The NFL was not created by a single person; it was formed by a group of team owners in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, under the original name American Professional Football Association (APFA), and renamed the National Football League in 1922.

Founding meeting

On September 17, 1920, owners and representatives of several Midwestern professional teams met at the Hupmobile automobile showroom of Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay in Canton, Ohio, to organize a formal league. This meeting produced the APFA, generally recognized as the direct predecessor of today’s NFL.

Key individuals

Ralph Hay, as the Canton Bulldogs’ owner and host of the meeting, is often credited as the chief organizer who convened the owners and pushed for a unified league structure. Jim Thorpe, a famous multi-sport athlete and Canton star, was elected the league’s first president to lend credibility and publicity to the new association.

Evolution into today’s NFL

The APFA changed its name to the National Football League in 1922 after owners, including Chicago’s George Halas, moved to adopt a more memorable and national-sounding title. Because it emerged from a collective of team owners across several states rather than a single founder, historians describe the NFL as the product of a group initiative, not the invention of one individual.