NFL Major League Teams Timeline 1920-present
| Number | Teams | Years Active |
| American Pro Football Association 1920-1921 | ||
| 1 | Chicago Cardinals | 1898-1959 |
| 2 | Chicago Bears | 1920-present [1] |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 1921-present |
| 4 | New York Giants | 1921; 1924-1973 [2] |
| National Football League Era 1922-1959 | ||
| 5 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 1930-1943 |
| 6 | Portsmouth Spartans | 1930-1933 [3] |
| 7 | Boston Braves | 1932 [4] |
| 8 | Boston Redskins | 1933-1936 [4] |
| 9 | Cincinnati Reds | 1933 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1933-1939 [5] |
| 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1933-present |
| 12 | St. Louis Gunners | 1933 |
| 13 | Detroit Lions | 1934-present [3] |
| 14 | Green Bay Packers (Milwaukee) | 1935-1984 [6] |
| 15 | Phildelphia Eagles (Johnstown, PA) | 1936 * |
| 16 | Washington Redskins | 1937-present [4] |
| 17 | Cleveland Rams | 1937-1944 [7] |
| 18 | Philadelphia Eagles (Buffalo) | 1938 * |
| 19 | Philadelphia Eagles (Erie, PA) | 1938 * |
| 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers (Charleston, West Virginia) | 1938 * |
| 21 | Cleveland Rams (Colorado Springs) | 1939 * |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1940-present [5] |
| 23 | Cleveland Rams (Akron) | 1942 * |
| 24 | Phil-Pitt Steagles | 1943 [8] |
| 25 | Boston Yanks | 1944-1948 |
| 26 | Brooklyn Tigers | 1944 |
| 27 | Card-Pitt | 1944 [9] |
| 28 | Los Angeles Rams | 1946-1981 [10] |
| 29 | New York Bulldogs | 1949 |
| 30 | Cleveland Browns AAFC | 1950-1995 [10] |
| 31 | San Francisco 49’ers | 1950-2013 [10] |
| 32 | Baltimore Colts | 1950-1951 [10] |
| American Football League Era 1950-1988 | ||
| 33 | New York Yanks | 1950-1951 |
| 34 | Dallas Texans | 1952 |
| 35 | Baltimore Colts | 1953-1981 [11] |
| 36 | Dallas Texans | 1960-1962 [12] |
| 37 | Denver Broncos | 1960-present |
| 38 | Houston Oilers | 1960-1995 [13] |
| 39 | Los Angeles Chargers | 1960 [14] |
| 40 | New York Titans | 1960-1962 [16] |
| 41 | Buffalo Bills | 1960-present |
| 42 | Boston Patriots | 1960-1969 [17] |
| 43 | Dallas Cowboys | 1960-present |
| 44 | Oakland Raiders | 1960-1981 [18] |
| 45 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1960-1987 [19] |
| 46 | Minnesota Vikings | 1961-present |
| 47 | San Diego Chargers | 1961-2018 [20] |
| 48 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1963-present |
| 49 | New York Jets | 1963-present |
| 50 | Atlanta Falcons | 1966-present |
| 51 | Miami Dolphins | 1967-present |
| 52 | Boston Patriots (Birmingham) | 1968 * |
| 53 | New Orleans Saints | 1968-present |
| 54 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1969-present |
| 55 | Miami Dolphins (Tampa) | 1969 * |
| 56 | New England Patriots | 1971-present [17] |
| 57 | New York Giants (New Haven, Conn.) | 1973-1975 [21] |
| 58 | New York Giants (New Jersey) | 1976-present [21] |
| 59 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1976-present |
| 60 | Seattle Seahawks | 1976-present |
| 61 | Indianapolis Colts | 1982-present [22] |
| 62 | Los Angeles Raiders | 1982-1994 [23] |
| 63 | Los Angeles Rams (Anaheim) | 1982-1994 [24] |
| 64 | New York Jets (New Jersey) | 1984-present [25] |
| National Football League Europe Era 1988-2005 | ||
| 65 | Phoenix Cardinals | 1988-1993 [26] |
| 66 | Barcelona Dragons | 1991-1992; 1995-2003 |
| 67 | Birmingham Fire | 1991-1992 |
| 68 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 1991-1992; 1995-2007 |
| 69 | London Monarchs | 1991-1992; 1995-1997 |
| 70 | Montreal Machine | 1991-1992 |
| 71 | New York / New Jersey Knights | 1991-1992 |
| 72 | Orlando Thunder | 1991-1992 |
| 73 | Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks | 1991 |
| 74 | Sacramento Surge | 1991-1992 |
| 75 | San Antonio Riders | 1991-1992 |
| 76 | Ohio Glory | 1992 |
| 77 | Arizona Cardinals | 1994-present [26] |
| 78 | Amsterdam Admirals | 1995-2005 |
| 79 | Rhein Fire | 1995-2007 |
| 80 | Scottish Claymores | 1995- |
| 81 | Carolina Panthers | 1995-present |
| 82 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1995-present |
| 83 | St. Louis Rams | 1995-2018 [27] |
| 84 | Oakland Raiders | 1995-2019 [28] |
| 85 | Baltimore Ravens | 1996-present |
| 86 | Tennessee Oilers | 1997 [29] |
| 87 | England Monarchs (Birmingham) | 1998 |
| 88 | England Monarchs (Bristol) | 1998 |
| 89 | England Monarchs (London) | 1998 |
| 90 | Tennessee Titans | 1998 [30] |
| 91 | Berlin Thunder | 1999 |
| 92 | Cleveland Browns (AFC) | 1999-present [31] |
| 93 | Houston Texans | 2002-present |
| 94 | Cologne Centurions | 2004-2007 |
| 95 | New Orleans Saints (Baton Rouge) | 2005 [32] |
| 96 | New Orleans Saints (San Antonio) | 2005 [32] |
| National Football League International Era 2005- | ||
| 97 | Arizona Cardinals (Mexico City) | 2005 [33] |
| 98 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 2006 |
| 99 | Jacksonville Jaguars (London) | 2007-present [34] |
| 100 | Buffalo Bills (Toronto) | 2008-2013 [35] |
| 101 | San Francisco 49’ers (Santa Clara) | 2014-present |
| 102 | Los Angeles Chargers | 2019-present [20] |
| 103 | Los Angeles Rams | 2019-present [36] |
| 104 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2020-present [37] |
Notes:
[1] Originally founded as Decatur Staleys (1920). Became Chicago Staleys (1921) and Bears (1922)
[2] The NFL counts the New York Giants of 1921 and 1924 as separate teams.
[3] Portsmouth Spartans became Detroit Lions in 1934.
[4] Boston Braves became Boston Redskins 1933 and Washington Redskins 1937.
[5] Pittsburgh Pirates became Pittsburgh Steelers 1940.
[6] Green Bay Packers played around half their home games in Milwaukee from 1935-1984.
[7] Cleveland Rams became Los Angeles Rams 1945.
[8] Philadelphia and Pittsburgh played as joint team due to player shortage during WWII. Known as Phil-Pitt and knicknamed “Steagles” by fans.
[9] Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh played as a joint team in 1944 also due to a player shortage. Known as Card-Pitt.
[10] Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49’ers and Baltimore Colts joined NFL from All-America Football Conference (1946-1949)
[11] NFL considers Baltimore Colts of 1951 & 1953 as separate teams.
[12] Dallas Texans became Kansas City Chiefs in 1963.
[13] Moved to Memphis and became Tennessee Oilers in 1996. name retired by NFL.
[14] Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego in 1961.
[15] Minneapolis were awarded a team for the AFL in 1960, but later resigned from the League and were awarded a team for the NFL to begin play in 1961.
[16] New York Titans changed name to New York Jets 1963.
[17] Boston Patriots moved outside Boston in Massachusetts in 1970 and changed name to New England Patriots.
[18] Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles (Anaheim) in 1982.
[19] Chicago Cardinals became St. Louis Cardinals in 1960.
[20] San Diego Chargers moved back to Los Angeles in 2019.
[21] New York Giants moved to New Haven, Connecticut in 1973, and East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1975.
[23] Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1982.
[24] Los Angeles Rams moved to Anaheim in 1982.
[25] New York Jets moved into Giants Stadium, New Jersey in 1984.
[26] St. Louis Cardinals moved to Phoenix in 1988 and then moved to Tempe, Arizona and became Arizona Cardinals in 1994.
[27] Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis 1995.
[28] Los Angeles Raiders moved back to Oakland 1995.
[29] Houston Oilers moved to Memphis becoming the Tennessee Oilers in 1997.
[30] Tennessee Oilers moved to Nashville becoming Tennessee Titans in 1998.
[31] The Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996, and were renamed the Ravens. The NFL placed a new team in Cleveland in 1999, and gave them the Cleveland Browns name and history.
[32] The New Orleans Saints played their Home matches in Baton Rouge (Louisiana) and San Antonio (Texas) in 2005 due to the Super Dome in New Orleans being unplayable as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
[33] The Arizona Cardinals were the designated Home Team for an NFL International Regular Season match in Mexico City in 2005.
[34] The Jacksonville Jaguars were the designated Home Team for NFL International Regular Season matches in London from 2007 to present. nicknamed the “Union Jags” by fans.
[35] The Buffalo Bills were the designated Home Team for NFL International Regular Season matches in Toronto from 2008 to 2013.
[36] St. Louis Rams moved back to Los Angeles in 2019.
[37] Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020.
*Single Home match played at the venue indicated.
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]
[2] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 1998 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id173.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[3] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 1999 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id174.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[4] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2000 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id175.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[5] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2001 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id176.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[6] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2002 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id177.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[7] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2003 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id178.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[8] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2004 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id179.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[9] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2005 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id180.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[10] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2006 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id181.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[11] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2007 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id182.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
Images
[8] National Football League (2019) Division Standings | 2019 | Preseason [Internet] Available from: https://www.nfl.com/standings/division/2019/PRE [Accessed 12 August 2019]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Decy Maher and John Kane.
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish, North American & World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 7 March 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
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