Defunct National Football League franchises

Information about Defunct National Football League franchises

The following is a list and brief history of American football franchises that at one time played in the National Football League (NFL). Note that the list represents NFL franchises that no longer exist, not franchises/teams that relocated. However, during the 1920s it is hard to tell if some teams changed nicknames from year to year or if each nickname represented a new franchise. It was also not uncommon for two or more teams to have the same nickname during the same season. No NFL franchise has folded since 1952. The Colts, Giants, Panthers, and Texans franchises listed on this page are not the current franchises of those names.

A defunct team, in this case, refers to a team which has had the rights to have a team returned to the NFL (or league collective at the time).

Teams that won an NFL championship are marked with an asterisk (*).

1920s

1930s

1940s-1950s

See also

  •  • [ e] The National Football League (2007)
AFC EastNorthSouthWest
Buffalo BillsBaltimore RavensHouston TexansDenver Broncos
Miami DolphinsCincinnati BengalsIndianapolis ColtsKansas City Chiefs
New England PatriotsCleveland BrownsJacksonville JaguarsOakland Raiders
New York JetsPittsburgh SteelersTennessee TitansSan Diego Chargers
NFC EastNorthSouthWest
Dallas CowboysChicago BearsAtlanta FalconsArizona Cardinals
New York GiantsDetroit LionsCarolina PanthersSt. Louis Rams
Philadelphia EaglesGreen Bay PackersNew Orleans SaintsSan Francisco 49ers
Washington RedskinsMinnesota VikingsTampa Bay BuccaneersSeattle Seahawks
Seasons (by team) Playoffs AFC Championship Game NFC Championship Game Super Bowl Super Bowl Champions Pro Bowl
Championship History: AFL Championship Game (1960–1969) NFL Championship Game (1920–1969) One-Game Playoff Playoff Bowl
Defunct Franchises Owners Stadiums (chronology) Records (individual, team, Super Bowl) Hall of Fame Lore AFL Merger NFL in Los Angeles NFL Europa (World Bowl) Television NFLPA Player Conduct Draft Training Camp Preseason (Hall of Fame Game, American Bowl, China Bowl) Kickoff Monday Night Football Thanksgiving Classic Christmas Games
American football, known in the United States simply as football [1] is a competitive team sport known for its physical roughness despite being a highly strategic game.
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franchises and closed membership; the European structure is characterized by its use of promotion and relegation.

The system developed in baseball

See also:

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Sport American football
Founded 1920
CEO Roger Goodell (Commissioner)
No. of teams 32, divided into two sixteen-team conferences, each of which consists of four four-team divisions.
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Relocation of professional sports teams, is a common practice in North America but not at all common in Europe. It typically involves a franchise moving from one metropolitan area to another, although occasionally moves between municipalities in the same conurbation are also
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The Akron Pros were a National Football League team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1920-1925 and as the Akron Indians in 1926. The Pros won the first NFL championship in 1920, though at the time the league operated as the American Professional Football Association.
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The Pottsville Maroons played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. The team was owned by Dr. J.G. Streigel and played at Minersville Park, now the site of King's Village shopping plaza. The team became the Boston Bulldogs in 1929.
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The Brooklyn Lions was a National Football League team that played in 1926. The team was formed as the league's countermove to the original American Football League, which also planned to field a team in Brooklyn called the Brooklyn Horsemen.
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Buffalo All-Americans, Buffalo Bisons (NFL) and Buffalo Rangers all redirect to here.
Buffalo, New York
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The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team based in Canton, Ohio in the National Football League from 1920 to 1923 and 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs won the 1922 and 1923 NFL championships.
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The Chicago Tigers of the American Professional Football Association (now the NFL) played only in the first year of the league (1920). They had a record of 2 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. The team played its home games at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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The Cincinnati Celts was an football team which played in the American Professional Football Association, the precursor to the National Football League. In its only season in the APFA, 1921, the team had a record of 1-3. The team played in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were called the Indians in 1923. The team's owner, Sam Deutsch bought the defending NFL champions Canton Bulldogs.
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Cleveland Tigers may refer to:
  • Cleveland Tigers (baseball) - a 1920s Negro League baseball team.
  • Cleveland Tigers (football) - a 1920s APFA/NFL football team.

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Tigers and played from 1923-1926. The original team often went by the nickname "Handles" and historically are considered charter members of the National Football League because of their membership in the American Professional Football Association (the NFL's original name) in Sept.
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The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park (capacity 5,000), which was located
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Heralds played in 1920. The Tigers (some sources list as Heralds) in 1921. The Panthers from 1925-1926 and the Wolverines in 1928.

The Lions are well known for playing on Thanksgiving Day, the other Detroit teams also played on Thanksgiving Day.
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Heralds played in 1920. The Tigers (some sources list as Heralds) in 1921. The Panthers from 1925-1926 and the Wolverines in 1928.

The Lions are well known for playing on Thanksgiving Day, the other Detroit teams also played on Thanksgiving Day.
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Heralds played in 1920. The Tigers (some sources list as Heralds) in 1921. The Panthers from 1925-1926 and the Wolverines in 1928.

The Lions are well known for playing on Thanksgiving Day, the other Detroit teams also played on Thanksgiving Day.
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Heralds played in 1920. The Tigers (some sources list as Heralds) in 1921. The Panthers from 1925-1926 and the Wolverines in 1928.

The Lions are well known for playing on Thanksgiving Day, the other Detroit teams also played on Thanksgiving Day.
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Duluth, Minnesota fielded a professional American football team called the Kelleys (officially the Kelley Duluths after the Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store) from 1923-1925 and the Eskimos (officially Ernie Nevers' Eskimos
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The Evansville Crimson Giants was a professional American football team based in Evansville, Indiana in the National Football League in 1921 and 1922.

Season-by-season


Year W L T Finish Coach
1921 3 2 0 6th Frank Fausch
1922 0 3 0 15th Frank Fausch

Roster


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The Frankford Yellow Jackets was a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association . The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926.
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The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926. Of the nine African-American players in the league during those years, six played for the Pros.
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Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season. They had a record of 3-7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the Velodrome, a bicycle track just across the Connecticut River in East Hartford that had recently been built.
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Kansas City, Missouri had a National Football League team prior to the Chiefs that operated under two different names: The Blues in 1924 and the Cowboys from 1925-1926.
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The Kenosha Maroons were a National Football League football team in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Maroons played in the NFL only during 1924, and were very probably a transplantation of the Toledo franchise which played in 1922 and 1923.
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The Los Angeles Buccaneers were a road-only team in the National Football League during their one season 1926. The team never actually played a home game in Los Angeles, but rather was operated out of Chicago but primarily stocked with players from Californian colleges.
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Louisville, Kentucky had two professional American football teams in the National Football League: the Brecks from 1921 to 1923 and the Colonels in 1926.

The Louisville Brecks went out of business during the 1923 season after their home park burned down.
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The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee's north side.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, had a National Football League team, long before the Vikings, named the Marines, who played from 1921 to 1924. The franchise was reactivated as the Red Jackets from 1929 and 1930. The team played at least some of its games at Nicollet Park.
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