How Many Original NFL Teams Were There?
How many original NFL teams were there?
The answer may surprise you.
Early History of the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) with ten teams from four states. Jim Thorpe was elected the APFA’s first president. The APFA changed its name to the National Football League in 1922.
Pre-1920: Early professional football leagues
In the early 1900s, football was considered a dangerous game and was banned from college campuses. However, there were a few professional teams that played against each other for publicity and profit. These teams were largely made up of former college players. The most prominent of these early professional football leagues was the Ohio League, which was formed in 1903.
The Ohio League began to attract national attention in 1912 when its president, Jim Thorpe, signed an agreement with two other professional leagues to hold a championship game between their respective league winners. This championship game, known as the World Series of Football, was held in Chicago in December of that year. The Ohio League’s team, the Canton Bulldogs, won the inaugural championship game.
Following the success of the World Series of Football, more professional leagues were formed and began to compete against each other for players and fans. In 1920, these competing leagues finally agreed to merge into one league: the National Football League.
1920: The American Professional Football Association is formed
In 1920, a group of professional football teams from four states – Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan – formed the American Professional Football Association. The league’s first president was Jim Thorpe, considered by many to be the greatest all-around athlete of his time.
The APFA began with 14 teams. Some, like the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals) are still playing today. Many others, like the Hammond Pros, Muncie Flyers and Rock Island Independents, only lasted a few years.
The APFA played its first season in 1920 with 14 teams: Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Tigers, Columbus Panhandles, Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears), Detroit Heralds (disbanded during season), Hammond Pros, Muncie Flyers, New York Giants (disbanded during season), Pittsburgh Pirates (disbanded mid-season), Rochester Jeffersons and Toledo Maroons (disbanded mid-season).
The Original NFL Teams
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 with eleven teams. These teams were the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Chicago Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Decatur Staleys, Detroit Lions, Hammond Pros, Minneapolis Marines, New York Giants, Racine Cardinals, and Rochester Jeffersons. The NFL has come a long way since then, but let’s take a look at these original eleven teams.
1920: The APFA is renamed the National Football League
In 1920, the American Professional Football Association (APFA) was renamed the National Football League (NFL). The league began with 14 teams, all of which were located in cities with a population of 250,000 or more. By the end of the 1920 season, only 12 of these teams were still in operation. The Akron Pros won the first-ever NFL championship.
1922: The NFL expands to include the New York Giants
In 1922, the NFL expanded to include the New York Giants. The Giants had been playing football since 1885 and were one of the most successful teams in the sport, winning several championships in the pre-NFL era. The addition of the Giants helped solidify the NFL as the premier professional football league in the United States.
In 1925, the NFL further expanded by adding two more teams: the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals. The Bears were another successful team with a long history, dating back to 1887. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were a new franchise that was established specifically for the NFL.
With these four teams in place, the NFL became the first professional football league to have teams from all four major cities in the United States: New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Phoenix. This gave the league a level of credibility that it had previously lacked. It also helped set the stage for future expansion into other cities across America.
1924: The NFL expands to include the Boston Bulldogs
In 1924, the NFL expands to include the Boston Bulldogs, who later become the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the Los Angeles Rams. The NFL also adds the New York Giants, who win the NFL Championship that year.
1925: The NFL expands to include the New York Yankees
The National Football League (NFL) was established in 1920, and originally had just 10 teams. By 1925, the league had expanded to include the New York Yankees, bringing the total number of teams up to 11. This expansion was largely due to the popularity of college football at the time, as well as the success of the Yankees franchise.
The Modern NFL
Today, the National Football League (NFL) is made up of 32 teams, but that wasn’t always the case. The league started with just 11 teams in 1920 and it wasn’t until the late 1960s that the NFL reached its current size. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the NFL has changed over the years, both in terms of its teams and its rules.
1966: The NFL and AFL merge
In 1965, the rival American Football League agreed to merge with the NFL, pending approval from team owners of both leagues. The first step in the merger was to agree on a common draft in order to avoid a bidding war for college stars. The common draft was held in New York City on November 27, 1965.
The merger was officially completed on June 8, 1966, when the NFL and AFL agreed to merge under the umbrella of the newly created NFL Corporation. At the time of the merger, there were two major differences between the two leagues:
-The AFL had a better television contract than the NFL, which meant that AFL games were more widely available on television.
-The AFL allowed teams to have players participate in both offense and defense, while the NFL required players to specialize in either offense or defense.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, all but two of the AFL teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns) were absorbed into existing NFL divisions; those two teams became part of an expanded AFC. As part of the deal, three additional playoff games were added to the NFL schedule: The two additional Wild Card teams would play each other, and then each winner would play one of the divisional playoff winners.
1970: The NFL expands to include the Seattle Seahawks
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) with ten teams from four states. The league changed its name to the National Football League in 1922. By 1970, the NFL had grown to include twenty-six teams in two conferences: the AFC and NFC. On June 1, 1970, the NFL announced that it would be expanding again to include the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks joined the AFC West Division, which already included the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers. The Seahawks were placed in the NFC West Division when the NFL realigned its divisions in 2002. The other teams in their division are the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers.
2002: The NFL expands to include the Houston Texans
In 2002, the NFL expanded to include the Houston Texans, bringing the total number of teams to 32. This was the first time the league had expanded since 1995, when the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars joined. Prior to 2002, there were 30 teams in the NFL.
Conclusion
After much research, it seems that there were originally eleven NFL teams. These eleven teams were the Chicago Bears, the Arizona Cardinals, the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Cleveland Browns.
