From 2 To 32
On September 17, 1920, representatives of football teams scattered around the midwest and east met in Canton, Ohio to discuss organizing a professional football league. The result of that meeting was the formation of the American Professional Football Association. In 1922, the APFA renamed themselves the National Football League.
The NHL has their “Original Six.” The NFL has an “Original Two.” 14 teams competed in that inaugural 1920 season. Only two of those teams are still competing today. Here’s a look at how the NFL has gone from 2 to 32.
Chicago Bears (1920)
The Chicago Bears got their start as a company team. A.E. Staley had a company that produced a range of starch products. He also had a fondness for sports. His company fielded some teams. In March 1920, George Halas was hired to head the football team. He also put his Chemical Engineering degree to work in the factory but he was really there for the football. When the call came for those with football teams to come to Canton, Halas was there. The team competed as the Decatur Staleys in 1920. The football team turned out to be a significant drain on Staley’s funds. Instead of dumping the team, Halas got his greatest wish. Figuring that a bigger market would be a boost, Staley sent Halas, the team, and $5,000 to Chicago to make a go of professional football. In exchange for the funding, the team would carry the Staley name for a single season. In 1921, the team was known as the Chicago Staleys. George Halas got his football team and the Staley name got the 1921 NFL title. With baseball’s Chicago Cubs in mind, Halas renamed his team the Chicago Bears in 1922.
1920: Decatur Staleys
1921: Chicago Staleys
1922-present: Chicago Bears
Chicago Cardinals (1920)
Dating to the 1890s as a club team, the Cardinals are the NFL’s oldest team by a wide margin. They are also one of the most traveled.
1920-59: Chicago Cardinals
1960-87: St. Louis Cardinals
1988-93: Phoenix Cardinals
1994-present: Arizona Cardinals
Due to the financial and resource struggles during World War II, the Cardinals combined with the Pittsburgh Steelers to compete as a single football team in 1944.
The two Chicago teams are the NFL’s Original Two. It’s always annoying to hear Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers described as the league’s oldest rivalry. How could it be? The Packers weren’t even part of the professional football league during the inaugural season. Bears-Packers is the league’s most contested rivalry. It isn’t the oldest rivalry. That distinction belongs to Bears-Cardinals. During most of the 39 years that the two teams shared Chicago it was one of the most heated.
Green Bay Packers (1921)
The Packers were and are a town team. They were formed in 1919 and competed independently during their first two seasons. In 1921, the Packers joined the APFA/NFL. They almost didn’t get a second season. The Packers were kicked out of the league following their first season for using some players with college eligibility remaining. Cheaters. The Packers made whatever amends needed to be made as they were re-admitted before the 1922 season.
All of the NFL teams struggled greatly during those first couple decades. So many teams came and went. Some of that was intentional. Realizing that the NFL’s future was in bigger cities, league President Joe Carr made a concerted effort to weed out the teams from the smaller towns. Canton, Akron, Pottstown, Hammond, etc. Green Bay is the one town team that survived. It helped that the Packers soon became one of the best teams in the league. Much has been made of the Packers “cute” ownership structure. I’m one of those owners. I have a share of their worthless stock. It’s fun to say and think that I own the Packers. I look forward to attending one of their shareholders meetings in full Vikings gear and just hacking up the process.
New York Giants (1925)
Other than playing home games in New Jersey, there isn’t anything remarkable or notable about the Giants. They have a strong history and a fairly straightforward one.
Detroit Lions (1930)
The Detroit Lions got their NFL start in Portsmouth, Ohio. They soon became one of the league’s best teams. Playing for an NFL title in 1932 and winning one as the Detroit Lions in 1935. It’s tough to believe now but the Lions were a powerhouse in the 1950s. They played in four title games, winning in 1952, 1953, and 1957.
Portsmouth Spartans: 1930-33
Detroit Lions: 1934-present
Washington Commanders (1932)
The freshly named Washington Commanders have a fairly troubling history. That happens when a team is owned by a racist and an idiot. George Preston Marshall was the racist. Daniel Snyder is the idiot.
1932: Boston Braves
1933-36: Boston Redskins
1937-2019: Washington Redskins
2020-2021: Washington Football Team
2022-present: Washington Commanders
Philadelphia Eagles (1933)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1933)
1933-39: Pittsburgh Pirates
1940-present: Pittsburgh Steelers
During the World War II years, the Steelers merged with the Eagles in 1943 to form the awkwardly named “Steagles.” In 1944, the Steelers merged with the Cardinals.
Historically and geographically, the Pennsylvania teams feel linked. They entered the league together. Eagles owner Bert Bell and Steelers owner Art Rooney were terrific friends. They even jointly owned the Steelers for a few years until Bell was elected league Commissioner. The Steelers and Eagles even swapped cities in 1941.
Los Angeles Rams (1937)
The Rams have a well-traveled history. As the Cleveland Rams, they jumped from the second AFL (there have been three AFLs) to the NFL in 1937. From there the team bounced around a bit.
1937-45: Cleveland Rams
1946-94: Los Angeles Rams
1995-2015: St. Louis Rams
2016-present: Los Angeles Rams
During the World War II years, the Rams suspended operations for the 1943 season. One of the interesting things about the Rams is that they won NFL titles in each of the cities that they played. They won as the Cleveland Rams in 1945, as the Los Angeles Rams in 1951 and 2021, and the St. Louis Rams in 1999. Yes, the Rams bolted Cleveland the year after they won an NFL title.
Cleveland Browns (1950)
The Cleveland Browns competed in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946-49. They won all four of that league’s titles. The Browns joined the NFL, after the folding of the AAFC, in 1950 and continued their domination. They played for the title from 1950-55, winning in 1950, 1954, and 1955. Much has been made of Tom Brady leading his teams to ten title games, winning seven. Otto Graham led the Browns to ten title games in ten seasons, winning seven. Graham did in ten years what Brady did in 23.
The Browns have a strange history in that today’s Browns have really no connection to the initial Browns. Today’s Browns are an expansion team. The initial Browns are in Baltimore as the Ravens.
1946-95: Cleveland Browns
1999-present: Cleveland Browns
San Francisco 49ers (1950)
Like the Browns, the San Francisco 49ers competed in the AAFC from 1946-49. Like the Browns, the 49ers joined the NFL after the folding of the AAFC.
Baltimore Colts (1953)
The Baltimore Colts have a very interesting history. Like the Browns and 49ers, a Baltimore Colts team jumped from the AAFC to the NFL. That Colts team was terrible and folded after a single season. The Baltimore Colts team that’s playing in Indianapolis today can arguably trace it’s roots to an original NFL team. The Dayton Triangles. I’m not going to try and untangle that connection here. For the purpose of this, I’m going with the Baltimore Colts joining the NFL in 1953.
1953-83: Baltimore Colts
1984-present: Indianapolis Colts
An interesting nugget in the Colts interesting history is that owner Carroll Rosenbloom traded the team to Robert Irsay in exchange for the Los Angeles Rams in 1972.
Dallas Cowboys (1960)
As the 1950s came to a close, the NFL felt pretty good and stable with their 12 teams. After three-plus decades of significant struggle, the NFL finally had stability. They had no interest in expanding. The threat of the American Football League changed everything. The new league had what few of the teams in the old league had. Money. The AFL’s owners had serious money and a willingness to spend it. The NFL had established teams, established players, and an established history but the threat posed by the AFL forced the NFL to add teams. The first addition was the Dallas Cowboys to compete with the AFL’s Dallas Texans.
Minnesota Vikings (1961)
The Minnesota Vikings became the NFL’s 14th team in 1961. The NFL’s best and most important team was originally aligned with the AFL. They were supposed to be one of the new league’s original eight teams. They even took part in the new league’s first draft. The NFL successfully pried the Vikings their way.
Atlanta Falcons (1966)
New Orleans Saints (1967)
The NFL-AFL Merger (1970)
One of the most significant events in the NFL’s history was the 1970 merger with the AFL. The merger was originally agreed to in the spring of 1966. A combined title game was played from 1966-69 but the complete merger didn’t take place until 1970. 10 AFL teams joined 16 NFL teams to form one league. The NFL reformed into two conferences. The NFC and the AFC. To balance things, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Colts moved to the AFC.
Kansas City Chiefs (1970)
1960-62: Dallas Texans
1963-present: Kansas City Chiefs
Tennessee Titans (1970)
1960-96: Houston Oilers
1997-98: Tennessee Oilers
1999-present: Tennessee Titans
Buffalo Bills (1970)
1960-present: Buffalo Bills
New England Patriots (1970)
1960-70: Boston Patriots
1971-present: New England Patriots
New York Jets (1970)
1960-62: New York Titans
1963-present: New York Jets
Denver Broncos (1970)
1960-present: Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders (1970)
1960-81: Oakland Raiders
1982-94: Los Angeles Raiders
1995-2019: Oakland Raiders
2020-present: Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers (1970)
1960: Los Angeles Chargers
1961-2016: San Diego Chargers
2017-present: Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins (1970)
1966-present: Miami Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals (1970)
1968-present: Cincinnati Bengals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976)
Seattle Seahawks (1976)
These two teams have felt linked to me as they were the first expansion teams during my time as a fan. An interesting thing about the Buccaneers and Seahawks is that each has spent time in both conferences. Geography be damned, the Buccaneers were jammed into the AFC West in 1976. They’ve been an NFC team since 1977. The Seahawks were in the NFC West in 1976, flipped to the AFC West in 1977, and returned to the NFC West in 2002.
Carolina Panthers (1995)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995)
Baltimore Ravens (1996)
It’s been nearly 30 years and I still can’t think of the Baltimore Ravens and not see the original Cleveland Browns. Nothing about that move felt right. No franchise move feels right but this is a strange one. Baltimore and Cleveland are iconic NFL cities and neither team playing in those cities feels like the ones that should be. It’s also ridiculous that the Ravens have inducted eight former Colts players into the team’s Ring of Honor.
Houston Texans (2002)
From the Chicago Bears and Cardinals to the Houston Texans, the National Football League went from 2 to 32.
The NHL has their “Original Six.” The NFL has an “Original Two.” 14 teams competed in that inaugural 1920 season. Only two of those teams are still competing today. Here’s a look at how the NFL has gone from 2 to 32.
Chicago Bears (1920)
The Chicago Bears got their start as a company team. A.E. Staley had a company that produced a range of starch products. He also had a fondness for sports. His company fielded some teams. In March 1920, George Halas was hired to head the football team. He also put his Chemical Engineering degree to work in the factory but he was really there for the football. When the call came for those with football teams to come to Canton, Halas was there. The team competed as the Decatur Staleys in 1920. The football team turned out to be a significant drain on Staley’s funds. Instead of dumping the team, Halas got his greatest wish. Figuring that a bigger market would be a boost, Staley sent Halas, the team, and $5,000 to Chicago to make a go of professional football. In exchange for the funding, the team would carry the Staley name for a single season. In 1921, the team was known as the Chicago Staleys. George Halas got his football team and the Staley name got the 1921 NFL title. With baseball’s Chicago Cubs in mind, Halas renamed his team the Chicago Bears in 1922.
1920: Decatur Staleys
1921: Chicago Staleys
1922-present: Chicago Bears
Chicago Cardinals (1920)
Dating to the 1890s as a club team, the Cardinals are the NFL’s oldest team by a wide margin. They are also one of the most traveled.
1920-59: Chicago Cardinals
1960-87: St. Louis Cardinals
1988-93: Phoenix Cardinals
1994-present: Arizona Cardinals
Due to the financial and resource struggles during World War II, the Cardinals combined with the Pittsburgh Steelers to compete as a single football team in 1944.
The two Chicago teams are the NFL’s Original Two. It’s always annoying to hear Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers described as the league’s oldest rivalry. How could it be? The Packers weren’t even part of the professional football league during the inaugural season. Bears-Packers is the league’s most contested rivalry. It isn’t the oldest rivalry. That distinction belongs to Bears-Cardinals. During most of the 39 years that the two teams shared Chicago it was one of the most heated.
Green Bay Packers (1921)
The Packers were and are a town team. They were formed in 1919 and competed independently during their first two seasons. In 1921, the Packers joined the APFA/NFL. They almost didn’t get a second season. The Packers were kicked out of the league following their first season for using some players with college eligibility remaining. Cheaters. The Packers made whatever amends needed to be made as they were re-admitted before the 1922 season.
All of the NFL teams struggled greatly during those first couple decades. So many teams came and went. Some of that was intentional. Realizing that the NFL’s future was in bigger cities, league President Joe Carr made a concerted effort to weed out the teams from the smaller towns. Canton, Akron, Pottstown, Hammond, etc. Green Bay is the one town team that survived. It helped that the Packers soon became one of the best teams in the league. Much has been made of the Packers “cute” ownership structure. I’m one of those owners. I have a share of their worthless stock. It’s fun to say and think that I own the Packers. I look forward to attending one of their shareholders meetings in full Vikings gear and just hacking up the process.
New York Giants (1925)
Other than playing home games in New Jersey, there isn’t anything remarkable or notable about the Giants. They have a strong history and a fairly straightforward one.
Detroit Lions (1930)
The Detroit Lions got their NFL start in Portsmouth, Ohio. They soon became one of the league’s best teams. Playing for an NFL title in 1932 and winning one as the Detroit Lions in 1935. It’s tough to believe now but the Lions were a powerhouse in the 1950s. They played in four title games, winning in 1952, 1953, and 1957.
Portsmouth Spartans: 1930-33
Detroit Lions: 1934-present
Washington Commanders (1932)
The freshly named Washington Commanders have a fairly troubling history. That happens when a team is owned by a racist and an idiot. George Preston Marshall was the racist. Daniel Snyder is the idiot.
1932: Boston Braves
1933-36: Boston Redskins
1937-2019: Washington Redskins
2020-2021: Washington Football Team
2022-present: Washington Commanders
Philadelphia Eagles (1933)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1933)
1933-39: Pittsburgh Pirates
1940-present: Pittsburgh Steelers
During the World War II years, the Steelers merged with the Eagles in 1943 to form the awkwardly named “Steagles.” In 1944, the Steelers merged with the Cardinals.
Historically and geographically, the Pennsylvania teams feel linked. They entered the league together. Eagles owner Bert Bell and Steelers owner Art Rooney were terrific friends. They even jointly owned the Steelers for a few years until Bell was elected league Commissioner. The Steelers and Eagles even swapped cities in 1941.
Los Angeles Rams (1937)
The Rams have a well-traveled history. As the Cleveland Rams, they jumped from the second AFL (there have been three AFLs) to the NFL in 1937. From there the team bounced around a bit.
1937-45: Cleveland Rams
1946-94: Los Angeles Rams
1995-2015: St. Louis Rams
2016-present: Los Angeles Rams
During the World War II years, the Rams suspended operations for the 1943 season. One of the interesting things about the Rams is that they won NFL titles in each of the cities that they played. They won as the Cleveland Rams in 1945, as the Los Angeles Rams in 1951 and 2021, and the St. Louis Rams in 1999. Yes, the Rams bolted Cleveland the year after they won an NFL title.
Cleveland Browns (1950)
The Cleveland Browns competed in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946-49. They won all four of that league’s titles. The Browns joined the NFL, after the folding of the AAFC, in 1950 and continued their domination. They played for the title from 1950-55, winning in 1950, 1954, and 1955. Much has been made of Tom Brady leading his teams to ten title games, winning seven. Otto Graham led the Browns to ten title games in ten seasons, winning seven. Graham did in ten years what Brady did in 23.
The Browns have a strange history in that today’s Browns have really no connection to the initial Browns. Today’s Browns are an expansion team. The initial Browns are in Baltimore as the Ravens.
1946-95: Cleveland Browns
1999-present: Cleveland Browns
San Francisco 49ers (1950)
Like the Browns, the San Francisco 49ers competed in the AAFC from 1946-49. Like the Browns, the 49ers joined the NFL after the folding of the AAFC.
Baltimore Colts (1953)
The Baltimore Colts have a very interesting history. Like the Browns and 49ers, a Baltimore Colts team jumped from the AAFC to the NFL. That Colts team was terrible and folded after a single season. The Baltimore Colts team that’s playing in Indianapolis today can arguably trace it’s roots to an original NFL team. The Dayton Triangles. I’m not going to try and untangle that connection here. For the purpose of this, I’m going with the Baltimore Colts joining the NFL in 1953.
1953-83: Baltimore Colts
1984-present: Indianapolis Colts
An interesting nugget in the Colts interesting history is that owner Carroll Rosenbloom traded the team to Robert Irsay in exchange for the Los Angeles Rams in 1972.
Dallas Cowboys (1960)
As the 1950s came to a close, the NFL felt pretty good and stable with their 12 teams. After three-plus decades of significant struggle, the NFL finally had stability. They had no interest in expanding. The threat of the American Football League changed everything. The new league had what few of the teams in the old league had. Money. The AFL’s owners had serious money and a willingness to spend it. The NFL had established teams, established players, and an established history but the threat posed by the AFL forced the NFL to add teams. The first addition was the Dallas Cowboys to compete with the AFL’s Dallas Texans.
Minnesota Vikings (1961)
The Minnesota Vikings became the NFL’s 14th team in 1961. The NFL’s best and most important team was originally aligned with the AFL. They were supposed to be one of the new league’s original eight teams. They even took part in the new league’s first draft. The NFL successfully pried the Vikings their way.
Atlanta Falcons (1966)
New Orleans Saints (1967)
The NFL-AFL Merger (1970)
One of the most significant events in the NFL’s history was the 1970 merger with the AFL. The merger was originally agreed to in the spring of 1966. A combined title game was played from 1966-69 but the complete merger didn’t take place until 1970. 10 AFL teams joined 16 NFL teams to form one league. The NFL reformed into two conferences. The NFC and the AFC. To balance things, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Colts moved to the AFC.
Kansas City Chiefs (1970)
1960-62: Dallas Texans
1963-present: Kansas City Chiefs
Tennessee Titans (1970)
1960-96: Houston Oilers
1997-98: Tennessee Oilers
1999-present: Tennessee Titans
Buffalo Bills (1970)
1960-present: Buffalo Bills
New England Patriots (1970)
1960-70: Boston Patriots
1971-present: New England Patriots
New York Jets (1970)
1960-62: New York Titans
1963-present: New York Jets
Denver Broncos (1970)
1960-present: Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders (1970)
1960-81: Oakland Raiders
1982-94: Los Angeles Raiders
1995-2019: Oakland Raiders
2020-present: Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers (1970)
1960: Los Angeles Chargers
1961-2016: San Diego Chargers
2017-present: Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins (1970)
1966-present: Miami Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals (1970)
1968-present: Cincinnati Bengals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976)
Seattle Seahawks (1976)
These two teams have felt linked to me as they were the first expansion teams during my time as a fan. An interesting thing about the Buccaneers and Seahawks is that each has spent time in both conferences. Geography be damned, the Buccaneers were jammed into the AFC West in 1976. They’ve been an NFC team since 1977. The Seahawks were in the NFC West in 1976, flipped to the AFC West in 1977, and returned to the NFC West in 2002.
Carolina Panthers (1995)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995)
Baltimore Ravens (1996)
It’s been nearly 30 years and I still can’t think of the Baltimore Ravens and not see the original Cleveland Browns. Nothing about that move felt right. No franchise move feels right but this is a strange one. Baltimore and Cleveland are iconic NFL cities and neither team playing in those cities feels like the ones that should be. It’s also ridiculous that the Ravens have inducted eight former Colts players into the team’s Ring of Honor.
Houston Texans (2002)
From the Chicago Bears and Cardinals to the Houston Texans, the National Football League went from 2 to 32.
