In 1920, representatives from several professional football teams met in an automobile showroom in Canton, OH. The agreement reached at that session was that the teams play a common schedule and crown a champion at the end of each season. They called the league the American Professional Football Conference.

The initiation fee was set at $100. (Though, George Halas, one of the founders, remarked that he doubted that there was $100 in that showroom!).

The original teams were:

• Akron Pros
• Buffalo All-Americans
• Canton Bulldogs
• Chicago Cardinals
• Chicago Tigers
• Cleveland Indians
• Columbus Panhandles
• Dayton Triangles
• Decatur Staleys (Chicago Bears)
• Detroit Heralds
• Hammond Pros
• Muncie Flyers
• Rochester Jeffersons
• Rock Island Independents

Only two charter member teams are still in the league. The Chicago Bears (the team owned by the aforementioned George Halas and the Arizona Cardinals (formerly the Chicago Cardinals).

In 1922, the league renamed itself the National Football League. Throughout the 1920s, the league membership was erratic but eventually expanded to 25 teams.
Star Players

College football was still the predominant attraction among football fans. However, that began to change when notable college players turned professional. Red Grange (The Galloping Ghost) was one the most famous college stars to do so when he joined the Chicago Bears. He also went on a barnstorming tour in 1925 further increasing the game’s reach among sports fans.
Championships

Initially, league champions were awarded to whichever team had the best won and lost record. However, at the end of the 1932 season, the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans both finished the season tied. In order to name a champion, the league voted to hold the first NFL playoff game ever. The weather was so cold that the game was held at the indoor Chicago Stadium where the Chicago Bears won by a score of 9-0.

That is the beginning of what would become the Super Bowl