Major League Teams 1873-Present
| Number | Team | Year Formed |
| 1 | Toronto Argonauts (CFL) | 1873 |
| 2 | Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) | 1876 |
| 3 | Watertown Red & Black (FWS)[1] | 1896 |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals (NFC) | 1898 |
| 5 | Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) | 1910 |
| 6 | Green Bay Packers (NFC) | 1919 |
| 7 | Chicago Bears (NFC) | 1920 |
| 8 | New York Giants (NFC) | 1924 |
| 9 | Detroit Lions (NFC) | 1929 |
| 10 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) | 1930 |
| 11 | Washington Redskins (NFC)[2] | 1932 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC) | 1933 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles (NFC) | 1933 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams (NFC) | 1936 |
| 15 | Edmonton Eskimoes (CFL) | 1938 |
| 16 | Calgary Stampeders (CFL) | 1945 |
| 17 | Montreal Alouettes (CFL) | 1946 |
| 18 | Cleveland Browns (AFC) | 1949 |
| 19 | San Francisco 49ers (NFC) | 1949 |
| 20 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) | 1950 |
| 21 | Indianapolis Colts (AFC) | 1953 |
| 22 | British Columbia Lions (CFL) | 1954 |
| 23 | Kansas City Chiefs (AFC) | 1960 |
| 24 | Denver Broncos (AFC) | 1960 |
| 25 | Houston Oilers (AFC)[3] | 1960 |
| 26 | Los Angeles Chargers (AFC) | 1960 |
| 27 | New York Jets (AFC) | 1960 |
| 28 | Buffalo Bills (AFC) | 1960 |
| 29 | New England Patriots (AFC) | 1960 |
| 30 | Dallas Cowboys (NFC) | 1960 |
| 31 | Oakland Raiders (AFC) | 1960 |
| 32 | Minnesota Vikings (NFC) | 1961 |
| 33 | Atlanta Falcons (NFC) | 1966 |
| 34 | Miami Dolphins (AFC) | 1967 |
| 35 | New Orleans Saints (NFC) | 1968 |
| 36 | Cincinnati Bengals (AFC) | 1969 |
| 37 | Seattle Seahawks (NFC) | 1976 |
| 38 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC) | 1976 |
| 39 | Tennessee Titans (AFC) | 1995 |
| 40 | Carolina Panthers (NFC) | 1995 |
| 41 | Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC) | 1995 |
| 42 | Baltimore Ravens (AFC) | 1996 |
| 43 | Houston Texans (AFC) | 2002 |
| 44 | Condors CDMX (LFAM) | 2016 |
| 45 | Mayas CDMX (LFAM) | 2016 |
| 46 | Mexicas CDMX (LFAM) | 2016 |
| 47 | Raptors de Edomex (LFAM) | 2016 |
| 48 | Fundidores de Monterrey (LFAM) | 2017 |
| 49 | Osos de Toulca (LFAM) | 2018 |
| 50 | Artilleros de Puebla (LFAM) | 2018 |
| 51 | Pioneros de Queretaro (LFAM) | 2018 |
| 52 | Las Vegas Raiders (AFC) | 2020 |
| 53 | Washington Football Team (NFC) | 2020 |
Notes
[1] Watertown Red and Black competed in the World Series of Football in 1902 and 1903. The team is still around playing in the Empire Football League (New York City / New Jersey). It is like the Notts County of American Football.
[2] Washington Redskins were formed in 1932 as the Boston Braves, and moved to Washington changing their nickname in 1936. They retired their logo and nickname in 2020 under pressure from Native American groups who saw it as racist. Team provisionally renamed Washington Football Team is considered as separate team by Eirball like the Tennessee Titans / Houston Oilers.
[3] Houston Oilers name retired by the National Football League in 1995 after they moved to Tennessee and renamed themselves the Titans. Eirball considers them separate teams.
Report
The first Major League Football teams still in existence were formed in Canada in the late 19th century (Toronto Argonauts 1873 and Ottawa 1876), and later that century the first Major League American Football teams – Watertown Red and Black, who played in the first World Series of Football in 1902 and are still in existence in the Empire Football League in New York City / New Jersey – like the Notts County of American Football.
The Arizona Cardinals were the fourth team formed as the Morgan Athletic Club in an Irish neighborhood of Chicago, later becoming the Normals, then the Chicago Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Cardinals.
The National Football League was formed in 1920 with the Green bay Packers, Chicago Cardinals (now Arizona) and Chicago Bears among early members and during the first half of the 20th Century the NFL and Canadian Football League each added teams (up to 12 in the case of the NFL and 9 in the case of the CFL).
In 1960 the American Football League started in the Western half of America primarily, which had been neglected by the NFL. By 1970 when the NFL and AFL merged as the National Football Conference and American Football Conference in the NFL in 1970, playing the Super Bowl between the winners, the two leagues had 26 teams between them, including the first teams in the South other than in Texas, Washington DC and Baltimore.
In 1976 there was a small expansion in the NFL when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks were added, but the next big expansion had to wait until the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2002 the NFL added five teams in the Southern states of America, bringing the total up to 32.
In the 1910s the Liga Football Americano de Mexico was started, which is the first Professional Football League to gain Major League recognition (from the CFL). It currently has 8 teams and was followed in 2020 by the Raiders starting a new life in Las Vegas and the Washington Football Team retiring the Redskins name and logo.
References
Bibliography
[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings” 2014 Official NFL Record & Factbook” pg. 350-399. National football League, Time Home Entertainment. 2014.
[2] Maher, Todd & Gill, Bob (2013) Canadian Pro Football EncyclopediaHistorical Highlights pg. 1-2. Maher Sports Media, 2013.
Websites
[3] Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (2018) LFPA Standings [Internet] Available from: http://lfa.mx/home/standings/ [Accessed 20 January 2018]
[4] Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (2018) LFPA Calendario [Internet] Available from: http://lfa.mx/home/calendario/ [Accessed 14 April 2018]
[5] Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (2018) LFPA Standings [Internet] Available from: http://lfa.mx/standings/ [Accessed 14 April 2018]
[6] Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (2018) LFPA Calendario [Internet] Available from: http://lfa.mx/calendario/ [Accessed 14 April 2018]
[7] American Football International (2016) Mayas Win First Liga de Football Americano Championship Game In Mexico [Internet] available from: http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/mayas-win-first-liga-de-futboll-americano-championship-game-mexico/ [accessed 5 August 2018]
[8] LFA Mexico (2019) Standings [Internet] Available from: https://lfa.mx/standings/ [Accessed 15 April 2019]
[10] Liga Football Americano Mexico (2020) Standings [Internet] Available from: https://lfa.mx/standings-lfa-2020/ [Accessed 17 April 2020]
[11] Watertown Red and Black (2020) Home [Internet] Available from: https://www.watertownredandblack.com/ [Accessed 30 August 2020]
Internet Archive
[12] Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (2018) LFPA Standings [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20161106181310/http://lfa.mx/home/standings/ [Accessed 20 January 2018]
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: 30 August 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.AdvertisementsAdvertisements