also owned the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association and would later secure the New York Islanders NHL expansion franchise for Long Island in 1971.
The Bulls franchise started out in Westchester County in 1967 and served as a farm club to the NFL’s New York Giants. Boe purchased the club in 1968 for a reported $50,000 and moved the team to Long Island the following year.
The Bulls played all of their home games on Friday evenings. Most of the Bulls’ Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) opponents were clustered in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But the outer reaches of the league stretched as far south as Virginia and west to Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Bulls folded after the 1970 season. Long Island got a new ACFL franchise in 1973 – the Chiefs – but the league went out of business at the end of that season.
In Memoriam
Bulls owner Roy Boe died of heart failure on June 7, 2009 at age 79. New York Times obituary.
Head Coach Allan Webb (Bulls ’70) passed away on July 18, 2011 at age 80.
Links
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