David Rosenthal

They have jobs.

They have disposable income.

They increasingly have radios and soon-to-be television sets.

They want entertainment.

Yeah.

And all these American GIs coming home from the war and their families, they don't have the same hangups and preoccupations about the college football game that the elite did before the war because they didn't go to college during their younger formative years.

So there is this big opportunity now after the war for professional football in the NFL to become a much bigger thing.

And they probably would not have realized it, except their hand was forced.

In 1944, right before the end of the war, a lot of people could see this opportunity.

Football was a very compelling game.

The NFL was only in, what, I think, eight cities at that point in time.

To really realize it, you had to expand.

You had to be in a lot more cities.

And there were wealthy business people in cities all across America, East Coast, Midwest, the South, Florida, who wanted to add teams and come into the NFL.

But the NFL owners weren't interested in expansion.

Yes, the Cleveland Rams.

owned by the forward-thinking Dan Reeves.

So the other potential ownership groups in other cities across America that wanted football leagues, at a certain point, come 1944...

They were just like, well, to hell with you, NFL.

We'll go start our own league.