National Football League Expansion 1920-present

All-America Football Conference Logo 1946-1949 [Ref: 8]

Expansion Timeline 1920-present

NumberYearTeam
11920Chicago Cardinals (St. Louis 1960-1988, Arizona Cardinals 1988-present
21920Chicago Bears (Decatur Staleys 1920, Chicago Staleys 1921)
31921Green Bay Packers
41925New York Giants
51930Detroit Lions (Portsmouth Spartans 1930-1933)
61932Washington Redskins (Boston Braves 1932-1936)
71933Pittsburgh Steelers (Pirates 1933-1939)
81933Philadelphia Eagles
91937LA Rams (Cleveland 1936-1945, LA Rams 1946-1994, St. Louis 1995-2018)
101950Cleveland Browns (AAFC team 1946-1949)
111950San Francisco 49’ers (AAFC team 1946-1949)
121953Indianapolis Colts (Baltimore 1953-1981)
131960Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans 1960-1962)
141960Denver Broncos
151960Houston Oilers (retired by NFL 1994)
161960Los Angeles Chargers (San Diego 1961-2018)
171960New York Jets (NY Titans 1960-1962)
181960Buffalo Bills
191960New England Patriots (Boston 1960-1969)
201960Dallas Cowboys
211960Minnesota Vikings
221960Las Vegas Raiders (Oakland 1960-1981 / 1995-2019, LA 1982-1994)
231966Atlanta Falcons
241967Miami Dolphins
251968New Orleans Saints
261969Cincinnati Bengals
271976Tampa Bay Buccaneers
281977Seattle Seahawks
291995Carolina Panthers
301995Jacksonville Jaguars
311996Baltimore Ravens
321996Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers moved here)
332002Houston Texans
National Football League Expansion 1920-present [Ref: 1]

Note: Cleveland Rams were in AFL 1936 before moving over to the NFL in 1937. Cleveland Browms & San Francisco 49’ers were in AAFC (All-America Football Conference 1946-1949) before moving over to NFL in 1950. Baltimore Colts were in AAFC (1947-1949), before moving over to NFL in 1950, but folded in 1951, and were replaced by Dallas Texans (1952), who also folded and the were also replaced by a new team called the Baltimore Colts. The NFL terms each of these teams (Baltimore Colts 1947-1951, Dallas Texans 1952 & Baltimore Colts 1953 onwards) as separate teams.

Note 2: The AFL (American Football League) of 1960-1969 was so successful it merged with the NFL in 1970, and played the Super Bowl between the two Leagues since 1966. All of the teams added in 1960 (bar Dallas Cowboys & Minnesota Vikings) were originally mermbers of the AFL.

Team Names the NFL reused form Other Leagues

LeagueYearsTeam
AFL1937-1941Cincinnati Bengals
AAFC1947-1949Baltimore Colts
AAFC1947-1949Buffalo Bills
National Football League team names reused from Other Leagues [Ref: 2-7]

References

Bibliography

[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings” 2014 Official NFL Record & Factbook” pg. 350-399. National football League, Time Home Entertainment. 2014.

Websites

[2] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League Standings (1936-37) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-standings-1936-37/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[3] Bob Gill, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1989) Back Before Bengalmania – Cincinnati’s First Brush with the Big Time – [Internet] Available from: http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/11-05-379.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2018]

[4] Pro Football Archives (2019) 1938 | American Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1938.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]

[5] Pro Football Archives (2019) 1939 | American Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1939.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]

[6] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League (1940-1941) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-1940-1941/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[7] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Standings (1946-1949) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/all-america-football-conference-aafc-standings-1946-1949/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]

Images

[8] Wikipedia (2018) All-America Football Conference Logo [Internet] Available from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/All-America_Football_Conference_%28logo%29.png [Accessed 8 October 2018]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Decy Maher.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish, North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 6 March 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.

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