12th man (football) 12th man (football) The 12th man or 12th player is a term for fans of teams in eleven-a-side sports games, particularly association football (soccer) or American football. As most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the playing field at a time, referring to a team's fans as the 12th man implies that they have a potentially helpful role in the game. Infrequently, the term has referred to individuals having a notable connection to their football team. In Canadian football, 12 players are usually on the field at one time and the term 13th man is
American Football League All-League Team backs, etc.). NFL, AFL, & AAFC Awards and Honors Index – Pro-Football-Reference American Football League All-League Team "The Sporting News" published an American Football League All-League Team, often referred to as All-AFL, for each season played by the American Football League (AFL), 1960 through 1969. From 1960 through 1966, the All-League team was selected by the AFL players, and from 1967 through 1969 it was selected by a consensus of "The Sporting News" ("TSN"), the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). The AFL All-League selections usually included one player at each team position