TheNational Football League champions, prior to themerger between theNational Football League (NFL) andAmerican 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.[1] From1921 to1931, the APFA/NFL determined its champion by overallwin–loss record, with no playoff games;[2] ties were not counted in the winning percentage total.[3] The APFA did not keep records of the1920 season; they declared theAkron 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. TheCanton Bulldogs won two straight championships from1922 to1923, and theGreen Bay Packers won three in a row from1929 to1931.[4]
The1932 NFL season resulted in a tie for first place between theChicago Bears andPortsmouth Spartans, and could not be resolved by the typical win–loss system. To settle the tie, aplayoff 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 theNFL Championship Game.[2] In 1967, the NFL and the rival AFL agreed to merge, effective following the 1969 season;[5] as part of this deal, the NFL champion from 1966 to 1969 would play theAFL champion in anAFL–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 theNFC Championship Game.[2][6] The champions of that game play the champions of theAFC Championship Game in theSuper Bowl to determine the NFL champion.[2]
From 1934 to 1967, teams were regularly awarded theEd Thorp Memorial Trophy (a custom cast silver trophy) for winning the championship, with the team keeping the trophy for a year; the 1960, 1968, and 1969 champions were not engraved onto the trophy for inconclusive reasons.[7] TheGreen 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,[4] the latter stretch being the first since the NFL went to adivisional system in1933.[8] The Chicago Bears won a total of eight titles, and theCleveland Browns,Detroit Lions, andNew York Giants each won four. The Bears recorded the largest victory in a championship game, defeating theWashington Redskins 73–0 in the1940 NFL Championship Game; six other title games ended in a shutout as well. ThePhiladelphia Eagles recorded two consecutive shutouts in1948 and1949. New York City hosted the most championship games (eight), while the highest-attended title game was the1955 NFL Championship Game, where 85,693 fans showed up inLos Angeles to watch the Browns beat theRams 38–14.[4]
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.
| Season | Champion | Wins | Losses | Ties[A] | Pct. | Runner-up | Wins | Losses | Ties[A] | Pct. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Akron Pros[B] | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | Decatur Staleys | 10 | 1 | 2 | .909 | [4] |
| 1921[C] | Chicago Staleys | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | Buffalo All-Americans | 9 | 1 | 2 | .900 | [4] |
| 1922 | Canton Bulldogs | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | [4] |
| 1923 | Canton Bulldogs (2) | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | Chicago Bears | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | [4] |
| 1924 | Cleveland Bulldogs | 7 | 1 | 1 | .875 | Chicago Bears | 6 | 1 | 4 | .857 | [4] |
| 1925[D] | Chicago Cardinals | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | Pottsville Maroons | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | [11] |
| 1926 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | 14 | 1 | 2 | .933 | Chicago Bears | 12 | 1 | 3 | .923 | [11] |
| 1927 | New York Giants | 11 | 1 | 1 | .917 | Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | [11] |
| 1928 | Providence Steam Roller | 8 | 1 | 2 | .889 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | 11 | 3 | 2 | .786 | [11] |
| 1929 | Green Bay Packers | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | New York Giants | 13 | 1 | 1 | .929 | [11] |
| 1930 | Green Bay Packers (2) | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | New York Giants | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 | [11] |
| 1931 | Green Bay Packers (3) | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | Portsmouth Spartans | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | [11] |
| 1932[E] | Chicago Bears (2) | 7 | 1 | 6 | .875 | Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | [11] |
Numbers in parentheses in the table indicate the number of times that team won the NFL championship as of the championship game.
| Divisions/Conferences | |
|---|---|
| Eastern Division (1933–1949)‡ | Western Division (1933–1949)^ |
| American Conference (1950–1952)‡ | National Conference (1950–1952)^ |
| Eastern Conference (1953–1969)‡ | Western Conference (1953–1969)^ |
| Season | Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Venue | City | Attendance | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | December 17, 1933 | Chicago Bears (3)^ | 23–21 | New York Giants‡ | Wrigley Field | Chicago, Illinois | 26,000 | [6][11] |
| 1934 | December 9, 1934 | New York Giants (2)‡ | 30–13 | Chicago Bears^ | Polo Grounds | New York City, New York | 35,059 | [6][11] |
| 1935 | December 15, 1935 | Detroit Lions | 26–7 | New York Giants‡ | University of Detroit Stadium | Detroit, Michigan | 15,000 | [6][11] |
| 1936 | December 13, 1936 | Green Bay Packers (4)^ | 21–6 | Boston Redskins‡ | Polo Grounds (2)[a 1] | New York City, New York (2) | 29,545 | [6][11] |
| 1937 | December 12, 1937 | Washington Redskins‡ | 28–21 | Chicago Bears^ | Wrigley Field (2) | Chicago, Illinois (2) | 15,870 | [6][11] |
| 1938 | December 11, 1938 | New York Giants (3)‡ | 23–17 | Green Bay Packers^ | Polo Grounds (3) | New York City, New York (3) | 48,120 | [6][12] |
| 1939 | December 10, 1939 | Green Bay Packers (5)^ | 27–0 | New York Giants‡ | Dairy Bowl | West Allis, Wisconsin | 32,279 | [6][12] |
| 1940 | December 8, 1940 | Chicago Bears (4)^ | 73–0 | Washington Redskins‡ | Griffith Stadium | Washington, D.C. | 36,034 | [6][12] |
| 1941 | December 21, 1941 | Chicago Bears (5)^ | 37–9 | New York Giants‡ | Wrigley Field (3) | Chicago, Illinois (3) | 13,341 | [6][12] |
| 1942 | December 13, 1942 | Washington Redskins (2)‡ | 14–6 | Chicago Bears^ | Griffith Stadium (2) | Washington, D.C. (2) | 36,006 | [6][12] |
| 1943 | December 26, 1943 | Chicago Bears (6)^ | 41–21 | Washington Redskins‡ | Wrigley Field (4) | Chicago, Illinois (4) | 34,320 | [6][12] |
| 1944 | December 17, 1944 | Green Bay Packers (6)^ | 14–7 | New York Giants‡ | Polo Grounds (4) | New York City, New York (4) | 46,016 | [6][12] |
| 1945 | December 16, 1945 | Cleveland Rams^ | 15–14 | Washington Redskins‡ | Cleveland Stadium | Cleveland, Ohio | 32,178 | [6][12] |
| 1946 | December 15, 1946 | Chicago Bears (7)^ | 24–14 | New York Giants‡ | Polo Grounds (5) | New York City, New York (5) | 58,346 | [6][12] |
| 1947 | December 28, 1947 | Chicago Cardinals (2)^ | 28–21 | Philadelphia Eagles‡ | Comiskey Park | Chicago, Illinois (5) | 30,759 | [6][12] |
| 1948 | December 19, 1948 | Philadelphia Eagles‡ | 7–0 | Chicago Cardinals^ | Shibe Park | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 36,309 | [6][12] |
| 1949 | December 18, 1949 | Philadelphia Eagles (2)‡ | 14–0 | Los Angeles Rams^ | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles, California | 27,980 | [6][12] |
| 1950 | December 24, 1950 | Cleveland Browns‡ | 30–28 | Los Angeles Rams^ | Cleveland Stadium (2) | Cleveland, Ohio (2) | 29,751 | [6][13] |
| 1951 | December 23, 1951 | Los Angeles Rams (2)^ | 24–17 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (2) | Los Angeles, California (2) | 57,522 | [13][14] |
| 1952 | December 28, 1952 | Detroit Lions (2)^ | 17–7 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Cleveland Stadium (3) | Cleveland, Ohio (3) | 50,934 | [13][14] |
| 1953 | December 27, 1953 | Detroit Lions (3)^ | 17–16 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Briggs Stadium | Detroit, Michigan (2) | 54,577 | [13][14] |
| 1954 | December 26, 1954 | Cleveland Browns (2)‡ | 56–10 | Detroit Lions^ | Cleveland Stadium (4) | Cleveland, Ohio (4) | 43,827 | [13][14] |
| 1955 | December 26, 1955 | Cleveland Browns (3)‡ | 38–14 | Los Angeles Rams^ | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (3) | Los Angeles, California (3) | 85,693 | [13][14] |
| 1956 | December 30, 1956 | New York Giants (4)‡ | 47–7 | Chicago Bears^ | Yankee Stadium | New York City, New York (6) | 56,836 | [13][14] |
| 1957 | December 29, 1957 | Detroit Lions (4)^ | 59–14 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Briggs Stadium (2) | Detroit, Michigan (3) | 55,263 | [13][14] |
| 1958 | December 28, 1958 | Baltimore Colts^ | 23–17 | New York Giants‡ | Yankee Stadium (2) | New York City, New York (7) | 64,185 | [13][14] |
| 1959 | December 27, 1959 | Baltimore Colts (2)^ | 31–16 | New York Giants‡ | Memorial Stadium | Baltimore, Maryland | 57,545 | [13][14] |
| 1960 | December 26, 1960 | Philadelphia Eagles (3)‡ | 17–13 | Green Bay Packers^ | Franklin Field | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2) | 67,325 | [14][15] |
| 1961 | December 31, 1961 | Green Bay Packers (7)^ | 37–0 | New York Giants‡ | City Stadium[a 2] | Green Bay, Wisconsin | 39,029 | [14][15] |
| 1962 | December 30, 1962 | Green Bay Packers (8)^ | 16–7 | New York Giants‡ | Yankee Stadium (3) | New York City, New York (8) | 64,892 | [14][15] |
| 1963 | December 29, 1963 | Chicago Bears (8)^ | 14–10 | New York Giants‡ | Wrigley Field (5) | Chicago, Illinois (6) | 45,801 | [14][15] |
| 1964 | December 27, 1964 | Cleveland Browns (4)‡ | 27–0 | Baltimore Colts^ | Cleveland Stadium (5) | Cleveland, Ohio (5) | 79,544 | [14][15] |
| 1965 | January 2, 1966 | Green Bay Packers (9)^ | 23–12 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Lambeau Field (2) | Green Bay, Wisconsin (2) | 50,777 | [14][15] |
| 1966 | January 1, 1967 | Green Bay Packers (10)[F]^ | 34–27 | Dallas Cowboys‡ | Cotton Bowl | Dallas, Texas | 74,152 | [14][15] |
| 1967 | December 31, 1967 | Green Bay Packers (11)[G]^ | 21–17 | Dallas Cowboys‡ | Lambeau Field (3) | Green Bay, Wisconsin (3) | 50,861 | [14][15] |
| 1968 | December 29, 1968 | Baltimore Colts (3)[H]^ | 34–0 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Cleveland Stadium (6) | Cleveland, Ohio (6) | 78,410 | [14][15] |
| 1969 | January 4, 1970 | Minnesota Vikings[I]^ | 27–7 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Metropolitan Stadium | Bloomington, Minnesota | 46,503 | [14][15] |