What Was the NFL Called Before?
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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 National Football League’s Early Years
From its humble beginnings in the 1920s, the National Football League has grown to become one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. But it wasn’t always called the NFL. In fact, it went through a few different name changes before settling on the name we know today. Let’s take a look at the NFL’s early years.
The American Professional Football Association (APFA)
The national football league (NFL) was not always known by that name. In fact, it has undergone several name changes since it was first established in 1920. It all started with the American Professional Football Association (APFA).
The APFA was founded in Canton, Ohio on September 17, 1920. The league consisted of 14 teams from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The first season of play began on October 3, 1920. The APFA would go on to change its name to the National Football League in 1922.
The American Football League (AFL)
Early on, there was another professional football league vying for players and fans called the American Football League (AFL). Founded in 1960, the AFL began to sign some of college football’s best players to compete against the NFL. This made for more intense games and a better product on the field, which in turn drew in more viewers. In an effort to keep up with the AFL, the NFL began signing some of the AFL’s best players to contracts, which only escalated the competition between the two leagues.
The Merger of the NFL and AFL
Before the AFL and NFL merged, they were two completely separate entities. The NFL was originally founded in 1920, while the AFL was founded in 1960. The two leagues only merged in 1966, which resulted in the creation of the Super Bowl.
The NFL’s New Name
In 1970, the NFL and AFL completed their merger, which resulted in the creation of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL then became known as the National Football League (NFL).
The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important American football game of the year. It is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game is usually played on the first Sunday in February. It is the climax of a regular season that begins in the late summer of the previous year.
Today’s NFL
The NFL’s Current Structure
The NFL’s current structure is a result of a long and difficult process that began in the late 1920s. In order to ensure its survival, the league had to make several changes to its structure, including the way it divided its teams into divisions and the way it scheduled games.
Today, there are 32 teams in the NFL, each divided into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). Each conference is further divided into four divisions: North, South, East, and West.
The NFL schedule is made up of 16 regular season games for each team, plus four preseason games. The regular season games are played between September and December, with the playoffs taking place in January. The Super Bowl, the biggest event in American professional sports, is played at the end of January or early February.
The NFL’s Popularity
The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular and richest sports league in the United States, making it one of the world’s wealthiest and most influential sports organizations. The 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 has undergone several name changes throughout its history, but “National Football League” has been its official name since 1966.
The NFL is composed of 32 teams divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference is further divided into four divisions: East, West, North, and South. The AFC and NFC championship games are held annually to determine which team will represent each conference in the Super Bowl, the biggest annual professional American football championship game in the world.
