Table Of Contentb u i l t f o r s u c c e s s
the story of
The NFL
s a r a g i l b e r t
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built for success
the story of
The NFL
Published by Creative Education
P.O. Box 227, Mankato, Minnesota 56002
Creative Education is an imprint of The Creative Company
www.thecreativecompany.us
design by zeno design
production by christine vanderbeek
art direction by rita marshall
Printed by Corporate Graphics in the United States of America
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Copyright © 2012 Creative Education
International copyright reserved in all countries. No part of
this book may be reproduced in any form without written
permission from the publisher.
NFL® and the products discussed in this book are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of the National Football
League. Trademarks associated with products of other
companies mentioned are the trademarks of their respective
owners. This is not an official publication of the National
Football League, and the views set out herein are solely
those of the author.
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
for the hardcover edition
Gilbert, Sara.
The story of the NFL / by Sara Gilbert.
p. cm. — (Built for success)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: A look at the origins, leaders, growth, and manage-
ment of the NFL, the professional football league that was
formed in 1920 and today governs 32 teams throughout the
United States.
ISBN 978-1-60818-063-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-56660-033-0 (eBook)
1. National Football League—History—Juvenile literature.
2. Football—United States—History—Juvenile literature.
I. Title.
GV955.5.N35G55 2011
796.332'64—dc22 2010031224
CPSIA: 110310 P01382
First edition
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c r e a t i v e e d u c a t i o n
b u i l t f o r s u c c e s s
the story of
The NFL
S A R A G I L B E R T
t h e s t o r y o f t h e n f l
P
layers for the Green Bay Packers
and the Kansas City Chiefs were
nervous on January 15, 1967. Vince
Lombardi, the Packers’ coach, trem-
bled during a pregame television interview, and
some Chiefs players were throwing up as they
waited to run onto the field of the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum. The two teams were play-
ing in the first-ever Super Bowl (then known as
the World Championship Game), a showdown
between the best teams in the National Football
League (NFL) and the rival American Football
League (AFL). The NFL’s Packers won 35–10, a
triumph that earned each Green Bay player a
$15,000 check; even the defeated Chiefs play-
ers of the AFL each took home $7,500. But the
NFL received the best payoff: The annual Super
Bowl soon became the most anticipated sport-
ing event in the United States.
b u i l t f o r s u c c e s s
chapter one
Only a Game
P
rofessional football began in the U.S. in 1892,
when the Allegheny Athletic Association in
Allegheny, Pennsylvania, paid one of the play-
ers on its regional football club for a game. After
that, amateur teams in towns on the East Coast and
across the Midwest also began to pay their players.
6
Because there was no governing body to set and enforce rules for professional
e
g
a football, players jumped from team to team in search of the best salary. College
p
players even joined such teams while they were still in school.
s
s
e The lack of rules created not only confusion but also unfair advantages for
c
c
u wealthier team owners. So in the summer of 1920, representatives from four teams
s
r convened in the showroom of a car dealership in Canton, Ohio. Jim Thorpe, a for-
o
f
mer Olympic gold medalist in track and field who had gone on to star with profes-
t
l
i
u sional baseball and football teams and was now a member of the Canton Bulldogs,
b
wanted to discuss the formation of a league to govern the far-flung teams.
By mid-September, 14 teams from 4 states—including the Bulldogs, the Rochester
(New York) Jeffersons, the Racine (Chicago, Illinois) Cardinals, and the Muncie
(Indiana) Flyers—had agreed to participate in the new league, which would be
called the American Professional Football Association (APFA). None of the charter
t h e s t o r y o f t h e n f l
A renowned American Indian athlete, Jim Thorpe played for the Canton Bulldogs for six seasons
t h e n f l
only a game
members actually paid the $100 fee that all had agreed would lend credibility
8
to the APFA, though. Nevertheless, the teams were allowed to schedule their
e
g
a
p own games (including many against non-APFA teams), while the league estab-
lished the rules that would govern games, teams, and their players.
s
s
e
By 1921, APFA membership stood at 22 teams, including the recently admit-
c
c
u
ted Green Bay Packers. That year, the league named mechanic and Columbus
s
r
o Panhandles owner Joseph Carr as president. He soon moved the league’s head-
f
t quarters from Canton to Columbus, Ohio. Then he drafted a constitution to
l
i
u define territorial rights, set rules about when and why players could change
b
teams, and establish league standings so that a clear champion from among
the league’s growing number of teams could be named at the end of each sea-
son. A year later, on June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National
Football League, with Carr remaining as its president.
But the league was far from nationally recognized. Meager crowds attended
most games, often leaving the teams—which were each responsible for their
own expenses—struggling to break even. Then, in 1925, the Chicago Bears
brought in college star Harold “Red” Grange, who had gained national recogni-
tion as a halfback at the University of Illinois. The contract he signed with the
Bears brought recognition to the NFL, too. On Thanksgiving, he helped draw a
record 36,600 fans to a scoreless game between the Bears and their crosstown
rivals, the Chicago (formerly Racine) Cardinals. Grange drew fans everywhere
the Bears played, including in New York, where Giants owner Wellington Mara
was greatly relieved when 73,000 fans bought tickets to a Giants–Bears game,
padding his team’s bank account enough to keep it afloat.
That infusion of funds came just in time for the Giants. In 1927, Carr an-
nounced that the NFL would eliminate the 10 least financially stable franchises.
A year later, two more teams disbanded. In 1933, the number of teams in the
league stood at 10: the Bears (originally the Decatur Staleys), Cardinals, Giants,
and Packers, along with the Boston Redskins (who would move to Washington
t h e s t o r y o f t h e n f l
