The Akron Pros, the first champions of the National Football League, lost their franchise in 1926.
Membership in the National Football League (NFL) is certified by a franchise. A franchise is awarded by the league to each member club, and serves as the league's authorization to operate as a professional football club in their city. Franchises award member clubs the exclusive right to hold professional football games between league members within a 75-mile radius of their city, as well as the exclusive rights to market games in their area.[1]
There are currently 32 clubs in the league, with any new members only being approved with the support of three-quarters of current members.[2] In the event of egregious misconduct, the League Commissioner has the power to suspend or revoke a club's franchise.[3]
The NFL has had 49 franchises become defunct over its history, including ten of the league's twelve charter franchises: only the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals survive to the present day.[4] [5]
While the league had expanded to 22 franchises by 1926, at a league meeting in April 1927, the decision was made to revoke the franchises of 10 clubs in weak financial situations.[6]
Five of these defunct NFL franchises (the Akron Pros/Indians, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs/Indians, Frankford Yellow Jackets, and Providence Steam Rollers) won NFL championships before they folded.
As of 2021, the most recent franchise to become defunct was the Dallas Texans in 1952, which folded after playing one season.[7]
Defunct franchises[]
| ^ | Denotes the club had won an NFL championship before folding[8] |
|---|
| Club | City | Began play | Folded | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Pros/Indians^ | Akron, Ohio | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1926 | [7][8] |
| Baltimore Colts | Baltimore, Maryland | 1950[upper-alpha 2] | 1950 | [7] |
| Boston Yanks | Boston, Massachusetts | 1943 | 1948 | [7] |
| Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers | Brooklyn, New York | 1930 | 1944 | [7] |
| Brooklyn Lions | Brooklyn, New York | 1926 | 1926 | [7] |
| Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons/Rangers | Buffalo, New York | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1929[upper-alpha 3] | [7] |
| Canton Bulldogs^ | Canton, Ohio | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1926[upper-alpha 4] | [7][8] |
| Chicago Tigers | Chicago, Illinois | 1920 | 1920 | [7] |
| Cincinnati Celts | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1921 | 1921 | [7] |
| Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1933 | 1934 | [7] |
| Cleveland Tigers/Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1921 | [7] |
| Cleveland Indians/Bulldogs^ | Cleveland, Ohio | 1923 | 1927[upper-alpha 5] | [7][8] |
| Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | 1931 | 1931 | [7] |
| Columbus Panhandles/Tigers | Columbus, Ohio | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1926 | [7] |
| Dallas Texans | Dallas, Texas | 1952 | 1952 | [7] |
| Dayton Triangles | Dayton, Ohio | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1929 | [7] |
| Detroit Heralds | Detroit, Michigan | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1920 | [7] |
| Detroit Panthers | Detroit, Michigan | 1925 | 1926 | [7] |
| Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | 1921 | 1921 | [7] |
| Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | 1928 | 1928 | [7] |
| Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos | Duluth, Minnesota | 1923 | 1927 | [7] |
| Evansville Crimson-Giants | Evansville, Indiana | 1921 | 1922 | [7] |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets^ | Frankford, Philadelphia | 1924 | 1931 | [7][8] |
| Hammond Pros | Hammond, Indiana | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1926 | [7] |
| Hartford Blues | Hartford, Connecticut | 1926 | 1926 | [7] |
| Kansas City Blues/Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | 1924 | 1926 | [7] |
| Kenosha Maroons | Kenosha, Wisconsin | 1924 | 1924 | [7] |
| Los Angeles Buccaneers | Los Angeles, California | 1926 | 1926 | [7] |
| Louisville Brecks/Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | 1921 | 1926[upper-alpha 6] | [7] |
| Milwaukee Badgers | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1922 | 1926 | [7] |
| Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 1921 | 1930[upper-alpha 7] | [7] |
| Muncie Flyers | Muncie, Indiana | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1921 | [7] |
| New York Bulldogs/Yanks | New York, New York | 1949 | 1951 | [7] |
| New York Yankees | New York, New York | 1927 | 1928 | [7] |
| New York Giants | New York, New York | 1921 | 1921 | [7] |
| Orange/Newark Tornadoes | Orange, New Jersey (1929) Newark, New Jersey (1930) |
1929 | 1930 | [7] |
| Oorang Indians | LaRue, Ohio | 1922 | 1923 | [7] |
| Pottsville Maroons/Boston Bulldogs | Pottsville, Pennsylvania (1925-1928) Boston, Massachusetts (1929) |
1925 | 1929 | [7] |
| Providence Steam Roller^ | Providence, Rhode Island | 1925 | 1931 | [7][8] |
| Racine Legion/Tornadoes | Racine, Wisconsin | 1922 | 1926 | [7] |
| Rochester Jeffersons | Rochester, New York | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1925 | [7] |
| Rock Island Independents | Rock Island, Illinois | 1920[upper-alpha 1] | 1925 | [7] |
| St. Louis All-Stars | St. Louis Missouri | 1923 | 1923 | [7] |
| St. Louis Gunners | St. Louis Missouri | 1934 | 1934 | [7] |
| Staten Island Stapletons/Stapes | Staten Island, New York | 1929 | 1932 | [7] |
| Toledo Maroons | Toledo, Ohio | 1922 | 1923 | [7] |
| Tonawanda Kardex | Tonawanda, New York | 1921 | 1921 | [7] |
| Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | 1921 | 1921 | [7] |
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ NFL Bylaws, p. 6, 12-15.
- ↑ NFL Bylaws, p. 3.
- ↑ NFL Bylaws, p. 28-35.
- ↑ National Football League (NFL). Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ↑ Pro Football teams that came and went (August 14, 2019).
- ↑ NFL History by Decade: 1921-1930.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29 7.30 7.31 7.32 7.33 7.34 7.35 7.36 7.37 7.38 7.39 7.40 7.41 7.42 7.43 7.44 7.45 7.46 7.47 7.48 7.49 7.50 7.51 7.52 7.53 National Football League Franchise Histories.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 NFL Champions.
- ↑ NFL History by Decade: 1911-1920. NFL.com.
- ↑ Grosshandler, Stan (1980). All-America Football Conference The Coffin Corner (PDF) pp. 3, 9. Professional Football Researchers Association.
References[]
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