Who Created the NFL?

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920, but it wasn’t until the late 1930s that it really began to take off. Then, in 1958, the NFL created the first professional football championship game, now known as the Super Bowl.

The Early Days of Football

The first professional football game

The first professional football game was played on November 12, 1892, between the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. William Heffelfinger was paid $500 to play for the Allegheny Athletic Association, making him the first professional football player.

Professional football began to develop in the 1870s. Several football clubs were formed, and by 1892 there were almost two dozen clubs in cities throughout the Northeast and Midwest. On November 27, 1892, Allegheny Athletic Association played against Pennsylvania’s West End Club in a game that ended in a 0-0 tie.

In October 1898, another professional football game was played between two Pittsburgh-area teams: the Latrobe Athletic Association and the Jeannette Athletic Club. This was the first time that “paid” players (lathe workers who were given a percentage of ticket sales) took to the field. Latrobe won 12-0.

The next year, a third professional team was formed in Allegheny, Pennsylvania: The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, later called the “Dukes”. The Dukes featured all-star player Peter Wrightson. In 1902, Wrightson led his team to a victory over Latrobe in what is considered to be the first professional football championship game.

In 1920, several representatives from small schools met in Canton Ohio for what would eventually become known as “the birth of NFL”. There were 14 teams represented at this meeting and they agreed on some league rules and regulations as well as creating a schedule for future games.

The founding of the NFL

On September 17, 1920, the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton, Ohio. The association was created by eleven teams from four states with the goal of creating a standardized set of rules for the game of football. The first meeting consisted of representatives from the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Dayton Triangles, Decatur Staleys, Hammond Pros, Massillon Tigers, Muncie Flyers, Racine Cardinals, Rochester Jeffersons and Yonkers Hershires. George Halas of the Decatur Staleys was elected president and Jim Thorpe of the Canton Bulldogs was named vice president. Ralph Hay, owner of the Dayton Triangles, was named secretary-treasurer.

The association’s first season began in1920 and consisted of fourteen teams. The league played a ten-game schedule from September 26 to December 19. The Buffalo All-Americans were crowned the first ever champions after compiling a perfect 10-0 record.

In 1922, the American Professional Football Association renamed itself as the National Football League. This marked the start of professional football as we know it today.

The First NFL Teams

The National Football League was created in 1920, with its first season taking place in the Fall of that year. There were eleven teams that played in the NFL’s first season- the Akron Pros, the Chicago Cardinals, the Chicago Bears, the Canton Bulldogs, the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, the Buffalo All-Americans, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, the Decatur Staleys, and the Muncie Flyers.

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 1925 and 1926. Founded officialy on August 11, 1919 by Earl “Curly” Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, the franchise traces its lineage to other semi-pro 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), now known as the NFL, in 1921. The team posted a 9–1–1 record under Coach Lambeau in its first year of existence.

The Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinements in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise.

The First NFL Championship Game

The National Football League (NFL) was created in 1920 with just eleven teams. The first NFL championship game was held in 1933 between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants. The Bears won this game, which was attended by over 73,000 fans.

The birth of the Super Bowl

On January 15, 1967, the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game was played. The game, now known as the Super Bowl, has become the biggest single-day sporting event in the world. But how did it all begin?

The National Football League (NFL) was formed in 1920 as a way to standardize football rules and make the sport more popular across the United States. In 1960, another football league was formed—the American Football League (AFL). The two leagues spent the next several years trying to sign the best players and stay ahead of each other in terms of innovations.

In 1966, after much negotiation, the two leagues agreed to merge into one league with two divisions: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). As part of this agreement, it was decided that a championship game would be played between the winners of each division at the end of every season. This game would eventually become known as the Super Bowl.

The first Super Bowl was held on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The NFC champion Green Bay Packers faced off against the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers won the game by a score of 35-10.

Since that first game, the Super Bowl has become one of America’s most eagerly anticipated annual events. Every year, millions of people tune in to watch—not just for the football but also for the commercials, halftime show, and post-game analysis.