Who’s First in the NFL?
Contents
Who’s First in the NFL? The answer may surprise you.
Introduction
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 Beginnings
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 named the APFA’s first president. The league began play in October of that year with twice weekly games on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. The first game was between the APFA’s Canton Bulldogs and the Dayton Triangles at Triangle Park in Dayton, Ohio; Canton won 14-0.
The First NFL Game
Professional football traces its roots back to 1892, when William “Pudge” Heffelfinger became the first player to be paid to play in a game. But it wasn’t until 1920 that the National Football League was founded. The NFL’s first game was played on October 3, 1920, between the Chicago Cardinals and the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals won, 20-0.
The First NFL Season
The inaugural season of the National Football League (NFL) took place in 1920, with 22 teams competing in the league. The first NFL game was held on October 3, 1920, between the Canton Bulldogs and the Massillon Tigers, with the Bulldogs winning by a score of 14-0. The league’s first ever touchdown was scored by George Halas of the Chicago Bears in a 7-6 victory over the Decatur Staleys.
The first NFL championship game was held on December 18, 1920, between the Cleveland Tigers and the Buffalo All-Americans. The Tigers won by a score of 7-0, becoming the first ever NFL champions.
The First NFL Championship Game
The NFL championship game was the game that determined the league’s season champion for each year prior to 1966. The National Football League (NFL) first held a championship game in 1933, but the first four NFL titles were awarded to teams with the best regular-season records, without a postseason playoff tournament to determine a league champion. Between 1933 and 1966, excluding 1943, when there was no NFL season due to World War II, an NFL team’s success or failure was ultimately measured by its win-loss record in the championship game. If two teams had identical win-loss records in any given season, a one-game playoff would be held to determine the championship. In 1934 and 1937, this playoff was held in mid-December after the end of the regular season; otherwise it was played on the same day as the championship game, usually in early January.
The First Super Bowl
The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. Packers quarterback Bart Starr was named the game’s most valuable player.
