The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a low-level professional American football minor league that played games from 1962 to 1978. The league was based mainly in Michigan, until the collapse of the Continental Football League in 1969, when it became more of a regional league.

During its lifetime, the MFL had a working relationship with the National Football League (NFL), as the NFL had the right to sign any player at any time from the league for $1000, while the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns had agreements with the Columbus Bucks and Youngstown Hardhats (respectively), and the Detroit Lions had agreements with both the Indy Caps and Lansing All Stars, to act as farm teams.

History Formation By April 1961, six cities had been approved for franchises in the Midwest Football League: Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Indianapolis; and Louisville, Kentucky. Players were to be paid $50 salaries per game played, with 30 players on each team's roster. The league played its games on Saturday nights. George Gareff from Columbus was initially league commissioner, with Homer VanHablenbeck from Detroit gaining the title by 1962.

A group of Des Moines, Iowa, investors applied for a franchise in the league in April 1961. New teams were to pay a $2,000 fee to join the league and send a $5,000 security deposit to ensure the full season would be played. The Lakeview Athletic Club Bears joined the league on January 28, 1962.

The six initial teams in the league were announced on January 31, 1962, as the Battle Creek Bears, Dearborn Vikings, Detroit Rockets, Lansing All Stars, Macomb County Arrows (also called the Mt. Clemens Arrows), and Toledo Thunderbirds. The Lansing All Stars were an independent team in the 1961 season. An application for a franchise from Dayton, Ohio, was approved on March 11, 1962. The Battle Creek, Dayton, and Toledo franchises did not play in the 1962 season.

1962 season The 1962 season began on September 8, 1962, with four teams participating. The Mt. Clemens/Macomb County Arrows were declared league champions for the 1962 season, after beating the Dearborn Vikings 34–20 in the title game.

+1962 Midwest Football League standings Team Mt. Clemens/Macomb County Arrows 5 1 0 .833 Dearborn Vikings 4 2 0 .666 Detroit Rockets 2 4 0 .333 Lansing All Stars 1 5 0 .167 Midwest Football League champions.

1963 season The Spartan Athletic Club received approval to join the league in April 1963, and they initially chose a team name of Dayton Spartans. They were later called the Cedarville Spartans. The Dayton franchise had previously played in the American Football Conference as the Dayton Triangles from 1959 to 1961. The Battle Creek Bears (also known as the Cereal City Bears) joined for the 1963 season, after initially being accepted into the league in 1962. Six teams participated in the 1963 season.

The Arrows won the league championship for a second year in a row after posting a record of 13–1, including a 9–1 record in league play. The Spartans, who finished second in the league in 1963 after going 6–3–1, played against the Hudson Bar in a game called the Semi-Pro Bowl on December 14, 1963. The All Stars placed third for the season with a record of 5–4–1.

+1963 Midwest Football League standings Team Macomb County Arrows 9 1 0 .900 Cedarville Spartans 6 3 1 .650 Lansing All Stars 5 4 1 .550 Detroit Rockets 4 5 1 .450 Petersburg/Dearborn Vikings 2 8 0 .200 Cereal City Bears 1 9 0 .100 Midwest Football League champions.

1964 season Ed McCracken from Dayton was elected league commissioner in March 1964. The league also added teams in Toronto, Ohio, and Van Wert, Ohio. The Van Wert team was named the Van Wert Tigers, but they did not participate in the 1964 season. The Toronto team was the Toronto Tigers. The Cedarville Spartans became the Dayton Colts in 1964, and the Cereal City Bears did not return after the 1963 season.

The Association of Minor Football Leagues was formed in April 1964, with the Midwest Football League joining with five of the other seven minor league football teams in the country. The other leagues to join were the Atlantic Coast Football League, Central States Football League, New England Football Conference, Southern Football League, and United Football League. McCracken was named secretary of the association.

+1964 Midwest Football League standings Team Lansing All Stars 8 2 0 .800 Dearborn Vikings 7 3 0 .700 Dayton Colts 6 4 0 .600 Macomb County Arrows 6 4 0 .600 Detroit Rockets 2 8 0 .200 Toronto Tigers 1 9 0 .100 Midwest Football League champions.

The Lansing All-Stars played against the Central States Football League champion Racine Raiders in an exhibition game after the season on November 28, 1964.

The Toronto team did not show up to a game against Lansing, and were subsequently removed from the league in the middle of the season. The Detroit Rockets were removed from the league after the season after they did not adhere to financial protocols.

1965 season In searching for two new teams to join the league for the 1965 season, following the expulsion of the Detroit and Toronto franchises, commissioner Ed McCracken asked for a $300 new team fee with a security deposit of $200. The Macomb County Arrows became the Pontiac Arrows and the Dearborn Vikings became the Milan Vikings for the 1965 season. A Flint, Michigan, team called the Flint Blue Devils joined the league. A team from Sturgis, Michigan, played some games against league members in the hopes of joining the league for the 1966 season.

Dayton was purchased by a new ownership group in 1965.

+1965 Midwest Football League standings Team Pontiac Arrows 6 2 0 .750 Dayton Colts 5 2 1 .688 Lansing All Stars 3 4 1 .438 Flint Blue Devils 2 4 2 .375 Milan Vikings 2 6 0 .250 Midwest Football League champions.

The Dayton Colts had to cancel and forfeit a game against Milan due to bad weather. Dayton scheduled the game to be played at a local high school football field, but the school would not allow the game to be played, citing a long-standing policy about wet fields. Dayton was placed a one-year probation by the league as punishment.

The Pontiac Arrows were named league champions, and they went against players from the other four teams in an all-star game on November 13, 1965.

1966 season John Abel from Pontiac was named commissioner of the league in January 1966, replacing McCracken, who resigned to be the head coach for the Dayton Colts.

The Milan franchise was moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to become the Ypsilanti Vikings. The Detroit Rockets franchise rejoined the league in River Rouge, Michigan, as the River Rouge Steelers. The Dayton Colts played an exhibition game of basketball with the National Football League's Cleveland Browns in March 1966 as a fundraiser.

+1966 Midwest Football League standings Team Pontiac Arrows 9 0 1 .950 Ypsilanti Vikings 7 3 0 .700 Dayton Colts 6 4 0 .600 Flint Blue Devils 5 4 1 .550 Lansing All Stars 2 8 0 .200 River Rouge Steelers 0 10 0 .000 Midwest Football League champions.

The Pontiac Arrows were named league champions for the second straight season, and they went against players from the other five teams in an all-star game on November 12, 1966.

1967 season The River Rouge Steelers became the Detroit Steelers, the Flint Blue Devils became the Flint Wildcats, and the Pontiac Arrows moved back to Mt. Clemens to become the Michigan Arrows for the 1967 season. The Pontiac Firebirds joined the league as a new franchise. Former NFL star Tom Tracy was named head coach. The one-time Detroit Lions fullback led the team to a 10–2 record and second-place finish in the regular season.

The Lansing All Stars signed their players to $1 per year contracts in 1967 due to financial constraints. In October 1967, the NFL agreed to pay MFL teams $1,000 to sign a player off of their rosters.

+1967 Midwest Football League standings Team Michigan Arrows 11 1 0 .917 Pontiac Firebirds 10 2 0 .818 Ypsilanti Vikings 8 4 0 .727 Dayton Colts 7 5 0 .583 Flint Wildcats 2 9 1 .208 Lansing All Stars 2 9 0 .182 Detroit Steelers 0 10 1 .045 Midwest Football League champions. Record before final game of season.

1968 season A franchise from Lackawanna, New York, joined the league in April 1968, as the Lackawanna Lancers. The Detroit Steelers moved to Hamtramck, Michigan, to become the Hamtramck Chargers for the 1968 season. The Lansing All Stars team folded before the 1968 due to financial reasons. The Dayton Colts were sold to Recreation Projects, Inc. in April 1968. The Michigan Arrows were purchased by a group from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and subsequently relocated to the city to become the Fort Wayne Tigers. The Flint franchise was part owned by Minnesota Vikings player Paul Krause.

+1968 Midwest Football League standings Team Dayton Colts 12 0 0 1.000 Lackawanna Lancers 6 2 0 .750 Flint Wildcats 7 5 0 .583 Pontiac Firebirds 5 4 0 .556 Hamtramck Chargers 3 6 0 .333 Ypsilanti Vikings 2 7 0 .222 Fort Wayne Tigers 0 8 0 .000 Midwest Football League champions. Record after eighth or ninth game of season.

In the all-star game on November 16, 1968, the Dayton Colts beat the team of league all-stars, 43–0. They were the first team in league history to go undefeated in a season after posting a 12–0 record.

1969 season The Lansing All Stars rejoined the league for the 1969 season. The Southwestern Michigan Hawks were accepted into the league in April 1969. The Fort Wayne Tigers became the Grand Rapids Chiefs, and Grand Rapids paid $1,000 as an entry fee. The Hamtramck Chargers became the Detroit Cowboys for the 1969 season. The Ypsilanti Vikings left the league before the season.

A two-division structure of the league began in the 1969 season, with Dayton, Lackawanna, Grand Rapids, and Southwestern Michigan making up the Lakes division, and Detroit, Flint, Lansing, and Pontiac being in the Central division. Detroit was removed from the league in the middle of the season.

+1969 Midwest Football League standings Central Division Team Lansing All Stars 12 1 1 .893 Pontiac Firebirds 10 3 1 .750 Flint Wildcats 2 12 0 .143 Detroit Cowboys 0 14 0 .000 Lakes Division Team Lackawanna Lancers 11 3 0 .786 Dayton Colts 10 4 0 .714 Southwestern Michigan Hawks 5 9 0 .357 Grand Rapids Chiefs 5 9 0 .357 Midwest Football League champions. Won division.

The Lansing All Stars won the Central Division with a record of 12–1–1 and the Lackawanna Lancers won the Lakes Division after going 11–3. Lansing defeated Lackawanna, 20–8, in the first MFL Championship Game on November 8, 1969. The All Stars received a championship bonus of $500 after the game.

1970 season John Abel, the commissioner for the league, died in March 1970. Keith Bacon became the new commissioner by July 1970.

The Dayton Colts were suspended for the season due to financial conditions, but fielded an independent team and played games against members of the league. The Flint Wildcats did not return for the 1970 season. The Grand Rapids Chiefs became the Wyoming Chiefs, and the Southwest Michigan Hawks were renamed the Michiana Hawks. The Hawks played their home games in Buchanan, Michigan.

A four-team playoff system was enacted for the season, with the regular season first-place team playing the third-place team and second place playing fourth place in the first round, and the winners of those games playing in a championship game.

+1970 Midwest Football League standings Team Lansing All Stars 10 0 0 1.000 Pontiac Firebirds 8 2 0 .800 Michiana Hawks 5 5 0 .500 Lackawanna Lancers 5 5 0 .500 Wyoming Chiefs 1 9 0 .100 Detroit Cowboys 1 9 0 .100 Midwest Football League champions. Playoff team. Tie in standings between Michiana and Lackawanna broken by a coin toss to determine playoff opponents. Michiana won and chose to face Pontiac in the first round of the playoffs.

1970 playoffs