September 4, 2019

Tomorrow night, September 5, the Green Bay Packers will play their old rivals, the Chicago Bears, to open the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL). The NFL, the major professional football league in the United States, played its first season in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). In 1922, the association was renamed the National Football League. Since then, the NFL has gained wide popularity, and the league championship—the Super Bowl—is one of the biggest one-day events in American sports.

The National Football League (NFL) is celebrating its 100th season in 2019. Credit: © National Football League

The NFL will mark its 100th season in a variety of ways. The NFL has produced television series that will fill the rosters of the “NFL’s All-Time Team” as well the “NFL 100 Greatest” players. The league will also broadcast a series of interviews with current NFL stars and members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. An NFL program called “Huddle for 100″ will encourage fans to join players and coaches in giving at least 100 minutes of time to help local charities.

The APFA was formed in Canton, Ohio, and included 14 teams based in the Midwest and in New York. The association’s first president was the legendary athlete Jim Thorpe, who also starred for and coached the APFA’s Canton Bulldogs. The Dayton Triangles hosted the first APFA game on Oct. 3, 1920, when they defeated the Columbus Panhandles 14-0. The Akron Professionals won the first APFA championship. Only two teams from that first APFA season, the Racine (Chicago) Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals) and the Decatur Staleys (now the Bears), remain as NFL teams.

Jim Thorpe, seen here in his Canton Bulldogs uniform, was the first president of the American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of the National Football League. Credit: UPI/Bettmann

The 1922 NFL had 18 teams. The number of teams has since varied as the league has expanded and retracted. In 1933, the 10-team NFL split into two divisions. Later that year, the Bears, the Western Division champion, hosted the New York Giants, the Eastern Division champion, at Chicago’s Wrigley Field in the first official NFL Championship Game. (Before 1933, the team with the best season record was named league champion.) The Bears, led by head coach George Halas, fullback Bronco Nagurski, and halfback Red Grange, beat the Giants 23-21.

The first NFL draft of college players took place in February 1936. In October 1939, the first locally televised NFL game featured the Brooklyn Dodgers (not to be confused with the baseball team) and the Philadelphia Eagles. In December 1951, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-17 in the first nationally televised NFL Championship Game.

The creation of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 meant new competition for the NFL. To eliminate bidding wars between the two leagues for players, the AFL and NFL established a common draft in 1966. As an outgrowth of this agreement, the first Super Bowl was played in 1967, with the NFL champion Packers defeating the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs. After continuing to operate separately through 1969, the leagues reached a merger agreement. Under the agreement, all AFL teams entered the NFL in 1970. The expanded NFL consisted of two 13-team conferences. The NFL now consists of 32 teams divided into the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.