Activities Sports & Athletics A Year by Year NFL Franchise Genealogy Share PINTEREST Email Print Scott Cunningham/Getty Images Sports/Getty Images Sports & Athletics Football Basics Playing & Coaching Best of Football Plays & Formations College Football Baseball Basketball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Cricket Extreme Sports Golf Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Skating Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More By James Alder James Alder is an expert on the game of American football, blogs for The New York Times, and appears on radio shows. our editorial process James Alder Updated March 17, 2017 1920 • The American Professional Football Association was officially organized to begin play in the fall. Here are the original teams:• Akron Professionals • Buffalo All-Americans• Canton Bulldogs • Chicago Cardinals • Chicago Tigers• Cleveland Tigers • Columbus Panhandles• Dayton Triangles • Decatur Staleys • Detroit Heralds• Hammond Pros• Muncie Flyers• Rochester (N.Y.) Jeffersons• Rock Island Independents • The Chicago Tigers folded after the 1920 season. 1921 • The Decatur Staleys moved to Chicago but retain the name Staleys . The following teams joined the APFA for the 1921 season:• Cincinnati Celts• Evansville Crimson Giants• Green Bay Packers• Louisville Brecks• Minneapolis Marines• New York Brickleys Giants• Tonawanda Kardex• Washington Senators The following teams folded after the 1921 season:• Cincinnati Celts• Cleveland Tigers• Detroit Heralds• Muncie Flyers• New York Brickleys Giants• Tonawanda Kardex• Washington Senators 1922 • The APFA changes its name to the National Football League.• The Chicago Staleys change their name to the Chicago Bears. The following teams joined the NFL for the 1922 season:• Marion Oorang Indians• Milwaukee Badgers• Racine Legion• Toledo Maroons The following teams folded after the 1922 season:• Columbus Panhandles• Evansville Crimson Giants 1923 The following teams joined the NFL for the 1923 season: • Cleveland Indians• Columbus Tigers • Duluth Kelleys • St. Louis All-Stars The following teams folded after the 1923 season:• Canton Bulldogs • Cleveland Indians • Louisville Brecks • Marion Oorang Indians • Racine Legion • St. Louis All-Stars• Toledo Maroons 1924 • The Buffalo All-Americans changed their name to the Buffalo Bisons. The following teams joined the NFL for the 1924 season:• Cleveland Bulldogs • Frankford Yellow Jackets• Kansas City Blues • Kenosha Maroons The following teams folded after the 1924 season:• Columbus Tigers• Kenosha Maroons • Minneapolis Marines 1925 • The Kansas City Blues changed their name to the Kansas City Cowboys. The following teams joined the NFL for the 1925 season:• The Canton Bulldogs returned to the NFL after being inactive during the 1924 season.• Detroit Panthers• New York Giants• Providence Steam Roller• Pottsville Maroons The following teams folded after the 1925 season: • Cleveland Bulldogs • Rochester Jeffersons • The Rock Island Independents left the NFL for the AFL. 1926 • The Akron Pros changed their name to the Akron Indians. • The Buffalo Bisons changed their name to the Buffalo Rangers.• The Duluth Kelleys changed their name to the Duluth Eskimos. The following teams joined the NFL for the 1926 season:• Brooklyn Lions• Hartford Blues • Los Angeles Buccaneers• Racine Tornadoes (formerly the Racine Legion) return to the NFL.• The Louisville Colonels (formerly the Louisville Brecks) return to the NFL. The following teams folded after the 1926 season:• Akron Indians• Brooklyn Lions• Buffalo Rangers • Canton Bulldogs• Columbus Tigers• Detroit Panthers• Hartford Blues• Hammond Pros• Kansas City Cowboys • Los Angeles Buccaneers • Louisville Colonels • Milwaukee Badgers • Racine Tornadoes 1927 The following teams joined the NFL for the 1927 season:• Cleveland Bulldogs• New York Yankees The following teams folded after the 1927 season:• Buffalo Bison • Cleveland Bulldogs• Duluth Eskimos 1928 The following team joined the NFL for the 1928 season:• Detroit Wolverines The following team folded after the 1928 season:• New York Yankees 1929 The following teams joined the NFL for the 1929 season:• Boston Bulldogs• Buffalo Bisons• Minneapolis Red Jackets• Orange Tornadoes• Staten Island Stapletons The following teams folded after the 1929 season: • Dayton Triangles • Buffalo Bisons • Boston Bulldogs