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Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1920

American Professional Football Association founded

On September 17, 1920 Ralph Hay, owner of the Canton Bulldogs, convened ten teams at his Canton auto showroom, forming the league that became the NFL. A Canton plaque honors Hay and Jim Thorpe.

At a glance

Year
1920
By
Ralph E. Hay, Jim Thorpe
Company
NFL
Place
Canton, Stark County ZIP 44702 · Canton · Stark County

The story

In 1920 professional football was a patchwork of town teams that paid players more and more, bid against each other for stars, and played whatever schedule they could. Teams wanted rules. Ralph Hay, who owned the Canton Bulldogs and a car dealership, brought them together.

Hay was born in 1891 and sold Hupmobiles and Pierce-Arrows across Ohio. He bought the Bulldogs in 1918 and owned them until 1923. On September 17, 1920, representatives of ten professional teams met in his showroom in Canton. The league they formed, first called the American Professional Football Association, would become the National Football League.

At that meeting teams from four states were present, including Akron, Canton, Cleveland and Dayton from Ohio, with others from Indiana, New York and Illinois. They elected Jim Thorpe as first president. The league had 14 teams in its first season, and four more joined that year. On June 24, 1922 it took the name National Football League.

Only two original teams survive in the NFL: the Decatur Staleys, now the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Cardinals, now the Arizona Cardinals. Canton put up a plaque honoring Hay and Thorpe at the former showroom site, and the Hall of Fame gives a Ralph Hay Pioneer Award.

Timeline

  • 1918: Ralph Hay acquires the Canton Bulldogs. (Canton, OH) source
  • 1920-09-17: Representatives of ten teams meet at Hay's showroom; the American Professional Football Association is formed and Jim Thorpe is elected president. (Canton, OH) source
  • 1922-06-24: The APFA renames itself the National Football League. source
  • 1923: Hay's ownership of the Bulldogs ends. (Canton, OH) source

What it changed

  • The league started with 14 teams and grew by four in its first year.
  • Two of those first teams still play in the NFL.

Why it matters

Founding of the NFL.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.