Category: California Football League

The Ventura County Americans were a minor league football outfit that played at high school football stadiums in Oxnard and Camarillo, California for three seasons between 1979 and 1981. The team’s most accomplished player was former University of Washington quarterback Tom Porras, who went on to a long career in the USFL, Canadian Football League and Arena Football League that lasted until 1996. The Americans disbanded following the 1981 season.

The Twin Cities Cougars were a minor league football team that represented the communities of Marysville and Yuba, California (and later Oroville as well) between 1978 and 1984. For several years, the Cougars were one of the elite semi-pro football teams in the nation. The Cougars developed several players who advanced to the fully professional United States Football League in 1983 and 1984.

The San Jose Tigers were a semi-pro football juggernaut of the late 1970’s, at one point ranked by Pro Football Weekly as the best minor league football team in America. Unbeatable for years, the Tigers eventually met a worthy opponent, losing three title games to the Twin Cities Cougars of Marysville, California.