The United Football League was a professional American football minor league that operated between 1961 and 1964. It had eight teams, primarily based in the Midwestern United States. The league was founded in 1961 as a minor league alternative to the National Football League, and American Football League. Based in the Midwest, it drew many of its players from the Big Ten college conference. Among its more notable feats, it became the first football league to operate teams in both the United States and Canada when it launched the Quebec Rifles in 1964, and it revived the names of the Cleveland/Canton Bulldogs and Akron Pros, two early-era NFL teams. The Columbus Colts would take the Eastern Divsion by a full game over the Cleveland Bulldogs to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Grand Rapids Shamrocks and the Indianapolis Warriors would finish with identical 6-3-1 records in the Western Division, and would have to face off in a Divisional Playoff game, which Grand Rapids would win 24-14, to qualify for the 1961 UFL Championship Game. The 1961 UFL Championship game was played on December2, 1961 at South Field in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids would go on to win the game 20-7 over the Columbus Colts, to claim the 1961 UFL Championship.