Continental Football League (1969)
Tombstone
Born: January 1969 – The Michigan Arrows relocate to Midland, MI
Folded: Postseason 1969
First Game: August 30, 1969 (L 31-17 vs. Alabama Hawks)
Last Game: November 15, 1969 (W 13-6 vs. Chicago Owls)
Continental Football League Championships: None
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Ownership
Owner: Albert Fill
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Continental Football League
Logo T-Shirt
Variously described as everything from “semi-pro” football to the “third Major League” behind the NFL and AFL during the late 1960’s, the Continental Football briefly established a sprawling network of pro football clubs that stretched from Florida to Mexico City to British Columbia. The Continental League helped launch the careers of Hall-of-Famers Bill Walsh and Ken Stabler and other NFL stars of the 1970’s including Otis Sistrunk, Bob Kuechenberg and Coy Bacon.
Our friends at Old School Shirts make the only Continental League shirt we’ve found and like all of their retro Americana tees, it’s soft and fits great!
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Background
The Tri-City Apollos were a minor league football team that represented Bay City, Midland and Saginaw, Michigan. The team lasted just one season in the Continental Football League in the autumn of 1969. The Apollos folded along with the rest of the Continental League during the winter of 1969-70.
The Apollos played out of the high school football stadium in Midland. Chuck Cherondolo, a former Pittsburgh Steelers star of the 1940’s, served as the Apollos head coach. He enjoyed a long career as an NFL assistant coach both before and after his one-year stint with the Apollos.
The team went 2-10 in their only season of operation. The Apollos offense was particularly horrid. In twelve games, the team scored 20 points just once. Apollos quarterbacks combined for 6 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions over the course of the entire season. Larry Rakestraw, a two-time All-SEC star at the University of Georgia and the hero of the Bulldogs’ 1963 Orange Bowl victory over the University of Miami, took most of the snaps under center.
Continental Football League Shop
Editor's Pick
Outsiders II
by Bob Gill with Tod Maher & Steve Brainerd
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