List of defunct NFL franchises

The Akron Pros, the first champions of the National Football League, lost their franchise in 1926. The Dallas Texans, who played only the 1952 season, were the last franchise to go defunct. The remnants of the Texans' organization was absorbed by a new franchise that became the modern Colts.

Membership in the National Football League (NFL) is certified by a franchise. A franchise is awarded by the league to each member club and serves as the league's authorization to operate as a professional football club in their city. Franchises award member clubs the exclusive right to hold professional football games between league members within a 75-mile radius of their city as well as the exclusive rights to market games in their area.[1] There are currently 32 clubs in the league, and new members can only be approved with the support of 3/4s of current members.[2] In the case of egregious misbehavior, a club's franchise can be revoked or suspended by the league's commissioner.[3]

The NFL has had a total of 49 franchises become defunct over its history;[4] this includes ten of the league's twelve founding members, with only the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals surviving to the present day.[5] By 1926, the league had expanded to 22 franchises, but a league meeting in April 1927 led to the decision to revoke the franchises of the clubs in the weakest financial situations; 10 franchises were ultimately revoked.[6]

Five defunct NFL franchises (the Akron Pros/Indians, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs/Indians, Frankford Yellow Jackets, and Providence Steamrollers) had previously won NFL championships. The most recent franchise to become defunct was the Dallas Texans, which folded in 1952 after one season in the league.[7]

## Defunct franchises

[edit]

Key  ^  | Denotes the club had won an NFL championship before folding[8]

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List of defunct NFL franchises  Club  | City  | Joined NFL  | Folded  | Ref(s)

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Akron Pros/Indians^ | Akron, Ohio | 1920[A] | 1926  | [7][8]
Baltimore Colts | Baltimore, Maryland | 1950[B] | 1950  | [7]
Boston Yanks | Boston, Massachusetts | 1943  | 1948  | [7]
Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers | Brooklyn, New York | 1930  | 1944  | [7]
Brooklyn Lions | Brooklyn, New York | 1926  | 1926  | [7]
Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons/Rangers | Buffalo, New York | 1920[A] | 1929[C] | [7]
Canton Bulldogs^ | Canton, Ohio | 1920[A] | 1926[D] | [7][8]
Chicago Tigers | Chicago, Illinois | 1920  | 1920  | [7]
Cincinnati Celts | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1921  | 1921  | [7]
Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1933  | 1934[E] | [7]
Cleveland Tigers/Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | 1920[A] | 1921  | [7]
Cleveland Indians/Bulldogs^ | Cleveland, Ohio | 1923  | 1927[F] | [7][8]
Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | 1931  | 1931  | [7]
Columbus Panhandles/Tigers | Columbus, Ohio | 1920[A] | 1926  | [7]
Dallas Texans | Dallas, Texas | 1952  | 1952  | [7]
Dayton Triangles | Dayton, Ohio | 1920[A] | 1929  | [7]
Detroit Heralds | Detroit, Michigan | 1920[A] | 1920  | [7]
Detroit Panthers | Detroit, Michigan | 1925  | 1926  | [7]
Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | 1921  | 1921  | [7]
Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | 1928  | 1928  | [7]
Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos | Duluth, Minnesota | 1923  | 1927  | [7]
Evansville Crimson Giants | Evansville, Indiana | 1921  | 1922  | [7]
Frankford Yellow Jackets^ | Frankford, Philadelphia | 1924  | 1931  | [7][8]
Hammond Pros | Hammond, Indiana | 1920[A] | 1926  | [7]
Hartford Blues | Hartford, Connecticut | 1926  | 1926  | [7]
Kansas City Blues/Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | 1924  | 1926  | [7]
Kenosha Maroons | Kenosha, Wisconsin | 1924  | 1924  | [7]
Los Angeles Buccaneers | Los Angeles, California | 1926  | 1926  | [7]
Louisville Brecks/Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | 1921  | 1926[G] | [7]
Milwaukee Badgers | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1922  | 1926  | [7]
Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 1921  | 1930[H] | [7]
Muncie Flyers | Muncie, Indiana | 1920[A] | 1921  | [7]
New York Bulldogs/Yanks | New York, New York | 1949  | 1951  | [7]
New York Yankees | New York, New York | 1927  | 1928  | [7]
New York Giants | New York, New York | 1921  | 1921  | [7]
Orange/Newark Tornadoes | Orange, New Jersey (1929)
Newark, New Jersey (1930)  | 1929  | 1930  | [7]
Oorang Indians | LaRue, Ohio | 1922  | 1923  | [7]
Pottsville Maroons/Boston Bulldogs | Pottsville, Pennsylvania (1925–1928)
Boston, Massachusetts (1929)  | 1925  | 1929  | [7]
Providence Steamrollers^ | Providence, Rhode Island | 1925  | 1931  | [7][8]
Racine Legion/Tornadoes | Racine, Wisconsin | 1922  | 1926  | [7]
Rochester Jeffersons | Rochester, New York | 1920[A] | 1925  | [7]
Rock Island Independents | Rock Island, Illinois | 1920[A] | 1925  | [7]
St. Louis All-Stars | St. Louis, Missouri | 1923  | 1923  | [7]
St. Louis Gunners | St. Louis, Missouri | 1934[E] | 1934  | [7]
Staten Island Stapletons/Stapes | Staten Island, New York | 1929  | 1932  | [7]
Toledo Maroons | Toledo, Ohio | 1922  | 1923  | [7]
Tonawanda Kardex | Tonawanda, New York | 1921  | 1921  | [7]
Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | 1921  | 1921  | [7]

## See also

[edit]

* National Football League franchise moves and mergers
* Steagles
* Card-Pitt
* List of defunct and relocated Major League Baseball teams
* List of defunct National Basketball Association teams
* List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams
* Major League Soccer defunct clubs

## Notes

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Founding member of the league.[9]
2. ^ The Baltimore Colts were originally members of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), but the franchise was accepted into the NFL when the AAFC folded in 1949.[10]
3. ^ The Buffalo Bisons franchise was inactive for the 1928 season.[7]
4. ^ The Canton Bulldogs franchise was inactive for the 1924 season.[7]
5. ^ a b The Cincinnati Reds franchise was revoked with three games remaining in the 1934 season, and the St. Louis Gunners were temporarily enfranchised at that time to finish the Reds' schedule.
6. ^ The Cleveland Bulldogs franchise was inactive for the 1926 season.[7]
7. ^ The Louisville Brecks franchise was inactive for the 1924 and 1925 seasons.[7]
8. ^ The Minneapolis Marines franchise was inactive from 1925 to 1928.[7]

## References

[edit]

### General

[edit]

* "Constitution and Bylaws of the National Football League" (PDF). NFL.com. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

### Specific

[edit]

1. ^ NFL Bylaws, p. 6, 12–15.
2. ^ NFL Bylaws, p. 3.
3. ^ NFL Bylaws, p. 28-35.
4. ^ "Pro Football teams that came and went". ESPN. August 14, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
5. ^ "National Football League (NFL)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
6. ^ "NFL History by Decade: 1921–1930". National Football League. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb "National Football League Franchise Histories". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
8. ^ a b c d e f "NFL Champions". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
9. ^ "NFL History by Decade: 1911–1920". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
10. ^ Grosshandler, Stan (1980). "All-America Football Conference" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 2 (7). Professional Football Researchers Association: 3, 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.

## External links

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* National Football League

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Defunct NFL franchises

Charter
teams|

* Chicago Tigers (1920)
* Cleveland Tigers / Indians (1920–1921)
* Muncie Flyers (1920–1921)
* Rochester Jeffersons (1920–1925)
* Rock Island Independents (1920–1925)
* Akron Pros / Indians (1920–1926)
* Canton Bulldogs (1920–1926)
* Columbus Panhandles / Tigers (1920–1926)
* Hammond Pros (1920–1926)
* Detroit Heralds / Tigers / Panthers / Wolverines (1920–1928)
* Buffalo All-Americans / Bisons / Rangers (1920–1929)
* Dayton Triangles (1920–1929)

1920s|

* Cincinnati Celts (1921)
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* Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen (1921)
* Washington Senators (1921)
* Evansville Crimson Giants (1921–1922)
* Louisville Breckenridges / Colonels (1921–1923, 1926)
* Minneapolis Marines / Red Jackets (1921–1924, 1929–1930)
* Oorang Indians (1922–1923)
* Toledo Maroons (1922–1923)
* Racine Legion / Tornadoes (1922–1924, 1926)
* Milwaukee Badgers (1922–1926)
* St. Louis All-Stars (1923)
* Cleveland Indians / Bulldogs (1923–1927)
* Duluth Kelleys / Eskimos (1923–1927)
* Kenosha Maroons (1924)
* Kansas City Blues (1924)
* Kansas City Cowboys (1925–1926)
* Frankford Yellow Jackets (1924–1931)
* Pottsville Maroons / Boston Bulldogs (1925–1929)
* Providence Steam Roller (1925–1931)
* Brooklyn Lions (1926)
* Hartford Blues (1926)
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* Staten Island Stapletons (1929–1932)

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