National Football League (NFL) - NFL Championships
From 1920 to the merger of the NFL and AFL, the NFL crowned a champion every year. In the period 1920 through 1932, the NFL champion was simply the team that ended the season with the best winning percentage. Starting in 1933, because of a tie for first place at the end of 1932, the NFL reorganized into two divisions and instituted the NFL Championship game pitting each division champion against each other to crown an NFL champion. The NFL Championship game continued through 1970 with the merging of the NFL and the AFL. In the period from 1960 to the first Super Bowl in 1966, the NFL Champion could no longer claim to be the undisputed champion of professional football because of the existence of a rival professional football league, the American Football League (AFL). The creation of the Super Bowl solved that problem.
Following are listings of the NFL Champions. The first listing shows the NFL Champions in the era when it was based on winning percentage. The second listing shows the champions with the advent of the NFL Championship game. The listings show how many appearances each team made, how many wins they have, when they first were NFL Champions, and when they last were the NFL Champions.
NFL Champions
NFL Champions Based on Winning Percentage (1920-1932)
| Season | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Akron Pros | |
| 1921 | Chicago Staleys * | |
| 1922 | Canton Bulldogs | |
| 1923 | Canton Bulldogs | |
| 1924 | Cleveland Bulldogs | |
| 1925 | Chicago Cardinals | |
| 1926 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | |
| 1927 | New York Giants | |
| 1928 | Providence Steam Roller | |
| 1929 | Green Bay Packers | |
| 1930 | Green Bay Packers | |
| 1931 | Green Bay Packers | |
| 1932 | Chicago Bears |
* The Chicago Staleys became the Chicago Bears in 1922.
NFL Champions Based on NFL Championship Game (1933-1969)
| Season | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Chicago Bears (3) | 23-21 | New York Giants |
| 1934 | New York Giants (2) | 30-13 | Chicago Bears |
| 1935 | Detroit Lions | 26-7 | New York Giants |
| 1936 | Green Bay Packers (4) | 21-6 | Boston Redskins |
| 1937 | Washington Redskins | 28-21 | Chicago Bears |
| 1938 | New York Giants (3) | 23-17 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1939 | Green Bay Packers (5) | 27-0 | New York Giants |
| 1940 | Chicago Bears (4) | 73-0 | Washington Redskins |
| 1941 | Chicago Bears (5) | 37-9 | New York Giants |
| 1942 | Washington Redskins (2) | 14-6 | Chicago Bears |
| 1943 | Chicago Bears (6) | 41-21 | Washington Redskins |
| 1944 | Green Bay Packers (6) | 14-7 | New York Giants |
| 1945 | Cleveland Rams | 15-14 | Washington Redskins |
| 1946 | Chicago Bears (7) | 24-14 | New York Giants |
| 1947 | Chicago Cardinals (2) | 28-21 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1948 | Philadelphia Eagles | 7-0 | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1949 | Philadelphia Eagles (2) | 14-0 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1950 | Cleveland Browns | 30-28 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1951 | Los Angeles Rams (2) | 24-17 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1952 | Detroit Lions (2) | 17-7 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1953 | Detroit Lions (3) | 17-16 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1954 | Cleveland Browns (2) | 56-10 | Detroit Lions |
| 1955 | Cleveland Browns (3) | 38-14 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1956 | New York Giants (4) | 47-7 | Chicago Bears |
| 1957 | Detroit Lions (4) | 59-14 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1958 | Baltimore Colts | 23-17 (OT) | New York Giants |
| 1959 | Baltimore Colts (2) | 31-16 | New York Giants |
| 1960 | Philadelphia Eagles (3) | 17-13 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1961 | Green Bay Packers (7) | 37-0 | New York Giants |
| 1962 | Green Bay Packers (8) | 16-7 | New York Giants |
| 1963 | Chicago Bears (8) | 14-10 | New York Giants |
| 1964 | Cleveland Browns (4) | 27-0 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1965 | Green Bay Packers (9) | 23-12 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1966 | Green Bay Packers (10) | 34-27 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1967 | Green Bay Packers (11) | 21-17 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1968 | Baltimore Colts (3) | 34-0 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1969 | Minnesota Vikings (1) | 27-7 | Cleveland Browns |
Number of NFL Championships
NFL Championships Based on Winning Percentage (1920-1932)
| Team | Wins | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Pros | 1 | 1920 | 1920 |
| Canton Bulldogs | 2 | 1922 | 1923 |
| Cleveland Bulldogs | 1 | 1924 | 1924 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 1 | 1925 | 1925 |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 1 | 1926 | 1926 |
| New York Giants | 1 | 1927 | 1927 |
| Providence Steam Roller | 1 | 1928 | 1928 |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 1929 | 1931 |
| Chicago Bears* | 2 | 1921 | 1932 |
* The Chicago Bears were called the Chicago Staleys in 1921. They were renamed the Chicago Bears in 1922.
NFL Championships Based on NFL Championship Game (1933-1969)
| Team | Appearances | Wins | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 1936 | 1967 |
| Chicago Bears | 10 | 6 | 1933 | 1963 |
| Cleveland Browns | 11 | 4 | 1950 | 1964 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 4 | 1935 | 1957 |
| New York Giants | 14 | 3 | 1934 | 1956 |
| Baltimore Colts | 4 | 3 | 1958 | 1968 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 3 | 1948 | 1960 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 2 | 1937 | 1942 |
| Los Angeles Rams * | 5 | 2 | 1945 | 1951 |
| Chicago Cardinals ** | 2 | 1 | 1947 | 1947 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 1 | 1 | 1969 | 1969 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 2 | 0 |
* The Los Angeles Rams started as the Cleveland Rams and are now the St. Louis Rams
** The Chicago Cardinals became the St. Louis Cardinals and are now the Arizona Cardinals
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