The National Football League or NFL was started in 1920. The NFL eventually merged with the newer AFL or American Football league that was started in 1958. The NFL- AFL merger in 1970 combined the two, but the new league continued with the name the National Football League. Eventually this league would end up with the 32 current teams we have now. The current NFL has two Conferences, the AFC or American Football Conference and the NFC or the National Football Conference, and the winner of each conference go on to play in the championship game called the Super Bowl.
In 1920, the American Professional Football Association or the APFA was created. The APFA only lasted two seasons before being renamed the National Football League in 1922. The Green Bay Packers started in 1919 by Curly Lambeau joined in 1921. The Packers stands as the oldest continuous franchise under the same name in the same location. The only two current teams that are founding members, the Chicago Bears who used to be the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals who are now the Arizona Cardinals.
Eventually by 1934 all the small town NFL teams moved to larger cities or were replaced by teams in big cities. The Green Bay Packers were they only exception. College Football used to always be the bigger attraction until after World War II, when the NFL started to rival College for fans. Rule changes helped in the push to make it a better game to watch. “The Greatest Game Ever Played” was a championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants in 1958 was the first football game televised nationwide also helped increase it’s Popularity.
The 1950s were when NFL earned it’s place as a major sport. In the 1960s the NFL had reached the top of the charts for spectator sports surpassing the MLB. In the 70s and 80s the NFL solidified its top ranking. In 1970, the NFL and AFL merged, then the 10 AFL teams joined with three other NFL teams to become the AFC. Thirteen other teams then joined to become the NFC.
In conclusion the NFL was an idea that was hindered by World War I then actually started in the 1920s. It took 40 years to become as popular as it is today, and it didn’t start getting popular until after World War II. Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. The Hall of Fame is celebrating 50 years this year. Only two original teams are still in the league.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Football_League
http://www.profootballhof.com/history/Decade_by_Decade_1920s.aspx
http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/CFL_NFL_NFL_History.htm
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