List of NFL champions
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIS : List of NFL champions
 |
In 1933, the NFL was organized into two divisions (later called conferences). The winners of each division played each other to determine the champion of the league. This format would remain through the 1966 season.
In 1967, the now 16-team NFL split each conference into two divisions of 4 teams each. From 1967 to 1969, the division winners met in a conference championship game. The two conference champions then played for the NFL championship. Starting with the 1966 season, the NFL champion played the American Football League champion in what would become the Super Bowl.
Since the completion of the merger in 1970, the Super Bowl has served as the NFL championship game. Unlike the Super Bowl, which is contested at a neutral site, NFL championship games from 1933 to 1969 took place at the home field of one of the competing teams.
End-of-season championships
- Note: From 1920–1971, the NFL did not officially include tie games in the winning percentage.
| Year | Team | Win | Loss | Tie | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Akron Pros (1) | ||||
| 1921 | Chicago Staleys (1) | ||||
| 1922 | Canton Bulldogs (1) | ||||
| 1923 | Canton Bulldogs (2) | ||||
| 1924 | Cleveland Bulldogs (1) | ||||
| 1925 | Chicago Cardinals (1) | ||||
| 1926 | Frankford Yellow Jackets (1) | ||||
| 1927 | New York Giants (1) | ||||
| 1928 | Providence Steam Roller (1) | ||||
| 1929 | Green Bay Packers (1) | ||||
| 1930 | Green Bay Packers (2) | ||||
| 1931 | Green Bay Packers (3) | ||||
| 1932 | Chicago Bears (2) |
- No official standings were maintained for the 1920 season, and the championship was awarded to the Akron Pros in a league meeting on April 30, 1921. Clubs played schedules that included games against non-league opponents.
- The Chicago Staleys were renamed the Chicago Bears in 1922.
- At the end of the 1932 season the Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans finished regularly scheduled games tied for first place. The Bears won a playoff game, which counted in the standings, 9-0.
NFL Championships
| Eastern Division | Western Division |
- In 1950 the league's two divisions were renamed the American and National Conferences, respectively.
| American Conference | National Conference |
| Year | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Cleveland Browns (1) | 30-28 | Los Angeles Rams | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 1951 | Los Angeles Rams (2) | 24-17 | Cleveland Browns | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| 1952 | Detroit Lions (2) | 17-7 | Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
- In 1953 the league's two conferences were renamed the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
| Year | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Detroit Lions (3) | 17-16 | Cleveland Browns | Briggs Stadium |
| 1954 | Cleveland Browns (2) | 56-10 | Detroit Lions | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 1955 | Cleveland Browns (3) | 38-14 | Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| 1956 | New York Giants (4) | 47-7 | Chicago Bears | Yankee Stadium |
| 1957 | Detroit Lions (4) | 59-14 | Cleveland Browns | Briggs Stadium |
| 1958 | Baltimore Colts (1) | 23-17 (OT) | New York Giants | Yankee Stadium |
| 1959 | Baltimore Colts (2) | 31-16 | New York Giants | Memorial Stadium |
| 1960 | Philadelphia Eagles (3) | 17-13 | Green Bay Packers | Franklin Field |
| 1961 | Green Bay Packers (7) | 37-0 | New York Giants | City Stadium |
| 1962 | Green Bay Packers (8) | 16-7 | New York Giants | Yankee Stadium |
| 1963 | Chicago Bears (8) | 14-10 | New York Giants | Wrigley Field |
| 1964 | Cleveland Browns (4) | 27-0 | Baltimore Colts | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 1965 | Green Bay Packers (9) | 23-12 | Cleveland Browns | Lambeau Field |
- Between 1966 and the merger in 1970, the NFL champions would go on to play the AFL champions in Super Bowls I, II, III and IV.
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
| Year | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Green Bay Packers (10) | 34-27 | Dallas Cowboys | Cotton Bowl |
| 1967 | Green Bay Packers (11) | 21-17 | Dallas Cowboys | Lambeau Field |
| 1968 | Baltimore Colts (3) | 34-0 | Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 1969 | Minnesota Vikings (1) | 27-7 | Cleveland Browns | Metropolitan Stadium |
NFL Championship Game 1933-69 appearances
Records
- The Cleveland Browns made six straight appearances in the NFL championship game (1950-55). The Chicago Bears made four straight (1940-43).
- The Green Bay Packers won 3 straight championship games (1965-67). The Browns lost 3 straight (51-53) as did the New York Giants (61-63).
- Teams that won in their first championship game appearance: Chicago Bears (1933), Detroit Lions (1935), Green Bay Packers (1936), Cleveland Rams (1945), Chicago Cardinals (1947), Cleveland Browns (1950), Baltimore Colts (1958) and Minnesota Vikings (1969).
- The Boston Redskins were the host team for the 1936 championship game, but team owner George Preston Marshall who was playing to move the team the next year sold the game site to the Polo Grounds in New York.
- The largest attendence for a game was in 1955 at Los Angeles 85,693. The smallest was in 1941 at Chicago 13,341.
- Cleveland Municipal Stadium hosted 6 games (1 with the Rams and 5 with the Browns). Wrigley Field hosted 5 (all with the Bears) and the Polo Grounds hosted 5 (4 with the Giants and the 1936 game moved by the Redskins).
First and last points scored.
- 1933 first points were scored by Chicago's Jack Manders a field goal. The first touchdown was scored by New York on a touchdown pass from Harry Newman to Morris "Red" Badrgo.
- 1969 last field goal was scored on a 3rd quarter kick by Minnesota's Fred Cox. The last points scored was on a Cleveland touchdown pass from Bill Nelsen to Gary Collins with the extra point scored by Don Cockroft.
- 1933 Each Chicago player received $210.34 and each New York player received $140.22
- In the 37 championsip games played the teams from the Western Division/National/Western Conference won 25 of the games to the Eastern Division/American/Eastern Conference teams total of 12.
- The home team won 25 of the 37 games played.
- After the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and the emergence of the Super Bowl, all NFL league championship games prior to merger are listed along with the NFC conference championship games in the NFL's official records.
See also
- List of Super Bowl champions
- National Football League championships history
- NFL lore
- NFL Playoff Game, 1932
- NFL Championship Game, 1934 called "The Sneakers Game"
- NFL Championship Game, 1940
- NFL Championship Game, 1945
- NFL Championship Game, 1958 called "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
- NFL Championship Game, 1966
- NFL Championship Game, 1967 called "The Ice Bowl"
- NFL Championship Game, 1969
Reference
External link
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.