When Was The NFL Originally Formed?
A look at the history of the NFL and how it has evolved over the years.
Introduction
The National Football League (NFL) was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League in 1922. The NFL consisted of 14 teams from its inception until 1960 when it expanded to include the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings. Today, the NFL is made up of 32 teams.
The Early Years of the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) was originally founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The league was created by a group of professional football teams from Ohio and New York, which included the Akrons Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Rochester Jeffersons, and Syracuse Pros. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League.
At that time, there were only 11 teams in the NFL: the aforementioned five teams from Ohio and New York, plus the Chicago Cardinals, Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears), Hammond Pros, Milwaukee Badgers, Rock Island Independents, and the Duluth Eskimos. The first NFL game was played on October 3rd, 1920 between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles; Dayton won 14-0.
The NFL quickly grew in popularity and by 1924 there were 22 teams playing in the league. That same year saw major changes to NFL including introducing a championship game (won by the Canton Bulldogs), as well as a rule change that reduced the number of players on each side from 15 to 11. These changes helped to make football a more exciting and faster paced game which further increased its popularity.
In 1925, another major change took place when some team owners decided to start paying their players; until this point all players had been considered amateurs. This caused a split in the NFL with some teams remaining “amateur” while others became “professional”. This divide was eventually resolved in 1926 when all teams agreed to move to a fully professional league.
Since then, the NFL has continued to grow in popularity and is now one of America’s most popular sports leagues.
The First Super Bowl
The first ever Super Bowl took place on January 15, 1967. It was the Green Bay Packers against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Packers winning 35-10.
The Modern NFL
The modern NFL was formed in 1920, when it was known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The APFA was created to fill the void left by the demise of the National Football League (NFL), which had been founded in 1902 but ceased operations in 1919. The APFA had 14 teams, all from cities with existing professional football franchises.
