NFL was started in Canton,ohio on September 17, 1920
by a group of enterprising men. Initially NFL was known as American
Professional Football Association (AFPA). American Professional
Football Association later got rechristened as National Football League
(NFL) in 1922 and became America's favorite sport. Jim Thorpe who was a
professional Football player was the first president of NFL and helped
add credibility and pouplarity for the sport.
Actually Pro
Football began in 1892 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when former Yale
star William "Pudge" Heffelfinger was paid a notable sum of $500 to
play in a single game for the Allegheny Athletic Association on
November 12 1892. Then Pro Football was played mostly in the small
towns of Pennsylvania and was mostly a Pennsylvanian sport before it
started becoming popular in the eastern and Midwestern states like Ohio.
Initial
Pro Football days faced several problems including lack of rules,
keeping the players in order and professional recognition. But with the
formation of APFA all the problems started to wade away. Actually there
were 11 franchises were presented at the first APFA meeting. They were
Canton Bulldogs
Decatur Staleys
Chicago Cardinals
Akron Pros
Cleveland Indians
Dayton Triangles
Massillon Tigers
Hammond Pros
Muncie Flyers
Rock Island Independents
Rochester Jeffersons
On September 26, 1920, the first
game featuring a team from the APFA was played at Douglas Park in Rock
Island, Illinois. The Independents were victorious as they rolled to a
48-0 win over the St. Paul Ideals. One week later, two league teams
battled head-to-head for the fist time. The Dayton Triangles beat
Columbus Panhandles, 14-0 in Triangle Park. The Akron Pros, with an
8-0-3 regular season record, were crowned the league's first champion.
Only
two of the original franchises of APFA still exist today. Decatur
Staleys moved to Chicago and their franchise name was changed to the
current Chicago Bears. Chicago Cardinals moved their home to Arizona
and they are known as Arizona Cardinals.
Rameshrajan
was a big fan of NFL. He has experience playing College Football in
California. He had researched the present teams and a collector of NFL
Jerseys and merchandise. One of his famous works include NFL History and NFL Jersey
Subscribe to this comment's feed