From AthletiPedia
The National Football League is a major professional men's American football league in the United States of America. The league was founded with 14 teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Conference but was renamed the American Professional Football Association before commencing play. The league was renamed the National Football League in 1922, the National-American Football League in 1950-51 but returning to the National Football League before commencing play. The league has since grown to include 32 franchises.
Contents
Current Teams
Maps
KEY: BLUE = Current Franchise. RED = Former Franchise. YELLOW = Games but Never Franchise. GRAY = No Games.
North America
World
Franchise Histories
- Akron Pros (1920-1925) → Akron Indians (1926) → Folded
- Buffalo All-Americans (1920-1923) → Buffalo Bisons (1924-1925) → Buffalo Rangers (1926) → Buffalo Bisons (1927) → Suspended operations (1928) → Buffalo Bisons (1929) → Folded
- Canton Bulldogs (1920-1923) → Temporarily merged into Cleveland Indians who were renamed the Cleveland Bulldogs (1924) → Canton Bulldogs (1925-1926) → Folded
- Chicago Tigers (1920) → Folded
- Cleveland Tigers (1920) → Cleveland Indians (1921) → Folded
- Columbus Panhandles (1920-1922) → Columbus Tigers (1923-1926) → Folded
- Dayton Triangles (1920-1929) → Brooklyn Dodgers (1930-1943) → Brooklyn Tigers (1944) → Merged into Boston Yanks as Yanks
- Decatur Staleys (1920) → Chicago Staleys (1921) → Chicago Bears (1922-Present)
- Detroit Heralds (1920) → Detroit Tigers (1921) → Folded
- Hammond Pros (1920-1926) → Folded
- Muncie Flyers (1920-1921) → Folded
- Racine-Chicago Cardinals (1920-1921) → Chicago Cardinals (1922-1943) → Temporarily merged with Pittsburgh Steelers as Card-Pitt Combine (1944) → Chicago Cardinals (1945--1959-60) → St. Louis Cardinals (1960-61--1987-88) → Phoenix Cardinals (1988-89--1993-94) → Arizona Cardinals (1994-95--Present)
- Rochester Jeffersons (1920-1925) → Folded
- Rock Island Independents (1920-1925) → Transferred to American Football League
- Cincinnati Celts (1921) → Folded
- Evansville Crimson Giants (1921-1922) → Folded
- Green Bay Acme Packers (1921) → Green Bay Packers (1922-Present)
- Louisville Breckenridges (1921-1923) → Folded
- Minneapolis Marines (1921-1924) → Folded
- New York Giants (1921) → Folded
- Tonawanda Kardex (1921) → Folded
- Washington Senators (1921) → Folded
- Horlick-Racine Legion (1922-1924) → Folded
- Milwaukee Badgers (1922-1926) → Folded
- Oorang Indians (1922-1923) → Folded
- Toledo Maroons (1922-1923) → Kenosha Maroons (1924) → Folded
- Youngstown Patricians (1922-DNP) → Folded
- Cleveland Indians (1923) → Cleveland Bulldogs (1924-1925) → Suspended operations (1926) → Cleveland Bulldogs (1927) → Detroit Wolverines (1928) → Merged into New York Giants
- Kelley Duluths (1923-1925) → Ernie Nevers's Eskimos (1926-1927) → Suspended operations (1928) → Orange Tornadoes (1929) → Newark Tornadoes (1930) → Cleveland Indians (1931) → Boston Braves (1932) → Boson Redskins (1933-1936) → Washington Redskins (1937--2019-20) → Washington Football Team (1920-21--Present)
- St. Louis All-Stars (1923) → Folded
- Frankford Yellow Jackets (1924-mid-season 1931) → Suspended operations (mid-season 1931-1932) → Philadelphia Eagles (1933-1940) → Pittsburgh Ironmen (1941-42--DNP) → Pittsburgh Steelers (1941-42--1942) → Temporarily merged with Philadelphia Eagles as Phil-Pitt Combine (1943) → Temporarily merged with Chicago Cardinals as Card-Pitt Combine (1944) → Pittsburgh Steelers (1945-Present)
- Kansas City Blues (1924) → Kansas City Cowboys (1925-1926) → Folded
- Detroit Panthers (1925-1926) → Folded
- New York Giants (1925-1936) → New York Football Giants (1937-Present)
- Pottsville Maroons (1925) → Suspended operations (1926-DNP) → Pottsville Maroons (1926-1928) → Boston Bulldogs (1929) → Folded
- Providence Steam Rollers (1925-1931) → Folded
- Brooklyn Lions (1926-mid-season 1926) → Brooklyn Horsemen (mid-season 1926-1926) → New York Yankees (1927-1928) → Staten Island Stapletons (1929-1930) → Staten Island Stapes (1931-1932) → Folded
- Hartford Blues (1926) → Folded
- Los Angeles Buccaneers (1926) → Folded
- Louisville Colonels (1926) → Folded
- Racine Tornadoes (1926) → Folded
- Minneapolis Redjackets (1929-1930) → Folded
- Portsmouth Spartans (1930-1933) → Detroit Lions (1934-Present)
- Cincinnati Reds (1933-mid-season 1934) → St. Louis Gunners (mid-season 1934-1934) → Folded
- Pittsburgh Pirates (1933--1939-40) → Pittsburgh Steelers (1940) → Pittsburgh Ironmen (1941-42--DNP) → Philadelphia Eagles (1941-42--1942) → Temporarily merged with Pittsburgh Steelers as Phil-Pitt Combine (1943) → Philadelphia Eagles (1944-Present)
- Cleveland Rams (1937-1942) transferred from American Football League → Suspended operations (1943) → Cleveland Rams (1944-1945) → Los Angeles Rams (1946--1994-95) → St. Louis Rams (1995-96--2015-16) → Los Angeles Rams (2016-17--Present)
- Los Angeles Bulldogs (1937-DNP) → Transferred to American Football League
- Phil-Pitt Combine (1943) formed by temporary merger of Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers → Split into Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, the latter of which temporarily merged with Chicago Cardinals as Card-Pitt Combine
- Boston Yanks (1944) → Yanks (1945) → Boston Yanks (1946-1948) → New York Bulldogs (1949) → New York Yanks (1950-51--1951-52) → Dallas Texans (1952-53) → Baltimore Colts (1953-54--1983-84) → Indianapolis Colts (1984-85--Present)
- Card-Pitt Combine (1944) formed by temporary merger of Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, the latter of which had been temporarily merged with Philadelphia Eagles as Phil-Pitt Combine → Split into Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers
- Baltimore Colts (1950-51) transferred from All-America Football Conference → Folded
- Cleveland Browns (1950-51--1995-96) transferred from All-America Football Conference → Baltimore Ravens (1996-97--Present)
- San Francisco 49ers (1950-51--Present) transferred from All-America Football Conference
- Dallas Steers (1960-61--DNP) → Dallas Rangers (1960-61--DNP) → Dallas Cowboys (1960-61--Present)
- Minnesota Vikings (1961-62--Present)
- Atlanta Falcons (1966-67--Present)
- New Orleans Saints (1967-68--Present)
- Boston Patriots (1970-71) transferred from American Football League → Bay State Patriots (1971-72--DNP) → New England Patriots (1971-72--Present)
- Buffalo Bills (1970-71--Present) transferred from American Football League
- Cincinnati Bengals (1970-71--Present) transferred from American Football League
- Denver Broncos (1970-71--Present) transferred from American Football League
- Houston Oilers (1970-71--1996-97) transferred from American Football League → Tennessee Oilers (1997-98--1998-99) → Tennessee Titans (1999-2000--Present)
- Kansas City Chiefs (1970-71--Present) transferred from American Football League
- Miami Dolphins (1970-71--Present) transferred from American Football League
- New York Jets (1970-71--Present) transferred from American Football League
- Oakland Raiders (1970-71--1981-82) transferred from American Football League → Los Angeles Raiders (1982-83--1994-95) → Oakland Raiders (1995-96--2019-20) → Las Vegas Raiders (2020-21--Present)
- San Diego Chargers (1970-71--2016-17) transferred from American Football League → Los Angeles Chargers (2017-18--Present)
- Seattle Seahawks (1976-77--Present)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976-77--Present)
- Carolina Panthers (1995-96--Present)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1995-96--Present)
- Cleveland Browns (1999-2000--Present)
- Houston Texans (2002-03--Present)
Seasons
Beginning in 1966-67, the interleague World Championship Game (later Super Bowl) was held at a neutral site. When the American Football League completed its merger into the league beginning with the 1970-71 season, the Super Bowl became the league championship game and remained hosted at a neutral site.
* Championship game as a result of tiebreaker counted for regular season standings, dropping Portsmouth Spartans to third behind Green Bay Packers.
Bert Bell Benefit Bowl
The Bert Bell Benefit Bowl was the league's third-place game.
| Season | Venue | Municipality | Result |
| 1960-61 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Detroit Lions 17 - 16 Cleveland Browns |
| 1961-62 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Detroit Lions 38 - 10 Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1962-63 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Detroit Lions 17 - 10 Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1963-64 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Green Bay Packers 40 - 23 Cleveland Browns |
| 1964-65 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | St. Louis Cardinals 24 - 17 Green Bay Packers |
| 1965-66 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Baltimore Colts 35 - 3 Dallas Cowboys |
| 1966-67 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Baltimore Colts 20 - 14 Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1967-68 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Dallas Cowboys 17 - 13 Minnesota Vikings |
| 1968-69 | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | Los Angeles Rams 31 - 0 Dallas Cowboys |
Pro Bowl
The first five Pro Bowls from 1938-1942 were branded as the National Football League All-Star Game.
| Season | Venue | Municipality | Result |
| 1938-39 | Wrigley Field | Los Angeles | New York Football Giants 13 - 10 National Football League |
| 1939-40 | Gilmore Stadium | Los Angeles | Green Bay Packers 16 - 7 National Football League |
| 1940 | Gilmore Stadium | Los Angeles | Chicago Bears 28 - 14 National Football League |
| 1941-42 | Polo Grounds (1911) | Manhattan, New York | Chicago Bears 35 - 24 National Football League |
| 1942 | Shibe Park | Philadelphia | National Football League 17 - 14 Washington Redskins |