What was the first nfl team

The NFL was founded in 1920 as the first professional football league to successfully establish a nationwide showing, after various decades of failed attempts. At the time, it was founded as the APFA, or the American Professional Football Association, with 14 teams- two of which still exist today, the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals.

So why is it the “original 8” who started the NFL and not the original 14? Let’s take a look.

The “Original 8” NFL Teams

Over the first decade of the NFL’s existence, the number of teams fluctuated regularly; the 14 teams became 22 teams in 1926, and a year later they dropped to 12 teams.

Then the first playoffs took place in 1932, and there were eight teams existing by then: the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Cardinals, the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, the Boston Braves (today’s Washington Football Team), the Portsmouth Spartans (today's Detroit Lions), the Staten Island Stapletons, and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

That’s when the NFL we know truly came to be.

In 1943, the NFL also had eight existing teams again: the Dodgers, the Redskins, the Bears, the Cardinals, the Giants, Packers, the Detroit Lions, and the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles (the wartime player shortage resulted in the merging of the Eagles and Steelers in one season).

The AFL-NFL merger: the Super Bowl Creator

The AFL, or American Football League was founded in 1960, as the rival. Because of the NFL’s dominance at the time, the birth of the AFL only created the merger that the old NFL needed to become the real NFL we know today. That merger was the reason the league expanded greatly, and created the Super Bowl, which became the dominant sporting event in the United States.

The modern NFL is the outcome of decades of expansions and contractions, with 32 teams currently. The latest team addition was in 2002 when the Houston Texans were added to the league.

The NFL is not only one of the most important sports leagues globally, it also has franchises with great history, some of them with many decades since its founding, so here we tell you which are the oldest teams in the league.

To do so, we will review the five oldest teams both since their debut in the NFL and their founding, since both dates are not necessarily the same for some historical franchises.

What are the five oldest NFL Teams?

5. Detroit Lions

This franchise was founded in 1934, after a radio executive bought the Portsmouth, Ohio, Spartans for $8,000, although the team was originally founded in 1929 and joined the NFL in 1930.

4. New York Giants

The Giants' history was born on August 1, 1925, after purchasing an NFL franchise in New York for a mere $500 and are one of the few NFL teams to have remained in the same city since their founding.

Since then, they have won four Super Bowls (1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011) and four NFL championships (1927, 1934, 1938 and 1956).

3. Green Bay Packers

Despite not being one of the founding teams of the NFL, since they joined a year later in 1921, the Packers never moved or changed their name. The team was born in 1919, the year since they were sponsored by the Indian Packing Company, they have been based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Green Bay has 11 NFL championships and four Super Bowls to its credit.

2. Chicago Bears

One of only two franchises in existence since the first year of the NFL in 1920. Founded on September 17, 1920, the team was originally called the Decatur Staleys, but in 1921 moved to Chicago and a year later changed its name to the Chicago Bears.

Despite just winning one Super Bowl, in 1985, the Bears won the NFL championship eight times (1921, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1963).

1. Arizona Cardinals

This team has the honor of being the oldest in the NFL. Although it shares with the Bears the title of being the only franchises that were part of the league's inaugural roster, it was founded in 1989, 21 years before the NFL was created.

The franchise has undergone several name changes, after being founded as Morgan Athletic Club, it was also called Racine Cardinals, Chicago Cardinals, Card-Pitt, St. Louis Cardinals and Phoenix Cardinals, and since 1994 it has had its current name.

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The NFL is a prestigious and famous sports league around the world. The enthusiasm and love of the audience from all over the world are indisputable. However, do you know the history of this tournament and original NFL football teams? Or when was the NFL founded? If you are curious to find out, let’s find out with Scott Fujita in this article!

1. When was the NFL founded?

In the world, the National Football League (NFL) is one of the most popular professional sports organizations. On September 17, 1920, the NFL was founded by a group of individuals who gathered for a meeting in Canton, Ohio. Before the NFL was founded, the professional football league was known as the American Professional Football Association.

The first champion of NFL

The National Football League (NFL) is an American professional 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 of North America, the highest level of professionalism in American football in the world.

The NFL’s 18-week regular season runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having a bye week. After the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each congress advance to the knockout stages, a knockout tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, usually held on the second Sunday of February and is played between the champions of NFC and AFC. The league is headquartered in New York City.

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The NFL was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before changing its name to the National Football League for the 1922 season. After initially determining champions through rankings At the end of the season, a playoff system was implemented in 1933 that culminated in the NFL Championship Game until 1966.

Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival American Football League (AFL), The Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine the champion between the best teams from the two leagues and remains the final game of every NFL season since the merger was completed in 1970.

Of any professional, the NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) today. sports federation in the world and is the most popular sports federation in the United States. The Super Bowl is also one of the largest club sports events in the world, with individual matches making up the most-watched TV shows in US history and all of them taking 5th place.

On Nielsen’s list of the most watched US television shows of all time. 2015. The NFL is the richest professional sports league by revenue and the sports league with the most valuable teams.

2. The history behind the top 8 NFL original teams: Who were the first NFL teams ever?

The history behind 8 nfl original teams

The American Professional Football Association or APFA is the former organization of the NFL. In 1920, it started with just 14 original football teams, two of which – the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals – are still in existence, like the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals are today.

In 1926, the number of teams decreased in the first decade the league existed. It fell to a low of 22 in the same year and dropped to 12 the following year.
In 1932, the first knockout took place and there were about 8 teams – namely Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Boston Braves (now known as Washington Redskins), Portsmouth Spartans, Staten Island Stapletons, and the Brooklyn Dodgers (possibly present-day Indianapolis Colts).
In 1943, the NFL had 8 teams again, which were the Dodgers, Redskins, Bears, Cardinals, Giants, Packers, Detroit Lions, and the odd Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles (which merged the Eagles and Steelers into one season due to a shortage of people. play in wartime).
Beginning in 1944 through 1969, the Rams, Browns, 49ers, Vikings, Saints, Falcons, Cowboys, and Colts were added. Then, in 1969, the federation merged with the AFL, adding ten new teams.

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3. The original NFL teams: Top 8 first NFL teams

The original nfl football teams backstory

Who were the original NFL teams? Because the Giants, Bears, Cardinals, Packers, Lions, Redskins, Eagles, and Steelers are our original 8 NFL teams. Here’s a brief history of all the teams we’ve reviewed:

New York Giants

In 1925, Giants was founded by Tim Mara, the original owner, with an investment of 500 USD. They are still legally called the “New York Football Giants” to this day to distinguish themselves from the baseball team that uses the same name. They became one of the first teams known as the 5 year old National Football League.

Chicago Bears

First known as the Decatur (Illinois) Staleys, In 1920, businessman A.E. Staley founded a franchise called Bears. In 1921, George Halas – player and coach of the new team – moved it to Chicago after Staley transferred the youth franchise to him.

Arizona Cardinals

Along with the Chicago Bears, they are one of only two charter members of the National Football League still in existence today. The Cardinals is also the oldest surviving professional football club in the United States. The franchise moved from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960, and in 1988 it moved to Phoenix, Arizona. This is first nfl teams.

Green Bay Packers

On August 11, 1919, former high school football rivals Earl “Curly” Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun founded the Green Bay Packers. They were the only ones left of the “small-town teams” that commonly encountered in the NFL during the league’s early days of the 1920s and 1930s.

Detroit Lions

Dates back to 1928 when they played in Portsmouth, Ohio as the Portsmouth Spartans, an American professional football brand called the Detroit Lions based in Detroit, Michigan. They will begin their 92nd season in 2020, continuing to be one of the National Football League’s oldest franchises.

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins, known as one of the NFL’s oldest and oldest franchises, were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves. Redskins was the new name of the team in 1933. In 1937, the team moved to Washington, D.C., where they immediately won the first of five world championships.

Philadelphia Eagles

The history of the Philadelphia Eagles began in 1933. Losing their first two appearances but successfully winning their third, in 2018, the Eagles have performed in the Super Bowl three times. They have won three NFL championships, the precursor to the Super Bowl, in four seasons.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On July 8, 1933, Arthur J. Rooney founded the Pittsburgh Steelers. Team Pittsburgh was known as the Pirates until 1940, making it the seventh in the oldest NFL teams list to this day. Pittsburgh’s success in the 1970s was the opposite of the experience of the Steelworkers in their early years.

What were the original NFL teams?

And that’s a little bit of NFL history and first NFL teams we’d like to share with you. How do you feel about this “when was the NFL founded” article? Please share your thoughts with Scott Fujita! Don’t forget to read our other interesting articles to learn more about the NFL – one of the biggest sports leagues on the planet!