14 Teams Formed the "14 Original NFL Towns"

Published on June 30th, 2022 11:11 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


The NFL was started back in 1920 in an office at a car dealership.

The NFL, which was originally known as the American Professional Football Association, initially started with 10 teams.

Four more teams were added over the course of the 1920 season, to form what the NFL now regards as the "14 Original NFL Towns".

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The first season of the NFL in 1920 was an absolute mess.

Teams were left to make their own schedules, which meant that there was an uneven number of games played by the 14 different teams.

In addition, a number of the teams didn't even finish the year - in fact, the Muncie Flyers would only play one game, losing by a score of 45-0.

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The "14 Original NFL Towns" were:

Akron Pros
Decatur Staleys
Buffalo All-Americans
Chicago Cardinals
Rock Island Independents
Dayton Triangles
Rochester Jeffersons
Canton Bulldogs
Detroit Heralds
Cleveland Tigers
Chicago Tigers
Hammond Pros
Columbus Panhandles
Muncie Flyers

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Of the 14 original teams, only two still exist today - the Chicago Cardinals (now known as the Arizona Cardinals) and the Decatur Staleys (now known as the Chicago Bears).

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The Green Bay Packers existed in 1919, though they officially joined the league in 1921, meaning that they weren't one of the original NFL teams.

In 1921, a number of other teams were added to the league as well, including the likes of the Louisville Brecks, Minneapolis Marines and Cincinnati Celts, to name a few.