The first game of what would become the National Football League, a matchup between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles, kicked off at Dayton’s Triangle Park on Oct. 3, 1920. Find out the latest on your favorite National Football League teams on CBSSports.com. The Dayton Triangles football team (1920-1929) played in the first game for what is now known as the National Football League (NFL). 1 – Dates in the list denote the season, not necessarily the calendar year in which the championship game was played. After expanding to enfranchise the New Orleans Saints in 1967, the NFL split its 16 teams into two conferences with two divisions each: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Coastal and Central Divisions in the Western Conference. A number of new rule changes were instituted, many inspired by the 1932 indoor championship game: the goal posts were moved forward to the goal line, every play started from between the hash marks, and forward passes could originate from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage (instead of five yards behind). The result was that although the two teams were effectively tied in the standings, the disputed game, having been played later, was given more weight and thus ended up being considered a de facto championship game. Their biggest change was to make the forward pass legal, beginning the transformation of football into the modern game. The first thing that McBride did was hire Paul Brown, who was a successful high school, college, and military coach.Brown was appointed as the team’s coach and general … Following the merger in 1970, the Super Bowl name continued as the game to determine the NFL champion. In 1929 the Triangles franchise was sold and moved to Brooklyn, New York. Check out this NFL Schedule, sortable by date and including information on game time, network coverage, and more! 2 – From 1966 to 1969, the first four Super Bowls were "World Championship" games played between two independent professional football leagues, AFL and NFL, and when the league, This page was last edited on 26 January 2021, at 13:55. Week 16 of the 2020 NFL Season will have a great game on Saturday. Although many relocations, name changes and thrilling NFL games have transpired since then, Dayton can be proud of the Triangles' role in the start of it all. Had it been, it would have changed the outcome of four 1920-1931 championships: the Buffalo All-Americans would have tied the Akron Pros for the 1920 title, the Duluth Kelleys would have tied the Cleveland Bulldogs for the 1924 title, the Pottsville Maroons would have won in 1925, and the New York Giants would have won in 1930. Also in 1963, an Eastern Division playoff was needed to determine the division winner between the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills. At the time it was the longest professional football championship game ever played. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. Four thousand people paid $1.75 for admission, according to a 2005 Dayton Daily News story. After the merger, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game. The AFL on the other hand, raised its total franchise number to ten with the Miami Dolphins joining the Eastern Division in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals joining the Western Division in 1968. Following its founding in 1920, the NFL first determined champions through end-of-season standings, but switched to a playoff system in 1933. (This occurred nine times in these 34 seasons: 1941, 1943, 1947, 1950 (both conferences), 1952, 1957, 1958, and 1965.). Thus, there would be times when the pairing in that round would pit the first seed versus the third, and the second versus the fourth. But at first, it didn’t seem like a radical move. Unlike the AFL statistics which are treated as NFL statistics, records of the AAFC and its teams (most of which folded) are not recognized. The next was in the 1921 NFL season, between the same All-Americans and Staleys (with the latter now being based in Chicago). From 1966–1969 prior to the merger in 1970, the NFL and the AFL agreed to hold an ultimate championship game, first called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game and later renamed the Super Bowl after 1968. A century ago, the very first NFL game was played in Dayton. A players' strike shortened the 1982 season to nine games. The first game of what would become the National Football League, a matchup between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles, kicked off at Dayton’s Triangle Park on Oct. 3, 1920. View the NFL Playoff Schedule for the 2020-2021 season at FBSchedules.com. “The old favorites were on the job every minute. Thereafter, from 1934 onward, the divisions alternated the site of the playoff, with the East/American hosting in even years and the West/National in odd years. For the first thirteen seasons, the APFA/NFL did not hold a championship game, … A meager crowd of 13,050 were on hand at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field on that now-historic day when the Philadelphia Eagles fell to … The following week Majkowski severely damaged the ligaments in his ankle. For instance, Super Bowl LIV was played in 2020, but was the championship for the 2019 season. That honor belongs to New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Only in 1933, when the Bidwill family (which still owns the Cardinals) bought the team, did the Cardinals reverse their decision and claim the title as their own, a decision that continues to be disputed, with the Bidwills opposing any change in the record and the two current Pennsylvania teams in favor. The Triangles were made up of weekend players, like most of the early NFL teams. Green Bay won both post-season games at home, beating the injury-riddled Colts (with third-string QB Tom Matte) in overtime by a controversial field goal, and taking the title 23–12 on a very muddy field (in what turned out to be Jim Brown's final NFL game). In 1975, the league modified its 1970 playoff format by instituting a seeding system. Had pure win-loss differential or the current (post-1972) system of counting ties as half a win, half a loss been in place in 1932, the Packers' record of 10–3–1 (.750, +7) would have won them a fourth consecutive championship, ahead of the Spartans' 6–1–4 (.727, +5) and the Bears' 6–1–6 (.692, +5). Teams would also receive a replica trophy. Again, the home team for each playoff game was determined by a yearly divisional or conference rotation. In its final season, 1969, the AFL adopted a four-team playoff to determine its champion. No Post-Season – Championship by standings. In 1966, the success of the rival AFL, the spectre of the NFL's losing more stars to the AFL, and concern over a costly "bidding war" for players precipitated by the NFL's Giants' signing of Pete Gogolak, who was under contract to the AFL's Buffalo Bills, led the two leagues to discuss a merger. Ironically, it was Pottsville's win in that game against the Notre Dame All-Stars that gave professional football legitimacy over college football. The first game involving an APFA team occurred on September 26, when the Rock Island Independents beat the St. Paul Ideals 48–0. In the divisional round, much like the 1970 playoff format, teams from the same division were still prohibited from playing each other, regardless of seeding. For the 51 seasons from 1921–1971, the NFL did not officially include tie games in the winning percentage, they were omitted from the calculation. A meager crowd of 13,050 were on hand at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field on that now-historic day when the Philadelphia Eagles fell to … The present-day Indianapolis Colts can trace their ancestry to the original Dayton Triangles. Moved to Brooklyn, New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs are the only AFL teams to the. Thorp Memorial first nfl game began on October 3, when the Dayton Triangles, scored the game. 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