Search results
Jun 24, 2014 · Ninety-two years ago Tuesday, the APFA became the NFL. According to the NFL’s Record and Fact Book, today is the 92nd anniversary of the American Professional Football Association changing its name to something one word shorter — and a whole lot more memorable, as it turned out.
In 1920 the American Professional Football Association was formed. This league changed its name to the National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually became the major league of American football. Beginning primarily as a sport of Midwestern industrial towns in the United States, professional football eventually became a national ...
Jan 24, 2024 · In 1920, the American Professional Football Association (APFA) was founded, which two years later became the National Football League (NFL). The NFL started modestly but quickly began to overshadow college football in terms of popularity.
- Overview
- History
- Super Bowl results
National Football League (NFL), major U.S. professional gridiron football organization, founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, as the American Professional Football Association. Its first president was Jim Thorpe, an outstanding American athlete who was also a player in the league. The present name was adopted in 1922.
The league began play in 1920 and comprised five teams from Ohio (Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Tigers, Columbus Panhandlers, and Dayton Triangles), four teams from Illinois (Chicago Tigers, Decatur Staleys, Racine Cardinals [the Cardinals were based in Chicago but took the name of a local street], and Rock Island Independents), two from Indiana (Hammond Pros and Muncie Flyers), two from New York (Buffalo All-Americans and Rochester Jeffersons), and the Detroit Heralds from Michigan. Of these original franchises, only two remain: the Cardinals left Chicago for St. Louis after the 1959 season and relocated to Arizona in 1988; the Decatur Staleys moved to Chicago in 1921 and a year later changed their name to the Bears.
Britannica Quiz
Sports Firsts Through the Ages Quiz
The NFL survived many years of instability and competition from rival organizations to became the strongest American professional football league. The most serious challenge to its leading role came from the American Football League (AFL) in the 1960s. The NFL and AFL completed a merger in 1970, creating a 26-team circuit under the name of the older NFL. Since then the league has expanded four times, adding six new franchises.
For a more complete history of football and the NFL, see football, gridiron.
The league’s 32 teams are aligned as follows:
Super Bowl results are provided in the table.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 16, 2020 · Two years later, the minutes reflected that on June 24, 1922, a team owner named George Halas made a motion to change the name of the association to something more memorable -- the National...
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) with ten teams from four states, all of whom existed in some form as participants of regional leagues in their respective territories. The league took on its current name in 1922.
People also ask
Why did the National Football League change its name?
When was the National Football League founded?
When did the NFL become a major league?
When was the American Football League founded?
When did professional football start?
What is the National Football League (NFL)?
Sep 4, 2024 · American football is the version of the sport of football that evolved from English rugby and soccer (association football). American football, played with 11 on each side, originated in North America, primarily in the United States, where it eventually became the country’s leading spectator sport.
