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I consider myself fairly well read on the history of the National Football League. I’ve been watching games since I was six and have long been fascinated by the game and the league’s history pretty much ever since.

I think remembering and recognizing the great personalities and players that made the league what it has become today is important for fans and hope it is important to today’s players, who are benefiting from the work done by their older brethren.

That said, as the 50-year anniversary of the American Football League comes along, I have realized I’m not as well read on the NFL’s former rival league. Sure, I knew about the merger and about some of the personalities – Joe Namath, George Blanda, Len Dawson, et al.

And I’d guess I’m not alone. With the merger that followed and the years that have since passed, the AFL has sadly become a footnote in some fans’ minds.

But not everyone has forgotten. Angelo Coniglio has created a Web site, www.remembertheafl.com, aimed at celebrating the AFL’s history and its contributions to the league that resulted from the merger. He established an AFL Hall of Fame that recognizes more than 120 players, owners, and other contributors to the league’s success. And he’s passionate about informing and reminding today’s fans of the impact the AFL had on what the NFL has become today.

Mr. Coniglio agreed to answer some questions from Zoneblitz about his Web site and his memories of the AFL.

Zoneblitz: On your site you recognize something around 125 players, coaches, owners and other officials at the AFL Hall of Fame – describe how you got started on this project?

Coniglio: I remember the Buffalo Bills of the All-America Conference – a league that was scoffed at by the NFL, which did not accept the Bills when the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) folded. But the Cleveland Browns of that “inferior league” won the NFL championship in their first year in the league, and dominated it for years. When the AFL came along, I became a Bills and an AFL fan, and heard the same disparaging remarks about the AFL by the established league that they had made about the AAFC, and I figured they were just as wrong. (answer continued)
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