On this date, we show a lengthy legacy directly reflecting united states society through the nfl. Professional american football leagues besides the nfl. While the nfl had an informal farm system in the pre. These organizations are exempt whether or not they administer a. Twelve of the strongest professional clubs of the time joined in the league, and the. Pfra professional football researchers association. 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. Black contributions to american professional football are. As a result, more sportspeople can afford to make athleticism. List of leagues of american football american football. Phillies formed professional football teams, joining the pittsburgh stars in the first attempt at a pro football league, named the national football league. 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. He played for the shelby blues of the ohio league from 1902 to 1906.
Davidson officially launched the world football league at chicago, october 2, 1973. In 1920 the american professional football association was formed. The team was reportedly for sale with the intent of relocation, and one of the men who approached the. These are the links to the main professional sports leagues, they are the management with whom the players and referees unions neg0tiate. Apr 27, 2020 english football league efl, english professional football soccer organization. In recent decades, it has been in the shadow of its largest competitor, the national football league.
Professional american football leagues besides the nfl dummies. For decades, though, the growth of canadian football was slow to change from its rugby traditions. In davidsons sports memoir, breaking the game wideopen, his view for another football league had been a. 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. It was the first major competitor to the national football league. List of american and canadian football leagues wikipedia. These organizations are exempt whether or not they administer a pension fund for football players. 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. Arena football is a fastpaced, offenseoriented, indoor sport played. A year later, several veteran team operators in the midwest formed a league titled the united indoor football association and enjoyed four years of. A guide to the leagues and cups of english football. It was the toplevel football league in england from its foundation until 1992. The blueblooded philadelphian was the son of the state attorney general, john c.
Unnamed professional league, 1945 united football league, 19611964. Its first president was jim thorpe, an outstanding american athlete who was also a player in the league. A history of americas new national pastime chronicles the nfls growth in an insightful manner that is valuable to all nfl fans. 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. Find out the latest news stories, results and fixtures for your favourite football leagues and cups on bbc sport. American professional football association ohio history. The league was formed in 1888, largely through the efforts of william mcgregor, known afterward as the father of the league.
Newly formed professional football league pfl launching. The simplest way to solve this issue is to move the page to this. The original teams were duquesne ironmen pennsylvania, melvindale redskins michigan, toledo tornadoes, dayton triangles ohio and newark rams new jersey. Spfl official site of scottish professional football league. American football league american football database fandom. Primary nav official site of the national football league.
The athletics won the first night football game ever played, 390 over kanaweola ac at elmira, new york, november 21. The nfls official encyclopedic history of professional. The history of fantasy football fantasy footballers podcast. Pyle and starring hall of fame halfback red grange, the shortlived league with nine teams competed against the more established nfl both for players. Some surviving indoor leagues include the american arena league, champions indoor football, indoor football league, and national arena league. The pro football hall of fame was dedicated at canton, ohio, september 7 1963. 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. North american football was born in canada in the 1860s. 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.
Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations or teams can command large incomes. All three teams claimed the pro championship for the year. Find out the latest news stories, results and fixtures for your favourite football teams on bbc sport. 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. 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. Founded in 1888 as the football league, the league is the oldest such competition in world football. We have links below to many sports fan opinions about the best in nfl history. 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. Pacific coast professional football league, 19401948. 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.
Other top european leagues include ligue 1 france, scottish premier league scotland, liga i romania, and the primeira liga portugal. Professional football leagues internal revenue service. All the league sites have a news section that would include news about collective bargaining negotiations and other related labor news. 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. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. It consists of the national league founded in 1876 and the american league founded. History of football football history pro football hall of. 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. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. 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.
In 2003, two businessmen in texas created the sixteam intense football league. The pyramid works because professional football in england does not work on a franchise model. Professional indoor football league pifl home facebook. 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. 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. The top clubs in eredivisie are afc ajax, psv, and feyenoord. 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. Football history timeline see what made football great.
This is done through a structure that varies by league. Professional football leagues under irc 501c6 section 501c6 of the internal revenue code specifically defines professional football leagues as exempt organizations under that section. If the item contains the note nr, i havent read the. American association 19361941 american football league 19461950 3. A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams. Pro football or the national football league originated in 1869 from a combination of rugby and soccer. Eredivisie this is the number one professional football league in the netherlands. Professional indoor football league pifl, prospect, tennessee. 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. As football seasonsin leagues from pop warner to the prosget underway, washington post sports columnist sally jenkins provides a list of five mustreads for better understanding the history. 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. Football history pro football hall of fame official site. The national football league had grown to become one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the united states.
Diehard american football fans can watch games in the summer months, footballs traditional offseason, and watch games in countries other than the united states. 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. 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. The nfls official encyclopedic history of professional football. They operated as a professional football franchise from 19201922, then again from 19231926. The english football league efl is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from england and wales. The nfls official encyclopedic history of professional football national football league properties, inc on. There were four unrelated leagues over history named american football league. The early years of pro football, apfa games averaged crowds of 4,241. 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. The english football league efl is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from england and wales. The black cyclone, was the first black professional football player.
The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Major league baseball is the highest level of play of baseball in north america. November 8, 2019 the new issue of the coffin corner volume 41, number 5 available to members only pfraternizing. Twelve of the strongest professional clubs of the time joined in the league, and the first seasons championship was won by preston north end. The history of american football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Black contributions in professional american football are many. 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. Green bay defeated oakland 3314 in super bowl ii at miami, january 14. One of the most ambitious and shortlived endeavors in professional sports history, the united states football league was founded in. Some are made up of a board of governors that have a commissioner or president, while others are.
Indoor arena league football also boasted a philadelphia representative, the soul, from 2004 to 2008 and since 2011. 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. The history of professional football is dominated by the debate over the best alltime pro football player, coach or team. 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.
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. Although hockey is held up as canadas number one sport, the cfl has enjoyed as rich and storied a tradition in canadian sports history. 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. Major professional sports leagues of the united states and. The national football league nfl isnt the only professional american football league. American professional football association ohio history central.
During the early years, blacks were banned from the nfl. 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. Weve got goal machines, defensive walls and midfield maestros, its all in the numbers. In addition, there are sections on statistic leaders for roughly each decade, what teams players played on. Dec 25, 2017 the pyramid works because professional football in england does not work on a franchise model. Pro football journalists, employees of the afl, and raider season tickets holders filled the room for the inaugural draft that august. Most data provided by 247 baseball, creators of the espn pro football encyclopedia. Association of professional football leagues wikipedia. 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. English football league efl, english professional football soccer organization.
English football league british soccer organization. The league grew from six to eight, to ten teams without ever having a game go unplayed for five seasons. 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 football is born on august 20, 1920, seven men, including legendary allaround athlete and football star jim thorpe, meet to organize. 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. As we enter the 2009 nfl season, we know that the history of professional football will continue to be written every sunday this fall. History of football football history pro football hall. Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional sports leagues in the united states wikipedia. 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. 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. How the sport and the league arrived to this point is chronicled in this wellresearched and wellwritten book by richard c.
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