"The Foolish Club"
In 1958 Lamar Hunt (son and heir of Texas oilman H. L. Hunt) attempted to bring an NFL franchise to his hometown of Dallas but was rejected by the league. A second attempt in 1959 was also unsuccessful. Hunt was advised by league officials to contact the owners of the Chicago Cardinals, who offered to sell Hunt a 20 percent stake in the team. Hunt rejected the offer, and it was then that he began to envision not just a new team in the NFL, but an entirely new league.
Hunt began his quest for a new league by contacting others who had shown interest in the Cardinals, and assessing their interest in starting a new league. These included K.S. (Bud) Adams of Houston, Bob Howsam of Denver and Max Winter and Bill Boyer of Minneapolis. This brought to four the number of potential teams in the new league.
Next, Hunt sought franchises in Los Angeles and New York City. But at the same time he sought the blessings of the NFL for his nascent league, as he did not seek a rivalry with the older and more established league. "I told myself I didn’t want to go into this if it meant some kind of battle," Hunt would later recall. "Of course, this was one of the more naive thoughts in the history of pro sports." [1]
Soon after, Hunt received commitments from Barron Hilton (Los Angeles) and Harry Wismer (New York). On August 14, 1959 the first league meeting was held in Chicago and charter teams were given to Dallas, New York, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. On August 22 the league was officially named the American Football League.
Two more cities were awarded franchises later in the year - Buffalo (Ralph Wilson) on October 28 and Boston (William H. (Billy) Sullivan) on November 22. The AFL's first draft took place the same day Boston was awarded their franchise. The draft lasted for 33 rounds.