When was the NFL founded?

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

After the NFL was founded, they named Jim Thorpe the first president of the league. Thorpe at the time was the most popular athlete in professional sports. Jim Thorpe had a huge following in the professional football world.

When the journey began the NFL was not front page news. Over the years it has grown to be the most popular professional sport organization in the United States.

---

What were the 11 teams that started the NFL?

NFL only started with eleven teams

At the meeting that made the NFL official there were eleven different franchises that were represented. Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Decatur Staleys, Chicago Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Dayton Triangles, Hammond Pros, Massillon Tigers, Muncie Flyers, Rock Island Independents, and Rochester Jeffersons. Ten out of the eleven teams ended up playing the 1920 season.

"Fritz" Pollard passed away 33 years ago OTD. RIP🙏.• One of the first two African-American players in NFL history• Halfback for the Akron Pros, the NFL's inaugural champions in 1920 (then known as APFA)• First black coach in NFL history• PFHOF Class of 2005(📷PFHOF) pic.twitter.com/GyhKLtUBf1

— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) May 11, 2019

The Massillon Tigers ended up withdrawing from professional football before the 1920 season started. By time the 1920 NFL season started four more teams were added. Buffalo All-Americans, Chicago Tigers, Columbus Panhandles, and Detroit Heralds were added to the NFL. After the 1920 season, the Decatur Staleys moved their team to Chicago and became the Chicago Bears.

Two of the teams from the 1920 NFL season still exist to this day. The Chicago Bears and the Chicago Cardinals who are now the Arizona Cardinals. Akron Pros brought home the league's first championship with a record of (8-0-3).

Over the years, the NFL had to survive a lot of instabilities and competition from other organizations. The American professional football league was one of the NFL's biggest rivalries. Both the NFL and AFL merged in 1970 creating a 26-team league.

100 Years Ago TodayReps from 4 football clubs (Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Dayton Triangles) meet in Canton Bulldogs business manager Ralph Hay's office, agreeing to form the American Professional Football Conference (AFPC) — a forerunner to the eventual NFL pic.twitter.com/7vLgkgVYLt

— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) August 20, 2020

Since the merger between the AFL and NFL the league has grown four times adding six new franchises. Some of the biggest cities in the country are home to NFL franchises. The growth of the NFL has been tremendous.

Currently there are 32 teams in the NFL and those 32 teams are broken up into two conferences with four divisions in each conference. The NFL has made massive improvements over the years. They are still making improvements to this day. All the improvements that have been made has helped make NFL the most popular professional sport in America.