I thought we all could use a respite from the uncertainty and raging emotions that have surrounded the labor dispute between the NFLPA (now decertified) and the NFL. In that vein:
We all have our favorite NFL team -- after all, that's what brings us back time and time again to Mile High Report. Other fans have their favorite team. But who the deuce were the Staleys that one fan was rooting for? Or the Spartans which had their own faithful following? Why do Decatur and Portsmouth have their place in NFL lore? How many of us remember that there were once two professional teams in Dallas?
Let me pose for all of you the same two trivia questions I recently asked the MHR staff:
1)How many of the current 32 NFL teams, over the course of the entire professional existence have: (a)been members of the NFL, (b)remained located in the same city, and (c)have retained the same team name?
2)How many of the current 32 NFL teams, in the course of their professional existence have been known by more than one team name (simply changing the city name does not count)?
After the jump, let's take a brief, and hopefully fun run down memory lane, looking at a very brief history of the teams we watch week in and week out during the fall.
1)How many of the current 32 NFL teams, over the course of their entire professional existence have: (a)been members of the NFL, (b)remained located in the same city, and (c)have retained the same team name?
There are twelve (in the order that the franchises were founded): Green Bay, New York Giants, Dallas, Minnesota, Atlanta, New Orleans, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Jacksonville, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.
Now I do have to admit that I had quite a discussion on this with fellow staffers Jess Place (Jezru) and Troy Hufford on this topic. There were some objections to including Green Bay and Baltimore in the list. Jess rightly pointed out that Green Bay can trace its history back to playing as a semi-pro team as early as 1896, playing around Wisconsin as recently as 1919 and 1920. That original semi-pro team had been sponsored by the Indian Packing Company. I chose to include them since their first stint as a recognized professional team came when they became one of the founding franchises for the American Professional Football Association (the original name of the NFL) as the Green Bay Packers.
The question of the Baltimore Ravens was even more debated than the Packers. The issue with including the Ravens on the list stemmed from the fact that the Ravens were created when Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell decided to move his team to Baltimore. Modell ended up in a legal dispute with fans and the city of Cleveland among others. Eventually a settlement was reached in which Modell would be allowed to keep the existing players and coaches, but they would play as a newly created franchise -- the Baltimore Ravens. The Cleveland Browns team name, history, records, archives, logos, etc., would all remain the property of Cleveland. After a period of three years, the NFL reactivated the Cleveland Browns as an NFL franchise.
2)How many of the current 32 NFL teams, in the course of their professional existence have been known by more than one team name (simply changing the city name does not count)?
This question did not generate quite as much discussion. In point of fact, it did not generate any at all, since we all got caught up in debating the inclusion of the Packers and Ravens in question 1. There are seven NFL teams that have been known by multiple names: Chicago (Staleys) Detroit (Spartans), Philadelphia (Eagles/Steeler), Pittsburgh (Eagles/Steelers and Cardinals/Steelers), Kansas City (Texans), New York Jets (Titans), and Tennessee (Oilers).
Numerous teams have called different cities home. Listed in the tables below is a compilation of the homes and names belonging to the current thirty-two teams of the NFL:
| Arizona Cardinals | established 1920 |
| 1920-21 | APFA Chicago Cardinals |
| 1922-43 | NFL Chicago Cardinals |
| 1944 | NFL Chicago/Pittsburgh Cardinals/Steelers (merger during WWII) |
| 1945-49 | NFL Chicago Cardinals |
| 1950-87 | NFL St. Louis Cardinals |
| 1987-93 | NFL Phoenix Cardinals |
| 1994-2010 | NFL Arizona Cardinals |
APFA = American Professional Football Association (the original name of the NFL)
| Chicago Bears | established 1920 |
| 1920 | APFA Decatur Staleys |
| 1921 | APFA Chicago Bears |
| 1922-2010 | NFL Chicago Bears |
| Green Bay Packers | established 1921 |
| Prior to 1921 | Played as a semi-pro as early as 1896 |
| 1921 | APFA Green Bay Packers |
| 1922-2010 | NFL Green Bay Packers |
| New York Giants | established 1925 |
| 1925-2010 | NFL New York Giants |
| Detroit Lions | established 1930 |
| 1930-33 | NFL Portsmouth Spartans |
| 1934-2010 | NFL Detroit Lions |
| Washington Redskins | established 1932 |
| 1932-36 | NFL Boston Redskins |
| 1937-2010 | NFL Washington Redskins |
| Philadelphia Eagles | established 1933 |
| 1933-42 | NFL Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1943 | NFL Philadelphia/Pittsburgh Eagles/Steelers (merged during WWII) |
| 1944-2010 | NFL Philadelphia Eagles |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | established 1933 |
| 1933-39 | NFL Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 1940-42 | NFL PIttsburgh Steelers |
| 1943 | NFL Philadelphia/Pittsburgh Eagles/Steelers (merged during WWII) |
| 1944 | NFL Chicago/Pittsburgh Cardinals/Steelers (merged during WWII) |
| 1945-2010 | NFL Pittsburgh Steelers |
| St. Louis Rams | established 1937 |
| 1937-45 | NFL Cleveland Rams |
| 1946-94 | NFL Los Angeles Rams |
| 1995-2010 | NFL St. Louis Rams |
| Cleveland Browns | established 1946 |
| 1946-49 | AAFC Cleveland Browns |
| 1950-95 | NFL Cleveland Browns |
| 1996-98 | Inactive as an NFL franchise |
| 1999-2010 | NFL Cleveland Browns |
AAFC = All America Football Conference; a league started as a rival league to the NFL; the Browns were invited to join the NFL when the AAFC folded.
| San Francisco 49ers | established 1946 |
| 1946-49 | AAFC San Francisco 49ers |
| 1950-2010 | NFL San Francisco 49ers |
Invited to join the NFL after the AAFC folded.
| Indianapolis Colts | established 1953 |
| 1953-83 | NFL Baltimore Colts |
| 1984-2010 | NFL Indianapolis Colts |
| Buffalo Bills | established 1960 |
| 1960-69 | AFL Buffalo Bills |
| 1970-2010 | NFL Buffalo Bills |
AFL = American Football League; a rival league to the NFL which merged with the NFL and began playing games as a combined league in 1970.
| Dallas Cowboys | established 1960 |
| 1960-2010 | NFL Dallas Cowboys |
| Denver Broncos | established 1960 |
| 1960-69 | AFL Denver Broncos |
| 1970-2010 | NFL Denver Broncos |
| Kansas City Chiefs | established 1960 |
| 1960-62 | AFL Dallas Texans |
| 1963-69 | AFL Kansas City Chiefs |
| 1970-2010 | NFL Kansas City Chiefs |
| New England Patriots | established 1960 |
| 1960-69 | AFL Boston Patriots |
| 1970 | NFL Boston Patriots |
| 1971-2010 | NFL New England Patriots |
| New York Jets | established 1960 |
| 1960-62 | AFL New York Titans |
| 1963-69 | AFL New York Jets |
| 1970-2010 | NFL New York Jets |
| Oakland Raiders | established 1960 |
| 1960-69 | AFL Oakland Raiders |
| 1970-81 | NFL Oakland Raiders |
| 1982-94 | NFL Los Angeles Raiders |
| 1995-2010 | NFL Oakland Raiders |
| San Diego Chargers | established 1960 |
| 1960 | AFL Los Angeles Chargers |
| 1961-69 | AFL San Diego Chargers |
| 1970-2010 | NFL San Diego Chargers |
| Tennessee Titans | established 1960 |
| 1960-69 | AFL Houston Oilers |
| 1970-96 | NFL Houston Oilers |
| 1997-98 | NFL Tennessee Oilers |
| 1999-2010 | NFL Tennessee Titans |
| Minnesota Vikings | established 1961 |
| 1961-2010 | NFL Minnesota Vikings |
| Atlanta Falcons | established 1966 |
| 1966-2010 | NFL Atlanta Falcons |
| Miami Dolphins | established 1966 |
| 1966-69 | AFL Miami Dolphins |
| 1970-2010 | NFL Miami Dolphins |
| New Orleans Saints | established 1967 |
| 1967-2010 | NFL New Orleans Saints |
| Cincinnati Bengals | established 1968 |
| 1968-69 | AFL Cincinnati Bengals |
| 1970-2010 | NFL Cincinnati Bengals |
| Seattle Seahawks | established 1976 |
| 1976-2010 | NFL Seattle Seahawks |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | established 1976 |
| 1976-2010 | NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Carolina Panthers | established 1995 |
| 1995-2010 | NFL Carolina Panthers |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | established 1995 |
| 1995-2010 | NFL Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Baltimore Ravens | established 1996 |
| 1996-2010 | NFL Baltimore Ravens |
As mentioned above: the coaches and players came from the Cleveland Browns franchise, but owner Art Modell settled litigation filed against him for moving the team by agreeing to establish a new franchise and leaving the rights to the Browns franchise in Cleveland. The Cleveland Browns were officially listed as inactive from 1996-99.
| Houston Texans | established 2002 |
| 2002-10 | NFL Houston Texans |
I hope you all enjoyed this short trip into the archives of NFL history. We can see how the teams have a rich and varied history with teams as young as nine years old and as old as ninety-one. We have teams that have changed their names and teams that have moved to new cities. Through it all the teams have forged strong rivalries and cultivated devoted fans. Of course, we have also been witnesses to the birth and growth of the only team with true significance: The Denver Broncos!