List of NFL champions (1920–1969)
{{Short description|None}}
{{for|the list of post-1969 NFL champions|List of Super Bowl champions}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
File:Akron pros 1920.jpg were named the first APFA (NFL) champions.|alt=A group of 18 men, 11 standing in back and seven sitting in front. Above the men, centered in the middle of the poster, is text that says "Worlds Champs". Under that is the phrase "Akron Professionals" – the year 1920 is placed between "Akron" and "Professionals".]]
The National Football League champions, prior to the merger between the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) in 1970, were determined by two different systems. The National Football League was established on September 17, 1920, as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The APFA changed its name in 1922 to the National Football League, which it has retained ever since.{{cite web | title=Sept. 17, 1920 – The Founding of the NFL | url=http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?release_id=98 | publisher=Pro Football Hall of Fame | access-date=July 9, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709235237/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?release_id=98 | archive-date=July 9, 2012 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }} From 1921 to 1931, the APFA/NFL determined its champion by overall win–loss record, with no playoff games;{{cite web|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/champions.aspx|title=NFL Champions|publisher=Pro Football Hall of Fame|access-date=January 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107091539/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/champions.aspx|archive-date=January 7, 2013|url-status=live}} ties were not counted in the winning percentage total. The APFA did not keep records of the 1920 season; they declared the Akron Pros, who finished the season with an 8–0–3 (8 wins, 0 losses, 3 ties) record, as the league's first champions by a vote of the owners. The Canton Bulldogs won two straight championships from 1922 to 1923, and the Green Bay Packers won three in a row from 1929 to 1931.
The 1932 NFL season resulted in a tie for first place between the Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans, and could not be resolved by the typical win–loss system. To settle the tie, a playoff game was played; Chicago won the game and the championship. The following year, the NFL split into two divisions, and the winner of each division would play in the NFL Championship Game. In 1967, the NFL and the rival AFL agreed to merge, effective following the 1969 season;{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2009-06-14-sw-afl-cover_N.htm|title=From upstart to big time, how the AFL changed the NFL|last=Bell|first=Jarrett|date=June 30, 2009|work=USA Today|access-date=January 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114041101/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2009-06-14-sw-afl-cover_N.htm|archive-date=January 14, 2013|url-status=live}} as part of this deal, the NFL champion from 1966 to 1969 would play the AFL champion in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game in each of the four seasons before the completed merger. The NFL Championship Game was ended after the 1969 season, succeeded by the NFC Championship Game. The champions of that game play the champions of the AFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion.
The Green Bay Packers won the most NFL championships before the merger, winning eleven of the fifty championships. The Packers were also the only team to win three straight championships, an achievement they accomplished twice: from 1929 to 1931 and from 1965 to 1967, the latter stretch being the first since the NFL went to a divisional system in 1933.{{cite news|first=Lee|last=Remmel|title=Packers Shoot For Historic Third Straight Title|date=December 31, 1967|newspaper=Green Bay Press-Gazette|page=C-1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette/171548482/|access-date=May 2, 2025|via=Newspapers.com}} The Chicago Bears won a total of eight titles, and the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and New York Giants each won four. The Bears recorded the largest victory in a championship game, defeating the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game; six other title games ended in a shutout as well. The Philadelphia Eagles recorded two consecutive shutouts in 1948 and 1949. New York City hosted the most championship games (eight), while the highest-attended title game was the 1955 NFL Championship Game, where 85,693 fans showed up in Los Angeles to watch the Browns beat the Rams 38–14.
APFA/NFL champions (1920–1932)
Champion determined by win–loss percentage, with ties excluded. The number in parentheses indicates the number of championships the franchise had won to that point.
NFL champions (1933–1969)
Numbers in parentheses in the table indicate the number of times that team won the NFL championship as of the championship game.
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!colspan="2"|Divisions/Conferences |
| bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Eastern Division (1933–1949)‡
|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Western Division (1933–1949)^ |
| bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|American Conference (1950–1952)‡
|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|National Conference (1950–1952)^ |
| bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Eastern Conference (1953–1969)‡
|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Western Conference (1953–1969)^ |
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ NFL Championship Games |
| Season
!Date !Winning team !Score !Losing team !Venue !City !Attendance !class="unsortable"|Ref(s) |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;"|1933
|{{dts|1933|December|17|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears (3)^ |{{sort|2321|23–21}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Wrigley Field 01|Wrigley Field}} |{{Sort|Chicago 01|Chicago, Illinois}} |26,000 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1934
|{{dts|1934|December|9|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants (2)‡ |{{sort|3013|30–13}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears^ |{{Sort|Polo Grounds 01|Polo Grounds}} |{{Sort|New York City 01|New York City, New York}} |35,059 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1935
|{{dts|1935|December|15|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Detroit Lions |{{sort|2607|26–7}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|University of Detroit Stadium 01|University of Detroit Stadium}} |{{Sort|Detroit 01|Detroit, Michigan}} |15,000 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1936
|{{dts|1936|December|13|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (4)^ |{{sort|2106|21–6}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Boston Redskins‡ |{{Sort|Polo Grounds 02|Polo Grounds (2)}}{{#tag:ref|George Preston Marshall, the owner of the Boston Redskins, gave up home-field advantage and moved the game out of Fenway Park to New York due to apathy and low support in Boston.|group=a|name=MarshallBoston}} |{{Sort|New York City 02|New York City, New York (2)}} |29,545 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1937
|{{dts|1937|December|12|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Washington Redskins‡ |{{sort|2821|28–21}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears^ |{{Sort|Wrigley Field 02|Wrigley Field (2)}} |{{Sort|Chicago 02|Chicago, Illinois (2)}} |15,870 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1938
|{{dts|1938|December|11|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants (3)‡ |{{sort|2317|23–17}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers^ |{{Sort|Polo Grounds 03|Polo Grounds (3)}} |{{Sort|New York City 03|New York City, New York (3)}} |48,120 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1939
|{{dts|1939|December|10|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (5)^ |{{sort|2700|27–0}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Dairy Bowl 01|Dairy Bowl}} |{{Sort|West Allis, Wisconsin 01|West Allis, Wisconsin}} |32,279 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1940
|{{dts|1940|December|8|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears (4)^ |{{sort|7300|73–0}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Washington Redskins‡ |{{Sort|Griffith Stadium 01|Griffith Stadium}} |{{Sort|Washington, DC 01|Washington, D.C.}} |36,034 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1941
|{{dts|1941|December|21|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears (5)^ |{{sort|3709|37–9}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Wrigley Field 03|Wrigley Field (3)}} |{{Sort|Chicago 03|Chicago, Illinois (3)}} |13,341 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1942
|{{dts|1942|December|13|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Washington Redskins (2)‡ |{{sort|1406|14–6}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears^ |{{Sort|Griffith Stadium 02|Griffith Stadium (2)}} |{{Sort|Washington, DC 02|Washington, D.C. (2)}} |36,006 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1943
|{{dts|1943|December|26|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears (6)^ |{{sort|4121|41–21}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Washington Redskins‡ |{{Sort|Wrigley Field 04|Wrigley Field (4)}} |{{Sort|Chicago 04|Chicago, Illinois (4)}} |34,320 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1944
|{{dts|1944|December|17|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (6)^ |{{sort|1407|14–7}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Polo Grounds 04|Polo Grounds (4)}} |{{Sort|New York City 04|New York City, New York (4)}} |46,016 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1945
|{{dts|1945|December|16|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Cleveland Rams^ |{{sort|1514|15–14}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Washington Redskins‡ |{{Sort|Cleveland Stadium 01|Cleveland Stadium}} |{{Sort|Cleveland 01|Cleveland, Ohio}} |32,178 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1946
|{{dts|1946|December|15|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears (7)^ |{{sort|2414|24–14}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Polo Grounds 05|Polo Grounds (5)}} |{{Sort|New York City 05|New York City, New York (5)}} |58,346 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1947
|{{dts|1947|December|28|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Cardinals (2)^ |{{sort|2821|28–21}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Philadelphia Eagles‡ |{{sort|Comiskey Park 01|Comiskey Park}} |{{Sort|Chicago 05|Chicago, Illinois (5)}} |30,759 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1948
|{{dts|1948|December|19|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Philadelphia Eagles‡ |{{sort|0700|7–0}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Cardinals^ |{{Sort|Shibe Park 01|Shibe Park}} |{{Sort|Philadelphia 01|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania}} |36,309 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1949
|{{dts|1949|December|18|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Philadelphia Eagles (2)‡ |{{sort|1400|14–0}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Los Angeles Rams^ |{{Sort|LA Memorial Coliseum 01|Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum}} |{{Sort|Los Angeles 01|Los Angeles, California}} |27,980 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1950
|{{dts|1950|December|24|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{sort|3028|30–28}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Los Angeles Rams^ |{{Sort|Cleveland Stadium 02|Cleveland Stadium (2)}} |{{Sort|Cleveland 02|Cleveland, Ohio (2)}} |29,751 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1951
|{{dts|1951|December|23|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Los Angeles Rams (2)^ |{{sort|2417|24–17}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|LA Memorial Coliseum 02|Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (2)}} |{{Sort|Los Angeles 02|Los Angeles, California (2)}} |57,522 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1952
|{{dts|1952|December|28|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Detroit Lions (2)^ |{{sort|1707|17–7}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|Cleveland Stadium 03|Cleveland Stadium (3)}} |{{Sort|Cleveland 03|Cleveland, Ohio (3)}} |50,934 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1953
|{{dts|1953|December|27|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Detroit Lions (3)^ |{{sort|1716|17–16}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|Briggs Stadium 01|Briggs Stadium}} |{{Sort|Detroit 02|Detroit, Michigan (2)}} |54,577 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1954
|{{dts|1954|December|26|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns (2)‡ |{{sort|5610|56–10}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Detroit Lions^ |{{Sort|Cleveland Stadium 04|Cleveland Stadium (4)}} |{{Sort|Cleveland 04|Cleveland, Ohio (4)}} |43,827 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1955
|{{dts|1955|December|26|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns (3)‡ |{{sort|3814|38–14}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Los Angeles Rams^ |{{Sort|LA Memorial Coliseum 03|Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (3)}} |{{Sort|Los Angeles 03|Los Angeles, California (3)}} |85,693 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1956
|{{dts|1956|December|30|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants (4)‡ |{{sort|4707|47–7}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears^ |{{Sort|Yankee Stadium 01|Yankee Stadium}} |{{Sort|New York City 06|New York City, New York (6)}} |56,836 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1957
|{{dts|1957|December|29|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Detroit Lions (4)^ |{{sort|5914|59–14}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|Briggs Stadium 02|Briggs Stadium (2)}} |{{Sort|Detroit 03|Detroit, Michigan (3)}} |55,263 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1958
|{{dts|1958|December|28|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Baltimore Colts^ |{{sort|2317|23–17}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Yankee Stadium 02|Yankee Stadium (2)}} |{{Sort|New York City 07|New York City, New York (7)}} |64,185 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1959
|{{dts|1959|December|27|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Baltimore Colts (2)^ |{{sort|3116|31–16}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Memorial Stadium 01|Memorial Stadium}} |{{Sort|Baltimore 01|Baltimore, Maryland}} |57,545 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1960
|{{dts|1960|December|26|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Philadelphia Eagles (3)‡ |{{sort|1713|17–13}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers^ |{{Sort|Franklin Field 01|Franklin Field}} |{{Sort|Philadelphia 02|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2)}} |67,325 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1961
|{{dts|1961|December|31|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (7)^ |{{sort|3700|37–0}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Lambeau Field 01|City Stadium{{#tag:ref|Lambeau Field was originally known as City Stadium.|group=a|name=CityStadium}}}} |{{Sort|Green Bay, Wisconsin 01|Green Bay, Wisconsin}} |39,029 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1962
|{{dts|1962|December|30|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (8)^ |{{sort|1607|16–7}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Yankee Stadium 03|Yankee Stadium (3)}} |{{Sort|New York City 08|New York City, New York (8)}} |64,892 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
|{{dts|1963|December|29|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Chicago Bears (8)^ |{{sort|1410|14–10}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|New York Giants‡ |{{Sort|Wrigley Field 05|Wrigley Field (5)}} |{{Sort|Chicago 06|Chicago, Illinois (6)}} |45,801 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1964
|{{dts|1964|December|27|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns (4)‡ |{{sort|2700|27–0}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Baltimore Colts^ |{{Sort|Cleveland Stadium 05|Cleveland Stadium (5)}} |{{Sort|Cleveland 05|Cleveland, Ohio (5)}} |79,544 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1965
|{{dts|1966|January|2|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (9)^ |{{sort|2313|23–12}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|Lambeau Field 02|Lambeau Field (2)}} |{{Sort|Green Bay, Wisconsin 02|Green Bay, Wisconsin (2)}} |50,777 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1966
|{{dts|1967|January|1|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (10){{#tag:ref|Green Bay beat the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 in Super Bowl I.|group=upper-alpha|name=f}}^ |{{sort|3427|34–27}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Dallas Cowboys‡ |{{Sort|Cotton Bowl 01|Cotton Bowl}} |{{Sort|Dallas 01|Dallas, Texas}} |74,152 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1967
|{{dts|1967|December|31|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Green Bay Packers (11){{#tag:ref|Green Bay beat the AFL's Oakland Raiders 33–14 in Super Bowl II.|group=upper-alpha|name=g}}^ |{{sort|2117|21–17}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Dallas Cowboys‡ |{{Sort|Lambeau Field 03|Lambeau Field (3)}} |{{Sort|Green Bay, Wisconsin 03|Green Bay, Wisconsin (3)}} |50,861 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1968
|{{dts|1968|December|29|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Baltimore Colts (3){{#tag:ref|Baltimore lost to the AFL's New York Jets 16–7 in Super Bowl III.|group=upper-alpha|name=h}}^ |{{sort|3400|34–0}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|Cleveland Stadium 06|Cleveland Stadium (6)}} |{{Sort|Cleveland 06|Cleveland, Ohio (6)}} |78,410 |
| style="text-align:center;"|1969
|{{dts|1970|January|4|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Minnesota Vikings{{#tag:ref|Minnesota lost to the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs 23–7 in Super Bowl IV.|group=upper-alpha|name=i}}^ |{{sort|2707|27–7}} |bgcolor="#B2FFFF"|Cleveland Browns‡ |{{Sort|Metropolitan Stadium 01|Metropolitan Stadium}} |{{Sort|Bloomington, Minnesota 01|Bloomington, Minnesota}} |46,503 |
{{reflist|group=a|30em}}
Total NFL championships won (1920–1969)
| class="plainrowheaders sortable wikitable"
!scope="col"|Club !scope="col"|Winners !scope="col"|Runners-up !scope="col"|Winning years |
| Green Bay Packers
|11 |4 |1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967 |
| Chicago Bears
|8 |9 |
| New York Giants
|4 |13 |
| Detroit Lions
|4 |2 |
| Cleveland Browns
|4 |7 |
| Philadelphia Eagles
|3 |1 |
| Baltimore Colts
|3 |1 |
| Canton Bulldogs
|2 |0 |
| Chicago Cardinals
|2 |1 |
| Los Angeles Rams
|2 |3 |
| Washington Redskins
|2 |4 |
| Akron Pros
|1 |0 |1920 |
| Cleveland Bulldogs
|1 |0 |1924 |
| Providence Steam Roller
|1 |0 |1928 |
| Minnesota Vikings
|1 |0 |1969 |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets
|1 |1 |1926 |
| Dallas Cowboys
|0 |2 |N/A |
| Buffalo All-Americans
|0 |1 |N/A |
| Pottsville Maroons
|0 |1 |N/A |
See also
Notes
=Notes=
{{reflist|group=decimal}}
{{reflist|group=upper-alpha}}
=Footnotes=
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{featured list}}
References
{{Refbegin}}
- {{cite web|url=http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/history/pdfs/History/Past_Standings_2011.pdf|title=Past Standings|work=NFL.com|access-date=January 14, 2013|archive-date=September 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925182142/http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/history/pdfs/History/Past_Standings_2011.pdf|url-status=dead}}
- {{cite web|url=http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/history/pdfs/History/Playoff_Sums_2011.pdf|title=Playoff Game Summaries|work=NFL.com|access-date=January 14, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203223859/http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/history/pdfs/History/Playoff_Sums_2011.pdf|url-status=dead}}
{{Refend}}
{{NFL}}
{{NFLC-SuperBowl}}
{{Super Bowl}}
{{NFL awards}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:NFL champions (1920-69), List of}}
Category:20th century-related lists
Category:NFL Championship games