NFL 100 - How the NFL Started
NFL 100 - How the NFL Started

A journey of 100 seasons began with a single step. For the NFL, that step was made by Ralph Hay, owner of the Canton Bulldogs. Hay’s simple initiative was to invite owners of three other Ohio teams -- the Dayton Triangles, Cleveland Indians and Akron Pros -- to a meeting at his Canton auto showroom to discuss forming a league.

Three issues prompted the meeting.

Dramatically rising salaries, players jumping from one team to another following the highest offers, and teams illegally using players still in college.

That initial meeting conceived the foundation of the National Football League, originally called the American Professional Football Association, on August 20, 1920.

The Akron delegation consisted of Frank Nied and Art Ranney. While Jimmy O'Donnell and Stan Cofall represented Cleveland, and Carl Storck Dayton. At the meeting Hay was elected secretary of the league.

A second step was to schedule another meeting. This time, Hay flexed his vision, writing to invite several other pro teams. Perhaps the most significant letter was to future Pro Football Hall of Famer George Halas, the player-coach of the Decatur Staleys and eventual Chicago Bears.

At that second meeting in Hay’s showroom, held on September 17, 1920, Halas sat on the running board of a brand-new Hupmobile and, for the first of many important instances, modeled a league-above-team perspective that critically shaped the genesis and longevity of the NFL.

The resulting organization operated for two years as the American Professional Football Association before its name was changed to the National Football League in 1922. The ten original franchises were from four states. The Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles from Ohio; the Hammond Pros and Muncie Flyers from Indiana; the Rochester Jeffersons from New York; and the Rock Island Independents, Decatur Staleys, and Racine Cardinals from Illinois. Four other franchises the Buffalo All-Americans, Chicago Tigers, Columbus Panhandles, and Detroit Heralds would join the league later that year.

Ralph Hay was asked to become the league's president, however he suggested that Jim Thorpe take the position on the belief that his fame would enhance the league.

The First NFL Game Ever Played

The first game of what would become the National Football League, a matchup between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles, kicked off at Dayton’s Triangle Park Oct. 3, 1920. The Dayton Triangles won 14-0. Four thousand people paid $1.75 for admission, according to a 2005 Dayton Daily News story. Each player was paid $50.

How the NFL Started - NFL Football History