The Actual History of The NFL Championship Game. Part IV: The NFL and AFL Pre Meger Super Bowl Era Championship Games.

         

The following AFL and NFL League Championship Games took place after it was announced in June of 1966 that the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) would Merge by 1970.

Because the League Championship Games between the 1966 and 1969 Seasons not only determined who the NFL and AFL Champions were, but also who would go to The AFL-NFL World Championship Game (Later, officially called The Super Bowl.) People generally do not think of these in the same way they would think of other League Championship Games before and after the Merger.

The 1966 Season:
AFL: Kansas City Chiefs defeated The Buffalo Bills 31-7 in Buffalo (War Memorial Stadium)
NFL: Green Bay Packers defeated The Dallas Cowboys 34-27 in Dallas (Cotton Bowl Stadium)

The 1967 Season:
AFL: Oakland Raiders defeated The Houston Oilers 40-7 in Oakland (Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum)
NFL: Green Bay Packers defeated The Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Green Bay (Lambeau Field)

The 1968 Season:
AFL: New York Jets defeated The Oakland Raiders 27-23 in Flushing (Queens) New York (Shea Stadium)
NFL: Baltimore Colts defeated The Cleveland Browns 34-0 in Cleveland (Cleveland Municipal Stadium)

The 1969 Season:
AFL: Kansas City Chiefs defeated The Oakland Raiders 17-7 in Oakland (Oakland-Alameda Coliseum)
NFL: Minnesota Vikings defeated The Cleveland Browns 27-7 in Bloomington Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

The most famous of these games is of course, The 1967 NFL Championship Game between Green Bay and Dallas. Nicknamed "The Ice Bowl" due to it having the Coldest Actual Temperature for a Game. (-15 degrees.) It's also famous for the ending when Packers QB Bart Starr scored on a 1-yard Touchdown Run with 13 seconds left in the game.

Interesting Facts resulting from The Pre-Merger Era:

ONLY COACH TO WIN BOTH THE NFL CHAMPIONSHIP, AFL CHAMPIONSHIP AS WELL AS A SUPER BOWL: Weeb Ewbank who coached The Baltimore Colts to the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championships and The New York Jets to the AFL Championship and then coached The Jets Win in Super Bowl III over his old team, The Colts. 

The only other Head Coach to win Championships in Two Different Leagues is Paul Brown (Who Ewbank was an assistant for before becoming a Head Coach.) who Coached The Browns to all four All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Championships from 1946 to '49 (Including an Undefeated Season in 1948.) and NFL Championships in 1950, '54 and '55.

ONLY TEAM TO WIN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS AS BOTH AN AFL & NFL TEAM: The Oakland Radiers. Who won their only AFL Title in 1967 (but lost to The Packers in Super Bowl II) then won three Post-Merger NFL Championships in 1976 (SB XI), 1980 (SB XV) and 1983 (SB XVIII).

The only other Active Team to win League Championships in two Separate Leagues is The Browns as mentioned above. (They also won the 1964 NFL Championship.)

ONLY TEAM TO WIN A SUPER BOWL ERA NFL TITLE, YET NEVER WIN A SUPER BOWL: Minnesota Vikings, who won the last NFL Title (1969) before the two leagues merged, went on to lose Super Bowls IV, then also lost Super Bowls VIII, IX and XI in the Post Merger Era.

OTHER FACTS:
Other than The 1967 Raiders, no team that won the AFL Title (both Pre Super Bowl and Pre Merger Super Bowl.) has won any NFL Titles in The Post Merger Era. The two teams that won Super Bowls III and IV (New York Jets, and KC Chiefs.) as AFL Teams have yet to make it back to a Super Bowl.

Next Blog: The AFL and The AAFC.

Thanks.

George.

The Actual History of The NFL Championship Game. Part III: The Complete List of Pre Super Bowl NFL Champions.

Here is the Complete List of Pre Super Bowl Era NFL Champions
Pre Championship Game Era (When The Champion was determined based on Regular Season Record.)

1920 Akron Pros [1]

1921 Chicago Staleys (Chicago Bears)

1922 Canton Bulldogs

1923 Canton Bulldogs

1924 Cleveland Bulldogs [2]

1925 Chicago Cardinals (Arizona Cardinals) [3]

1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets (Philadelphia Eagles)

1927 New York Giants

1928 Providence Steam Roller

1929 Green Bay Packers

1930 Green Bay Packers

1931 Green bay Packers

1932 Chicago Bears [4]

[1] The NFL did not keep official standings during the 1920 Season. The Akron Pros were awarded The League Championship in a league meeting on April 30, 1921. Teams also played non-league opponents . The Buffalo All-Americans and Decatur Staleys (Chicago Bears) disputed the title but lost.

[2] The NFL Considers The Canton Bulldogs and Cleveland Bulldogs to be separate franchises. Cleveland (Football) Indians owner Samuel Deutsch purchased the Canton Bulldogs and merged them with the Indians and renamed them The Cleveland Bulldogs. The Chicago Bears disputed the title but lost.

[3] The Infamous Dispute between The Cardinals and Pottsville (PA) Maroons.

[4] A one game playoff was required as The Bears and Portsmouth (OH) Spartans (Detroit Lions) ended up tied at the end of the regular season. The Bears defeated The Spartans 9-0 in Chicago in the playoff.

Pre Super Bowl NFL Championship Game Winners:

1933 Chicago Bears - Defeated The New York Giants 23-21 in Chicago (Wrigley Field)

1934 New York Giants - Defeated The Chicago Bears 30-13 in New York (Polo Grounds)

1935 Detroit Lions - Defeated The New York Giants 26-7 in Detroit (University of Detroit Stadium)

1936 Green Bay Packers - Defeated The Boston Redskins 21-6 in New York (Polo Grounds) [1]

1937 Washington Redskins - Defeated The Chicago Bears 28-21 in Chicago (Wrigley Field)

1938 New York Giants - Defeated The Green Bay Packers 23-17 in New York (Polo Grounds)

1939 Green Bay Packers - Defeated The New York Giants 27-0 in West Allis, Wisconsin (Wisconsin State Fair Park) [2]

1940 Chicago Bears - Defeated The Washington Redskins 73-0 in Washington DC (Griffith Stadium)

1941 Chicago Bears - Defeated The New York Giants 37-9 in Chicago (Wrigley Field)

1942 Washington Redskins - Defeated The Chicago Bears 14-6 in Washington DC (Griffith Stadium)

1943 Chicago Bears - Defeated The Washington Redskins 41-21 in Chicago (Wrigley Field)

1944 Green Bay Packers - Defeated The New York Giants 14-7 in New York (Polo Grounds)

1945 Cleveland Rams (St. Louis Rams) - Defeated The Washington Redskins 15-14 in Cleveland (Cleveland Municipal Stadium)

1946 Chicago Bears - Defeated The New York Giants 24-14 in New York (Polo Grounds)

1947 Chicago Cardinals (Arizona Cardinals) - Defeated The Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 in Chicago (Comiskey Park)

1948 Philadelphia Eagles - Defeated The Chicago Cardinals (Arizona Cardinals) 7-0 in Philadelphia (Shibe Park)

1949 Philadelphia Eagles - Defeated The Los Angeles Rams (St. Louis Rams) 14-0 in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)

1950 Cleveland Browns - Defeated The Los Angeles Rams (St. Louis Rams) 30-28 in Cleveland (Cleveland Municipal Stadium)

1951 Los Angeles Rams (St. Louis Rams) - Defeated The Cleveland Browns 24-17 in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)

1952 Detroit Lions - Defeated The Cleveland Browns 17-7 in Cleveland (Cleveland Municipal Stadium)

1953 Detroit Lions - Defeated The Cleveland Browns 17-16 in Detroit (Briggs Stadium a.k.a. Tiger Stadium)

1954 Cleveland Browns - Defeated The Detroit Lions 56-10 in Cleveland (Cleveland Municipal Stadium)

1955 Cleveland Browns - Defeated The Los Angeles Rams (St. Louis Rams) 38-14 in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)

1956 New York Giants - Defeated The Chicago Bears 47-7 in New York (Yankee Stadium)

1957 Detroit Lions - Defeated The Cleveland Browns 59-14 in Detroit (Briggs Stadium a.k.a. Tiger Stadium)

1958 Baltimore Colts (Indianapolis Colts) - Defeated The New York Giants 23-17 in New York (Yankee Stadium) [3]

1959 Baltimore Colts (Indianapolis Colts) - Defeated The New York Giants 31-16 in Baltimore (Memorial Stadium)

1960 Philadelphia Eagles - Defeated The Green Bay Packers 17-13 in Philadelphia (Franklin Field)

1961 Green Bay Packers - Defeated The New York Giants 37-0 in Green Bay (City Stadium)

1962 Green Bay Packers - Defeated The New York Giants 16-7 in New York (Yankee Stadium)

1963 Chicago Bears - Defeated The New York Giants 14-10 in Chicago (Wrigley Field)

1964 Cleveland Browns - Defeated The Baltimore Colts (Indianapolis Colts) 27-0 in Cleveland (Cleveland Municipal Stadium)

1965 Green Bay Packers - Defeated The Cleveland Browns 23-12 in Green Bay (Lambeau Field)

 [1] The Redskins chose to move the Game from Fenway Park in Boston to The Polo Grounds in New York due to poor attendance all season. The next season, The Redskins moved to Washington DC.


[2] From 1933 to 1994, The Packers split their Home Games between Green Bay and Milwaukee. Between 1934 and 1951, Their Milwaukee Games took Place at a Stadium in Wisconsin State Fair Park which is loacated in the Milwaukee Suburb of West Allis.


[3] First ever NFL Postseason Game to go into Sudden Death Overtime.


Next: The NFL and AFL Pre Meger Super Bowl Era Championship Games.


Thanks


George.

The Actual History of The NFL Championship Game. Part II: How the first Championship Game in 1933 came into being.

Before I explain how the NFL Championship Game began, I will tell you how I divide the history of The NFL. (Which was founded in 1920.)

Pre Championship Game Era: 1920* Season to 1932 Season (*Official Standings were not kept until 1921.)
Championship Game Era: 1933 Season to 1965 Season
Pre NFL-AFL Merger Super Bowl Era: 1966 Season to 1969 Season ( including the AFL.)
Post NFL-AFL Merger Super Bowl Era: 1970 Season to Today

Before 1933, The NFL declared its champion based on Regular Season Record. Of course, this often led to controversey, teams playing non-NFL Pro Teams to pad their records, etc. The most infamous of these controversies are the 1925 Season when the NFL declared the Chicago Cardinals Champions with a 11-2-1 record but the Pottsville (PA) Maroons finished with a 10-2-0 Record and beat the Eagles 21-7 in Chicago. The Frankford (PA) Yellow Jackets (now The Philadelphia Eagles.) filed a protest that the Maroons were violating their territory by playing a game in Philadelphia. Despite the fact that The Maroons got permission from The NFL to play a game in Philadelphia, The League upheld Frankford's Protest making the Maroons ineligible for the League Championship. You can read about this on The Maroons Website.

The spark for an actual NFL Championship Game took place at the end of the 1932 Season when The Chicago Bears and Portsmouth (OH) Spartans (now The Detroit Lions.) had to play a one-game playoff to determine that Season's Champion in Chicago. Because of a blizzard, the game had to be played indoors at Chicago Stadium with revised rules. (Think of it as a 1930's version of Arena Football.) The Bears beat The Spartans 9-0. This game was so successful that it made the NFL divide into Two Divisions and have a Scheduled League Championship between the two Division Winners. That first NFL Championship Game in 1933 featured The Chicago Bears and New York Giants at Wrigley Field. The Bears won the Game 23-21.

Next Blog: The Complete List of Pre Super Bowl NFL Champions.

Thanks.

George.

The Actual History of The NFL Championship Game. Part I: The REAL Story of The Super Bowl

Before and after The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV, you may have noticed how some in the media brought up the fact that The Packers have the most Championship Titles in NFL History. (Thirteen after they won SB XLV.)

This no doubt led to some people thinking "Wait a minute, I thought The Steelers had the most with six."

The way that The NFL markets the sport when it comes to Championships as if anything Pre-Super Bowl Era doesn't count or never even existed, It's understandable how many people believe that The Steelers have the most as all of theirs have been won during the Post Merger Super Bowl Era.

Most people also believe that The Super Bowl was always an NFL Sanctioned Game. This also is not true. In fact, it wasn't even officially called "Super Bowl" until the Third one between The New York Jets and The Baltimore Colts. Before this, it was officially called the "AFL-NFL Championship Game" as the first four games were in fact between The National Football League (NFL) Champions and the American Football League (AFL) Champions.

What we now call The Super Bowl was a creation caused by The competition between the NFL and AFL in the 1960's. Before The 1966 Season, the two leagues agreed to a merger by 1970 and they also agreed to have a season ending game between the two league champions. It was Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs Owner and AFL Founder Lamar Hunt who came up with the name "Super Bowl" after seeing his daughter playing with a toy called a "Super Ball". Hunt wanted the name to have a "College Football Feel" to it like The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, etc.

When the two leagues officially merged. (Actually, Merged into the NFL.) The NFL also took the name "Super Bowl" and Vince Lombardi Trophy and made it the NFL Championship Game. Therefore, it's now really just the NFL Championship Game (The first taking place in 1933.) with a different name and trophy. The merging of The AFL into the NFL also brought about the names AFC and NFC.

Also with the Merger, The Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to be the three Pre Merger NFL teams to go to the AFC so each conference would have 13 teams.

The AFL was founded in 1959 by Lamar Hunt and several other businessmen who either tried to get an expansion NFL Team or buy into already existing NFL Teams and were shut out. 1960 was their first season. These teams eventually became The...
Buffalo Bills
Boston/New England Patriots
Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos
Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers
Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans
New York Titans/Jets
Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders*

The Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals came in a few years later as AFL Expansion Teams.

*What eventually became The Minnesota Vikings were persuaded by The NFL to leave the AFL Founding Group and start in 1961 as an NFL Team. They were replaced by The Oakland Raiders.

Before Lamar Hunt's AFL, there were past efforts to form Pro Football Leagues to compete with the NFL (Some of which were also called The American Football League.) but they were dismal failures. (...and at the time, Pro Football was behind Baseball and College Football in terms of National Popularity.) The only other league to have any kind of impact was the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) which played from 1946 to 1949 and produced the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers who were merged into the NFL for the 1950 Season. The Browns won all four AAFC Titles and went undefeated in the 1948 Season, 24 years before the 1972 Miami Dolphins did it in The NFL.

Next:  How the first NFL Championship Game in 1933 came into being.
Thanks.

George.