How Did NFL Teams Get Their Names?

How Did NFL Teams Get Their Names? Many of the NFL’s most iconic teams have interesting origins stories when it comes to their names.

The Origin of NFL Team Names

While some NFL team names seem obvious (e.g. the Dallas Cowboys), others are a bit more puzzling (e.g. the Jacksonville Jaguars). So how did NFL teams get their names? In this article, we’ll take a look at the origins of some of the more popular team names in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears were originally known as the Decatur Staleys when they were formed in 1919. The team was named after team owner George Halas, who was also the owner of a starch company in Decatur, Illinois. The team eventually moved to Chicago in 1921 and was renamed the Chicago Bears.

The Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, dating back to 1919, and is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States. Home games have been played at Lambeau Field since 1957.

The Packers are the last of the “small town teams” which were common in the NFL during the league’s early days of 1922–1923. Founded in 1919 by Earl “Curly” Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, the franchise traces its lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. Between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and Michigan. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA), the forerunner of today’s NFL, in 1921. Although Green Bay is by far the smallest major market in North America with a population of 104,057 as of 2010 census, it is also by far the smallest market to ever host an NFL team.

The Packers have a long-standing rivalry with the Chicago Bears. The Packers–Bears rivalry is one of oldest rivalries in U.S. professional sports history dating back to 1921.

The New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which it shares with the New York Jets in a unique arrangement. The Giants hold their summer training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

The team’s headquarters and practice facilities are located across the Hudson River from Manhattan in team co-owner John Mara’s hometown of Rye Brook, New York.

How NFL Teams Got Their Names

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league. NFL teams represent cities or regions throughout the United States. The league is divided into two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC), each of which has 16 teams. NFL teams are named after a variety of things, including animals, colors, and geographic locations. Let’s take a look at how some of the NFL’s most popular teams got their names.

The Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys were founded in 1960 as an expansion team. The team’s owner, Clint Murchison, Jr., wanted the team to have a “cowboy” image, so he held a contest to name the team. The winning entry was “Dallas Cowboys.”

The Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins were established in 1966 as an expansion team. The team’s name was chosen through a contest and announced on October 20, 1965. The franchise’s owner, Joe Robbie, liked the name because it represented the “tradition and Pageantry of South Florida,” as well as dolphins being “friendly, intelligent and playful.”

The New England Patriots

The New England Patriots began as the Boston Patriots in the upstart American Football League. When the team was looking for a new head coach in 1971, owner Billy Sullivan held a contest to name the team. The winning entry, submitted by then-eight-year old Richard Tamburro of Bristol, Connecticut, was the “Patriots.” The name was chosen because it paid homage to the colonists who fought during the Revolutionary War.

The Meaning Behind NFL Team Names

Football is one of America’s favorite past times. Every Sunday, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite teams battle it out on the gridiron. What many people don’t know is the meaning behind their favorite team’s name. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

The Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens were named after Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven.” The poem was recited by John Unitas during the last two-minute drill of a game in which he led the Colts to victory.

The Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings were founded in Minneapolis in 1961. The team’s name was selected by the owner, Fred Wilf, who was inspired by the team’s logo of a Viking warrior. The Viking mascot was created by a graphic artist named Bert Knutson.

The San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are named for the 1849 Gold Rush that brought fortune seekers to Northern California. The team’s logo includes a miner from that era.