History of the National Football League championship

 Histories of the National Football League Championship

The National Football League (NFL), like other American football leagues, has used several formats over the years to determine its league champions. These include inter-league matchups to determine a true champion.

After its 1920 founding, the NFL established a system to determine champions. The league switched from a season standings system to a playoff system. In 1933, a one-game playoff was necessary.

The NFL has merged the rival All-America Football Conference, (AAFC), and American Football League, (AFL). While the NFL currently has two AAFC teams (the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns), records from the AAFC Championship Games are not in the NFL's records. [1][2] In 1960, the AFL was established. Like its rival league it used a playoff to determine its champion.

Prior to 1970's merger, the NFL was joined by the AFL to organize a championship game called the AFLNFL World Championship Game. It was held from 1966 through 1969.

After the merger in 1970, Super Bowl remained the name of the game that determined the NFL champion. The greatest factor in the merger was the inclusion of all ten AFL-affiliated teams in the NFL in 1970. Additionally, all AFL Championship Games and records are in the NFL record book. The NFL Championship Game is now the NFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, the AFL Championship Game is now the AFC Championship Game. In its records, the NFL includes "new" AFC/NFC championship game games alongside the AFL/NFL old championship games.

With 13 NFL championships, the Green Bay Packers hold the record for most NFL titles. They also have 4 Super Bowls. With nine (8 NFL championships, one Super Bowl) and nine (9 overall), the Chicago Bears hold the record for winning the most championships. The AFL World Championship Game in the AFL was won only by the Kansas City Chiefs (New York Jets) and the New York Jets (Kansas City Chiefs).920-1932

A list of NFL champions before 1933 can be found at List of NFL Champions (1920-1969).

In 1920, the NFL did not have a championship or playoff system. The champion was the team with a winning percentage that exceeded the league average. Ties were excluded. It was not uncommon for teams to play six to twenty league games per season.

Four league titles were disputed in the first six seasons of the league. This led to the need for the league's executive board to decide the dispute. In 1920, Akron Pros was undefeated. They tied three games. But two teams with more wins (and who had both tied Akron), Buffalo All-Americans or Decatur Staleys petitioned the league to share the title. Both petitions were denied. Akron won the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup, which is the only one. According to tie-breaking rules of today, Akron would be co-champions with Buffalo. [3] Akron awarded each member of their team with a gold medallion. [4]

The next matchup was in the 1921 NFL Season between the same All-Americans & Staleys (with Staleys now being based out of Chicago). Although Buffalo insisted that the previous matchup between them was an exhibition game and not count towards the standings of the league, Chicago owner George Halas along with league management demanded the game be added to the standings. (The league at the time did not recognize exhibition matches). The outcome was that the two teams ended up tied in the standings. However, the disputed game was given more weight because it was played later and was therefore considered a championship game. Chicago also had one less tie game.

In 1924, a similar situation occurred when Chicago tried to use the same tactic and play the final game against the Cleveland Bulldogs. But the league ruled that Chicago was wrong and declared the game "postseason". The Bulldogs won their third consecutive league title.

The final and most controversial title was the 1925 NFL Championship dispute between the Pottsville Maroons (Chicago Cardinals). The league had suspended the Maroons at the conclusion of the 1925 NFL season. It was for an illegal game against a nonNFL team. The Cardinals were able to put together two easy matches (one against a team made up mostly of high schoolers and another against league rules) and pass Pottsville in their standings. The league gave the title to the Cardinals, one of just two in their history. However, the Cardinals declined the offer, and the championship was lost.

The Cardinals made a change to their original decision in 1933 when the Bidwills, who still own the Cardinals, bought them the team. They claimed the title as theirs in that year. A decision that is still being disputed by the Bidwills, who oppose any changes in the record, and the current Pennsylvania teams, in favor. Although the league recognized the Bidwills claim to the title, it did not take any further action. A self-made championship trophy made by the Maroons still resides in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ironically, Pottsville's win against the Notre Dame All-Stars was what gave professional football legitimacy.

One reason there has been controversy about these older championships is the criteria used by the league for determining its champion. The league used a variety of win percentage as its criteria. In this case, the number and sum of wins are divided by the losses and wins, with ties being excluded. The league began to count ties in its standings as half a victory and half a defeat in 1972. However, this was not applied retroactively. If it had been, it would have affected the outcome four 1920-1931 champions: The Buffalo All-Americans could have tied Akron Pros in 1920, the Duluth Kelleys could have tied the Cleveland Bulldogs in 1924, and the Pottsville Maroons in 1925. And the New York Giants in 1930.

Win-loss differential, the standard method used in baseball, would have given the Decatur Staleys the 1920 title. However, Buffalo was one game ahead of Decatur Staleys. The Frankford Yellow Jackets won the 1924 title. They were four games ahead in standings according to that measure of champion Cleveland.

At the conclusion of the 1932 season, Chicago Bears were tied with Portsmouth Spartans for the highest winning percentage of.857. Six wins by the Spartans and six losses by the Bears was the result of their respective records of 6-1-4 and 6-1-6 respectively. The Green Bay Packers came in at 10-3-1. The Packers' record of 10-3-1 (.750) would have won them a fourth consecutive championship if they had used the post-1972 system that counts ties as half of a win or half of a loss. This would have been ahead of the Spartans 6-1-4 (.727. +5) and Bears 6-1-6 (.692, +5).

The league decided to hold the first playoff game at Wrigley field in Chicago to determine the champion. This was reportedly done at George Preston Marshall's direction. The game was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium due to the severe winter conditions that prevailed before the game and the fear of low turnout. Chicago won 9-0 and the league title. Portsmouth was third, behind Green Bay, because the game was included in the standings.

Numerous new rule changes were made, many of which were inspired by the 1932 indoor champion game. For example, the goal posts were moved forward towards the goal line and every play began between the hash marks. Forward passes could also originate anywhere beyond the line of scrimmage (instead five yards behind).

1933-1965: The advent and growth of the postseason

1933-1965: NFL Championship Game

You can find a list with the winners and losers of the NFL Championship Games at List of NFL Champions (1920-1969).

In 1933, the NFL established the NFL Championship Game as the only postseason playoff game that determined its champion. During this time, the league divided its teams in two groups: divisions through 1949 and conferences from 1950.

Divisions (1933-1949), Eastern and Western

Conferences (1950-1952), American & National

Conferences (1953-1966), Eastern and Western

Conferences and divisions (1967-1969: Eastern (Capitol & Century) and Western, Central & Coastal)

The won-lost percent in use at the time determined the home field for the 1933 title games. The Western Division champion Chicago Bears (10-2-1,.833) won the right to host first title playoff. They had a better record then the Eastern Division champion New York Giants (12-3-0,.786). The divisions hosted the playoff in an alternate format. From 1934 onwards, the East/American host was in even years, and the West/National the in odd years. In the event of a tie within the conference, an extra game determined who would play in the NFL Championship Game. The location was decided by a coin toss. This happened nine times in the 34 seasons: 1941-43, 1947, 1950 (both Conferences), 1952, 1957 and 1958, as well as 1965.

This happened in the 1965 season when the Green Bay Packers were tied for first at 10-3-1 in the Western Conference. Green Bay had won both of its games against Baltimore in the regular season. But, because there was no tiebreaker system, a conference playoff match was held on December 26. It was to be played during an off-week, between the end the regular schedule and the NFL Championship Game. The Eastern champion at 11-3, the Cleveland Browns, didn't play that week. The championship game was played on the original date of January 2, 1966, which was the first year that the NFL champion was elected in January. Green Bay won both the post-season games in Green Bay, defeating the Colts (with third string QB Tom Matte), in overtime. The title was then taken 23-12 on a very muddy pitch (in what would turn out to be Jim Brown’s last NFL game).

From 1960 to 1969, the NFL held an additional postseason match called the "Playoff Bowl" (also known as the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl or the "Runner up Bowl") during the 1960-1969 seasons. These games were played between the second-place teams in each conference. CBS TV network advertised them as "playoffs for third place in NFL." In January, the week following the NFL Championship game, all ten consolation games were held in Miami's Orange Bowl. These games are now classified by the NFL as exhibition games. The official league playoff statistics do not include the records, participants, and results. After the AFL/NFL merger, the Playoff Bowl was terminated. The last edition was played in January 1970.

The Ed Thorp Memorial trophy was presented to the winning team in 1934. Ed Thorp, a noted referee who was also a rules expert and a sports goods dealer, was the trophy's name. Thorp's death in 1934 meant that a large trophy, which could be taken with it from one champion to the next, was created. Each championship team's name was inscribed on the trophy. Each team would receive a duplicate trophy. The Green Bay Packers were the last to receive this trophy in 1967.

The NFL President Carl Storck made the announcement late in the 1940 season that sudden death periods would now be permitted for playoff games necessary to determine which division title. In the event of a tie, co-champions would be crowned. [5] A shared championship was accepted, but it was obvious that an elimination match leading to the championship must always produce a winner. The 1941 season saw a similar arrangement approved by Commissioner Elmer Layden, but with the same restriction. In the event of a tie in the league championship, possession would be determined by a coin toss. [6]

Sudden death overtime was finally approved in 1946[7] for the NFL championship games and has remained in force since then. [8][9] It was the 1958 NFL Championship Game that required overtime to be played in a playoff.

The 1955 and 1960 NFL Championship games were played on Monday afternoons. Christmas was on a Sunday in those years. NFL Football Tournaments