The nfls official encyclopedic history of professional football national football league properties, inc on. The panhandles were one of the first professional football teams to join the american professional football association, renamed the national football league, when it formed in 1920. Pacific coast professional football league, 19401948. Professional sports leagues in the united states wikipedia. The top clubs in eredivisie are afc ajax, psv, and feyenoord. The simplest way to solve this issue is to move the page to this. Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. History of football football history pro football hall of.
American professional football association ohio history central. Arena football is a fastpaced, offenseoriented, indoor sport played. American association 19361941 american football league 19461950 3. The first american football league afl, sometimes called afl i, aflg, or the grange league, was a professional american football league that operated in 1926. Pfra professional football researchers association. Pyle and starring hall of fame halfback red grange, the shortlived league with nine teams competed against the more established nfl both for players. During the early years, blacks were banned from the nfl.
Nov 07, 2019 these are the links to the main professional sports leagues, they are the management with whom the players and referees unions neg0tiate. As a result, more sportspeople can afford to make athleticism. Professional football leagues under irc 501c6 section 501c6 of the internal revenue code specifically defines professional football leagues as exempt organizations under that section. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations or teams can command large incomes. In recent decades, it has been in the shadow of its largest competitor, the national football league. Its first president was jim thorpe, an outstanding american athlete who was also a player in the league.
Pro football journalists, employees of the afl, and raider season tickets holders filled the room for the inaugural draft that august. The nfls official encyclopedic history of professional. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Other top european leagues include ligue 1 france, scottish premier league scotland, liga i romania, and the primeira liga portugal. List of american and canadian football leagues wikipedia. Spfl official site of scottish professional football league. The black cyclone, was the first black professional football player. The english football league efl is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from england and wales. Football history timeline see what made football great. Association of professional football leagues wikipedia. The apfa, by 1922 known as the national football league, has remained the predominant professional football league in the united states, and, effectively, the entire world. In davidsons sports memoir, breaking the game wideopen, his view for another football league had been a. History of football football history pro football hall.
As we enter the 2009 nfl season, we know that the history of professional football will continue to be written every sunday this fall. For decades, though, the growth of canadian football was slow to change from its rugby traditions. Phillies formed professional football teams, joining the pittsburgh stars in the first attempt at a pro football league, named the national football league. Unnamed professional league, 1945 united football league, 19611964. American professional football association ohio history. It was the toplevel football league in england from its foundation until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the premier league. English football league efl, english professional football soccer organization. Eredivisie this is the number one professional football league in the netherlands. May 02, 2015 andrew zimbalist talked by remote video from northampton, massachusetts, about the tax exempt status of professional sports leagues after the national football leagues recent announcement that.
How the sport and the league arrived to this point is chronicled in this wellresearched and wellwritten book by richard c. In 1920 the american professional football association was formed. The pyramid works because professional football in england does not work on a franchise model. Green bay defeated oakland 3314 in super bowl ii at miami, january 14. Primary nav official site of the national football league. The major professional sports leagues, or simply major leagues, in canada and united states are the highest professional competitions of team sports in the two countries.
The official facebook page of the professional indoor football league pifl. It had been four years since the other two pro grid leagues, the 50something national football league melded the 10year old american football league into a 26team superpower. A guide to the leagues and cups of english football. Professional american football leagues besides the nfl dummies. These organizations are exempt whether or not they administer a pension fund for football players. These organizations are exempt whether or not they administer a. If the item contains the note nr, i havent read the. Black contributions in professional american football are many.
One franchise that did not share in the success of the league was the chicago cardinals, who were overshadowed by the more popular chicago bears. Professional american football leagues besides the nfl. Major league baseball is the highest level of play of baseball in north america. Davidson officially launched the world football league at chicago, october 2, 1973. The pro football hall of fame was dedicated at canton, ohio, september 7 1963. These are the links to the main professional sports leagues, they are the management with whom the players and referees unions neg0tiate. Professional indoor football league pifl home facebook. Football history pro football hall of fame official site. With a foreword by former league official steve ehrhart, the book tells the story of the usfl in the words of the players, coaches, owners and administrators who made the league so much fun. The original teams were duquesne ironmen pennsylvania, melvindale redskins michigan, toledo tornadoes, dayton triangles ohio and newark rams new jersey. Founded in 1888 as the football league, the league is the oldest such competition in world football.
Weve got goal machines, defensive walls and midfield maestros, its all in the numbers. The nfls official encyclopedic history of professional football. Feb, 2020 professional football leagues under irc 501c6 section 501c6 of the internal revenue code specifically defines professional football leagues as exempt organizations under that section. On this date, we show a lengthy legacy directly reflecting united states society through the nfl. The league was formed in 1888, largely through the efforts of william mcgregor, known afterward as the father of the league. Some surviving indoor leagues include the american arena league, champions indoor football, indoor football league, and national arena league.
The following is a partial list of american football leagueoriented books that are currently in the archives of the american football league hall of fame. All three teams claimed the pro championship for the year. Also included are the aafl teams of the late 1940s, and which of those teams merged with the nfl. This is a list of professional sports leagues a sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams. He played for the shelby blues of the ohio league from 1902 to 1906. Twelve of the strongest professional clubs of the time joined in the league, and the. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. The national football league had grown to become one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the united states. North american football was born in canada in the 1860s. This is done through a structure that varies by league.
The history of professional football is dominated by the debate over the best alltime pro football player, coach or team. Twelve of the strongest professional clubs of the time joined in the league, and the first seasons championship was won by preston north end. List of professional sports leagues list of professional sports organizations as we are seeing with the discussion regarding the mma organizations, it is causing this page to be less than inclusive. The association of professional football leagues was a compact formed in 1946 among the national football league and three minor leagues of professional american football. American football conference was a fall semiprofessional football league that fully organized in september 1959 with five independent teams who played the other teams sporadically. Apr 27, 2020 english football league efl, english professional football soccer organization. Find out the latest news stories, results and fixtures for your favourite football teams on bbc sport.
Indoor american football leagues outside the auspices of the arena football league have historically played at a level somewhere on the margins between minor professional and semi professional. It was the first major competitor to the national football league. The early years of pro football, apfa games averaged crowds of 4,241. Professional football is born on august 20, 1920, seven men, including legendary allaround athlete and football star jim thorpe, meet to organize.
November 8, 2019 the new issue of the coffin corner volume 41, number 5 available to members only pfraternizing. Find out the latest news stories, results and fixtures for your favourite football leagues and cups on bbc sport. Both games have their origin in multiple varieties of football played in britain in the mid19th century, in which a football is kicked at a goal or kicked over a line, which in turn were based on the varieties of english public school football games. There were four unrelated leagues over history named american football league. The blueblooded philadelphian was the son of the state attorney general, john c. American football league american football database fandom. Diehard american football fans can watch games in the summer months, footballs traditional offseason, and watch games in countries other than the united states. The major sports leagues tend to have the greatest fan interest, have national tv contracts, draw high fan attendance, and have teams located throughout the largest metropolitan areas in the united states major league baseball. The league grew from six to eight, to ten teams without ever having a game go unplayed for five seasons. In 2003, two businessmen in texas created the sixteam intense football league. It consists of the national league founded in 1876 and the american league founded.
An update from george bozeka on the 2020 pfra convention at the pro football hall of fame in canton, ohio from june 1821 next year that will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the nfl, including information on the special hotel discount and a list of events and. Apr 19, 2017 winkenbach took his exciting new idea back to the bay area where he started the first league in 1963 named the greater oakland professional pigskin prognosticators league or gopppl, for shortish. The evolution from a haphazard collection of teams in big and small cities to the much more rigid structure it is in the present was gradual. Professional indoor football league pifl, prospect, tennessee. We have links below to many sports fan opinions about the best in nfl history. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. It was the toplevel football league in england from its foundation until 1992. Diehard american football fans can watch games in the summer months, football s traditional offseason, and watch games in countries other than the united states. Challengers from rival leagues the world football leagues bell in 197475 and the usfls stars in 198485 proved no competition to the fans devout attachment to the eagles. While the nfl had an informal farm system in the pre. Pro football or the national football league originated in 1869 from a combination of rugby and soccer. The simplest way to solve this issue is to move the page to this name and thus, what is a league, ceases to be a problem. All the league sites have a news section that would include news about collective bargaining negotiations and other related labor news. There is no doubt that professional football is the most popular sport in america now and the national football league is one of the most successful enterprises in the world.
Needing a leader with greater business acumen, team owners replaced thorpe with columbus panhandles owner joe carr, and in 1922, the apfa rebranded itself as the national football league. A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams. Professional football leagues internal revenue service. A year later, several veteran team operators in the midwest formed a league titled the united indoor football association and enjoyed four years of.
The history of fantasy football fantasy footballers podcast. Although individual sports such as golf, tennis, auto racing, and gymnastics are also very popular, the term is usually limited to team sports the term major league was first used in 1921 in reference to major league. One of the most ambitious and shortlived endeavors in professional sports history, the united states football league was founded in. This thorough research by richard crepeau does more than provide historical facts, it explains the leagues business from an economic and media perspective in a way that no other book has. Aug 16, 2019 professional football is born on august 20, 1920, seven men, including legendary allaround athlete and football star jim thorpe, meet to organize a professional football league at the jordan and. They operated as a professional football franchise from 19201922, then again from 19231926. The team was reportedly for sale with the intent of relocation, and one of the men who approached the. Indoor arena league football also boasted a philadelphia representative, the soul, from 2004 to 2008 and since 2011. In addition, there are sections on statistic leaders for roughly each decade, what teams players played on. The athletics won the first night football game ever played, 390 over kanaweola ac at elmira, new york, november 21. Most data provided by 247 baseball, creators of the espn pro football encyclopedia.
Andrew zimbalist talked by remote video from northampton, massachusetts, about the tax exempt status of professional sports leagues after the national football leagues recent announcement that. The national football league nfl isnt the only professional american football league. The professional football league pfl was founded in october 2017 and is set to launch its inaugural season in spring 2018 joined by an elite group of. The english football league efl is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from england and wales. English football league british soccer organization. The history of american football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Newly formed professional football league pfl launching. Some are made up of a board of governors that have a commissioner or president, while others are. Major professional sports leagues of the united states and. Black contributions to american professional football are.
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