History Of American Nfl Football

With steady game attendance and stellar television ratings, the National Football League, or NFL, remains relevant after close to a century of existence. Part of its success lies in the NFL's ability to adapt. In the beginning, the game looked little as it does in the 21st century. In the late 1800s, the sport used rugby rules and allowed professional and nonprofessional players on its teams.

Beginnings

The roots of professional football stretch back to the late 1800s. By the early 20th century, the sport contained a number of teams but no formal association or codified rules; that changed with the formation of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. In 1921, the organization created stricter rules regarding team territorial rights, standings and membership criteria. In 1922, the American Professional Football Association became the National Football League.

American Football League

Lamar Hunt, along with Bud Adams and other prominent businessmen, organized the American Football League, or AFL, in 1959. Its original teams were the New York Titans, Dallas Texans, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Minneapolis Vikings and Houston Oilers; teams in Boston and Buffalo joined later. When the Vikings became part of the NFL in 1960, the AFL replaced them with a new team: the Oakland Raiders. Joe Foss became the first AFL commissioner. In 1966, the Miami Dolphins became the AFL's first expansion team.

NFL-AFL Merger

The initial relationship between the established NFL and upstart AFL was acrimonious. The AFL sued the NFL with conspiracy and monopoly charges; a judge eventually ruled in favor of the NFL. In 1966, Lamar Hunt began negotiating a merger between the two leagues. They struck a deal to begin playing a yearly AFL-NFL World Championship Game, from 1967 through 1969. The first championship game took place in 1967 between Green Bay and Kansas City; the Packers won. In 1969, the two leagues merged completely. Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh joined the AFL, which became the American Football Conference in 1970.

Modern Era

The modern era of professional football began with the merger between the leagues. A series of changes occurred, including the addition of jerseys with players' names, scoreboard clocks and a national primetime broadcast on Monday Night Football. The use of instant replay began in 1986, was halted in 1992 and returned seven years later. The NFL restructured in 2001, because of the addition of the Houston Texans expansion team. For the 2002 season, the league divided its 32 teams into eight divisions of four teams each.