What Were The Original Teams In The NFL?

A look at the original teams in the NFL and how they have fared over the years.

The NFL’s Founding

The National Football League was founded in 1920, with its first season kicking off in 1921. The league was originally composed of 14 teams, all of which were located in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. These teams were the Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Blues.

The American Professional Football Association is formed

On August 20, 1920, representatives from eleven pro football clubs — six from Ohio, three from Pennsylvania, one from New Jersey, and one from New York — convened for a meeting in Canton, Ohio. This meeting resulted in the formation of the American Professional Football Association (which would be renamed the National Football League in 1922). The eleven charter members of the Association were:

Akron Pros
Buffalo All-Americans
Canton Bulldogs
Chicago Tigers
Cleveland Indians
Dayton Triangles
Decatur Staleys
Hammond Pros
Munsey’s Independents
Rochester Jeffersons
Rock Island Independents

The Original NFL Teams

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 with just eleven teams. These eleven charter members were the Canton Bulldogs, Chicago Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Decatur Staleys, Detroit Horseshoes, Hammond Pros, New York Giants, Racine Cardinals, Rochester Jeffersons, Rock Island Independents, and the Green Bay Packers.

The Chicago Cardinals

The Chicago Cardinals were a professional football team that played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1920 to 1959, before moving to St. Louis, Missouri. The team played its home games at Comiskey Park and Normal Park. The Cardinals were founded in 1898 as an amateur football team in Chicago’s South Side. In 1901, they joined the Chicago Football League which was established in 1896.

The Decatur Staleys

The Decatur Staleys were a professional American football team based in Decatur, Illinois. The team competed in the National Football League (NFL) from 1920 to 1929, winning the league championship in 1921. The Staleys were one of 14 NFL teams that competed in the league’s inaugural season in 1920. The club was established by A.E. Staley, a food starch manufacturer from Decatur. This original team was led by future Hall of Famer George Halas, who served as player-coach at the time.

The Hammond Pros

The Hammond Pros were a professional American football team from Hammond, Indiana. The team began play in 1920 and joined the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League) in 1921. The Pros operated for two seasons as an independent before folding after the 1922 season.

The Racine Cardinals

The Racine Cardinals were a professional football team based in Racine, Wisconsin that played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1921 to 1949. The team was founded in the fall of 1920 by George Halas and Edward “Dutch” Sternaman, two players for the Decatur Staleys (later the Chicago Bears) who relocated to Racine to start their own team. The Cardinals originally played their home games at Horlick Field, but moved to Card Stadium (later known as Wrigley Field) in 1929.

The Cardinals were one of the dominant teams of the NFL’s early years, winning nine NFL championships between 1925 and 1947, including four consecutive titles from 1942 to 1945. The team’s success came to an end after 1948, when they failed to win a single game and were forced to merge with the Chicago Bulls; the resulting team became known as the Chicago Cardinals.

The Rochester Jeffersons

The Rochester Jeffersons were a professional American football team based in Rochester, New York that played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1920 to 1925. The team competed in the NFL’s first three seasons and last two under the Jeffersons moniker.

The team was founded in 1919 by Leo Lyons, owner of a local printing company. The Jeffersons originally played their home games at Kearney Stadium, which Lyons also owned. After the 1923 season, Lyons decided to move the team to Chicago, where they would be known as the Chicago Bears. The team’s lease on Kearney Stadium expired after the 1925 season, and the franchise was dissolved by the NFL.

The Rock Island Independents

The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 until 1915. The team was a founding member of the earliest version of the National Football League (NFL).

Founding
The Independents were formed when representatives of four Midwest leagues of professional American football met in Pittsburgh on September 17, 1907. At this meeting, they agreed to form the “American Professional Football Conference”, which would be renamed the “American Professional Football Association” two months later. The league was formed with a Magnates and Treaties system like that used by major baseball leagues and lasted for only two seasons under that format before fully converting to the more standard NFL structure in which all teams would play one another.

The team’s owner was William Dietz, who had also coached at Louisiana State University, the University of Nebraska and Carlisle Indian School.

The Muncie Flyers

The Muncie Flyers were a professional football team that played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1920 to 1921. The team was based in Muncie, Indiana and played its home games at the Municipal Stadium. The Flyers were founded by local businessman Frank E. Hougham and were coached by Albert E. Oswald. The team’s name comes from the city’s rich aviation history; in the early 1920s, Muncie was home to several airplane manufacturing companies.

The Flyers joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1920, and their first season was successful. The team won eight of its ten games and finished second in the league standings behind the undefeated Akron Pros. In their second and final season, the Flyers again posted an 8-2 record but finished third in the league behind the Pros and Buffalo All-Americans.

After the 1921 season, the Flyers disbanded because Hougham could not afford to keep the team afloat financially. Fourteen years later, another professional football team called the Muncie Seahawks began play in 1935 but only lasted for one season before folding.

The Dayton Triangles

The Dayton Triangles were one of the original 14 teams to play in the National Football League (NFL) in 1920. Based in Dayton, Ohio, the Triangles were founded in 1913 as an independent team before joining the NFL in 1920. The Triangles won the league’s very first game against the Columbus Panhandles, 14-0. Financial problems forced the team to fold after just three seasons and they were replaced by the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Rams) for the 1924 season.

The Evolution 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. The league’s first president was Jim Thorpe, an American Olympic gold medalist and widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of his time. In 1922, the APFA was renamed the NFL.

The NFL is formed

On September 17, 1920, a meeting was held in Canton, Ohio to form the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The meeting was attended by representatives from four different teams: the Akron Pros, the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, and the Decatur Staleys. These four teams would go on to become founding members of what is now known as the National Football League (NFL).

At this meeting, the teams agreed on a set of rules and regulations for the new league. They also elected Jim Thorpe as their first president. The APFA would later change its name to the National Football League in 1922.

The NFL has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1920. Today, it is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. It has also undergone many changes over the years, both in terms of its structure and its rules.

The NFL expands

In 1933, the NFL had grown to ten teams with the addition of the Pittsburgh Pirates (now the Steelers) and the New York Giants. The league also divided into two divisions for the first time, with the Eastern Division including the Giants, Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Rams), Boston Redskins (now the Washington Redskins), Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Western Division was made up of the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minneapolis Red Jackets (later renamed the Cardinals and now based in Arizona), and New York Yankees (no relation to the baseball team). In 1934, George Halas’ Chicago Bears stunned NFL fans by winning the league championship against New York Giants with a score 38-14. Fans flocked to see this new brand of football.The game had arrived.

The NFL Today

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 professional sports leagues in North America, and 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, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three 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.

The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, and resulting game was called Super Bowl I. Today, the NFL has ten times more revenue than its closest competitor, Major League Baseball.