Expansion Timeline 1920-present

Number	Year	Team
1	1920	Chicago Cardinals (St. Louis 1960-1988, Arizona Cardinals 1988-present
2	1920	Chicago Bears (Decatur Staleys 1920, Chicago Staleys 1921)
3	1921	Green Bay Packers
4	1925	New York Giants
5	1930	Detroit Lions (Portsmouth Spartans 1930-1933)
6	1932	Washington Redskins (Boston Braves 1932-1936)
7	1933	Pittsburgh Steelers (Pirates 1933-1939)
8	1933	Philadelphia Eagles
9	1937	LA Rams (Cleveland 1936-1945, LA Rams 1946-1994, St. Louis 1995-2018)
10	1950	Cleveland Browns (AAFC team 1946-1949)
11	1950	San Francisco 49’ers (AAFC team 1946-1949)
12	1953	Indianapolis Colts (Baltimore 1953-1981)
13	1960	Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans 1960-1962)
14	1960	Denver Broncos
15	1960	Houston Oilers (retired by NFL 1994)
16	1960	Los Angeles Chargers (San Diego 1961-2018)
17	1960	New York Jets (NY Titans 1960-1962)
18	1960	Buffalo Bills
19	1960	New England Patriots (Boston 1960-1969)
20	1960	Dallas Cowboys
21	1960	Minnesota Vikings
22	1960	Las Vegas Raiders (Oakland 1960-1981 / 1995-2019, LA 1982-1994)
23	1966	Atlanta Falcons
24	1967	Miami Dolphins
25	1968	New Orleans Saints
26	1969	Cincinnati Bengals
27	1976	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28	1977	Seattle Seahawks
29	1995	Carolina Panthers
30	1995	Jacksonville Jaguars
31	1996	Baltimore Ravens
32	1996	Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers moved here)
33	2002	Houston Texans

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

League	Years	Team
AFL	1937-1941	Cincinnati Bengals
AAFC	1947-1949	Baltimore Colts
AAFC	1947-1949	Buffalo Bills

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.