Who Found the NFL?

Who Found the NFL? is a blog dedicated to exploring the history of the National Football League. We’ll cover everything from the early days of the league to the modern era, and everything in between.

The Early Days of Professional Football

Professional football has been around in some form since the late 19th century. However, the National Football League (NFL) as we know it today wasn’t founded until 1920. So, who found the NFL and how did it come to be?

The first professional football game

On November 12, 1892, William “Pudge” Heffelfinger became the first professional football player when he was paid $500 by the Allegheny Athletic Association to play in a game against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The following year, several more players were paid to play football, resulting in the first professional football league, the National Football League (NFL), being formed in 1892.

In its inaugural season, the NFL consisted of just four teams: the Allegheny Athletic Association, Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Philadelphia Athletic Club and New York Athletic Club. By 1902, there were 11 teams in the NFL. In 1920, the American Professional Football Association (now the NFL) was formed and consisted of 14 teams.

The first professional football teams

The first professional football teams were formed in the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that a professional league, the National Football League (NFL), was established. The NFL’s first year was 1920. The league initially consisted of four teams: the Akron Pros, the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Indians, and the Dayton Triangles.

During the NFL’s first decade, more teams were added to the league, including franchises in Chicago, New York, and Green Bay. In 1922, a second professional football league, the American Football League (AFL), was formed. However, due to financial difficulties, the AFL folded after only one season.

In 1925, another professional football league was established: the Eastern Colored League (ECL). The ECL was racially segregated; it consisted of African-American teams only. One of these teams was the Chicago Cardinals (now known as the Arizona Cardinals), which is currently the oldest existing professional football team in America.

In 1927, yet another pro football league was launched: this one was called the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The APFA eventually became what we now know as the NFL. In 1946, a rival professional football league called the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was formed; however, this league dissolved in 1949 and its teams were absorbed by the NFL.

The Founding of the NFL

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920, when eleven teams from four states – Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts – met in Canton, Ohio for a meeting of the American Professional Football Association. The league’s first president was Jim Thorpe, an athlete who is considered one of the best all-around sportsmen of all time.

The first NFL game

On November 22, 1920, the first NFL game was played. The teams were the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. The game was played at a baseball stadium in Chicago called Wrigley Field. However, there were only about 5,000 people in the stands because it was a cold and rainy day. The Bears won the game by a score of 9-7.

The first NFL teams

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920, but its roots go back even further. The first professional football game was played in 1892, and several professional leagues began popping up in the early 1900s. But it wasn’t until 1920 that the NFL was born.

The NFL got its start with just 10 teams: the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Chicago Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Decatur Staleys, Detroit Heralds, Hammond Pros, Minnesota Vikings (then the Minneapolis Marines), New York Giants, and Racine Cardinals. Of these 10 teams, only two are still in existence today: the Bears and the Cardinals (though the Cardinals didn’t join the NFL until later).

The Growth of the NFL

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL considered itself the successor to the National Football League of 1892 to 1925. Founded in 1920, the NFL developed and adopted most of the rules of collegiate football that existed at the time.

The first Super Bowl

The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967. It was the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), pitting the champions of the American Football Conference (AFC) against the champions of the National Football Conference (NFC). The Green Bay Packers of the NFC won the first two Super Bowls, while the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders each won one.

The first NFL draft

The first NFL draft occurred on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. Seventy-three years ago, there were only nine rounds and ninety picks total. In the first round, Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago was selected first overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was traded almost immediately to the Chicago Bears for cash. While he never played a down in the NFL, he is considered to be the first ever draft pick.

The NFL draft has changed a lot since 1936; it now consists of seven rounds and lasts three days. However, one thing has stayed consistent: it is still held in Philadelphia. The Eagles have also kept their place as the team with the most draft picks, having selected 522 players in total.

The present day NFL

Football as we know it today has come a long way from its humble origins. It has become one of America’s most popular spectator sports, with a huge following both in the United States and around the world. But who exactly founded the NFL?

The most recent Super Bowl

The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams will face each other in Atlanta on Sunday, February 3, 2019, to decide who will be crowned champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The Patriots are looking to repeat as champions after winning a thrilling overtime contest against the Rams in last year’s Super Bowl.

The current NFL teams

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world.
The NFL’s 17-week regular season runs from early September to late December, with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held on the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.