History of American football
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Chicago Cardinals, and now is known as the Arizona Cardinals, making them the oldest continuously operating professional football team.
The first known professional football league, known as the National Football League (not the same as the modern league) began play in 1902 with teams from the Mid Atlantic region. Several baseball clubs formed football teams to play in the league, including the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies. A five-team tournament, known as the World Series of Football was organized by the league. The league and the World Series only lasted two seasons.
The game moved west into Ohio which became the center of professional football during the early decades of the twentieth century. Small towns such as Massillon, Akron, Portsmouth, and Canton all supported professional teams in a loose
coalition known as the "Ohio League," the direct predecessor to today's National Football League. In 1915, the Canton Bulldogs signed former Olympian and Carlisle Indian School standout Jim Thorpe to a contract. Thorpe became the face of professional football for the next several years and was present at the founding of the National Football League five years later.
Early years of the NFL (1920–1945)
In 1920, the American Professional Football Association, was founded, in a meeting at a Hupmobile car dealership in Canton, Ohio. Jim Thorpe was elected the league's first president. After several more meetings, the league's membership was formalized. The original teams were:
* Akron Pros
* Buffalo All-Americans
* Canton Bulldogs
* Chicago Tigers
* Cleveland Indians
* Columbus Panhandles
* Dayton Triangles
* Decatur Staleys
* Detroit Heralds
* Hammond Pros
* Muncie Flyers
* Racine Cardinals
* Rochester Jeffersons
* Rock Island Independents
In its early years the league was little more than a formal agreement between teams to play each other and to declare a champion at season's end. Teams were still permitted to play non-league members. The 1920 season saw several teams
A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy