List of defunct NFL franchises

File:Akron pros 1920.jpg

The Akron Pros, the first champions of the National Football League, lost their franchise in Template:Nfly.

File:DTvsNYG.jpg

The Dallas Texans, who played only the Template:Nfly 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.<ref name="NFL Bylaws, p. 6, 12-15">NFL Bylaws, p. 6, 12–15.</ref> There are currently 32 clubs in the league, and new members can only be approved with the support of 3/4s of current members.<ref name="NFL Bylaws, p. 3">NFL Bylaws, p. 3.</ref> In the case of egregious misbehavior, a club's franchise can be revoked or suspended by the league's commissioner.<ref name="NFL Bylaws, p. 28-35">NFL Bylaws, p. 28-35.</ref>

The NFL has had a total of 49 franchises become defunct over its history;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> this includes ten of the league's twelve founding members, with only the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals surviving to the present day.<ref name="National Football League (NFL)">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Five defunct NFL franchises (the Akron Pros/Indians, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs/Indians, Frankford Yellow Jackets, and the Providence Steamroller) 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.<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />

Defunct franchises

Key

^	Denotes the club had won an NFL championship before folding<ref name="NFL Champions">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

List of defunct NFL franchises

Club	City	Joined NFL	Folded	Ref(s)
Akron Pros/Indians^	Akron, Ohio	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref></ref>	1926	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NFL Champions" />
Baltimore Colts	Baltimore, Maryland	1950<ref group="upper-alpha" name="b">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.<ref name="All-America Football Conference">Template:Cite journal</ref></ref>	1950	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Boston Yanks	Boston, Massachusetts	1943	1948	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers	Brooklyn, New York	1930	1944	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Brooklyn Lions	Brooklyn, New York	1926	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons/Rangers	Buffalo, New York	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1929<ref group="upper-alpha" name="c">The Buffalo Bisons franchise was inactive for the 1928 season.<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /></ref>	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Canton Bulldogs^	Canton, Ohio	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1926<ref group="upper-alpha" name="d">The Canton Bulldogs franchise was inactive for the 1924 season.<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /></ref>	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /><ref name="NFL Champions" />
Chicago Tigers	Chicago, Illinois	1920	1920	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Cincinnati Celts	Cincinnati, Ohio	1921	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	1933	1934<ref group="upper-alpha" name="reds">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.</ref>	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Cleveland Tigers/Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Cleveland Indians/Bulldogs^	Cleveland, Ohio	1923	1927<ref group="upper-alpha" name="e">The Cleveland Bulldogs franchise was inactive for the 1926 season.<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /></ref>	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /><ref name="NFL Champions" />
Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	1931	1931	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Columbus Panhandles/Tigers	Columbus, Ohio	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Dallas Texans	Dallas, Texas	1952	1952	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Dayton Triangles	Dayton, Ohio	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1929	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Detroit Heralds	Detroit, Michigan	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1920	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Detroit Panthers	Detroit, Michigan	1925	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	1921	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Detroit Wolverines	Detroit, Michigan	1928	1928	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos	Duluth, Minnesota	1923	1927	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Evansville Crimson Giants	Evansville, Indiana	1921	1922	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Frankford Yellow Jackets^	Frankford, Philadelphia	1924	1931	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /><ref name="NFL Champions" />
Hammond Pros	Hammond, Indiana	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Hartford Blues	Hartford, Connecticut	1926	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Kansas City Blues/Cowboys	Kansas City, Missouri	1924	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Kenosha Maroons	Kenosha, Wisconsin	1924	1924	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Los Angeles Buccaneers	Los Angeles, California	1926	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Louisville Brecks/Colonels	Louisville, Kentucky	1921	1926<ref group="upper-alpha" name="f">The Louisville Brecks franchise was inactive for the 1924 and 1925 seasons.<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /></ref>	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Milwaukee Badgers	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1922	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets	Minneapolis, Minnesota	1921	1930<ref group="upper-alpha" name="g">The Minneapolis Marines franchise was inactive from 1925 to 1928.<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /></ref>	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Muncie Flyers	Muncie, Indiana	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
New York Bulldogs/Yanks	New York, New York	1949	1951	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
New York Yankees	New York, New York	1927	1928	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
New York Giants	New York, New York	1921	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Orange/Newark Tornadoes	Orange, New Jersey (1929) Newark, New Jersey (1930)	1929	1930	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Oorang Indians	LaRue, Ohio	1922	1923	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Pottsville Maroons/Boston Bulldogs	Pottsville, Pennsylvania (1925–1928) Boston, Massachusetts (1929)	1925	1929	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Providence Steamrollers^	Providence, Rhode Island	1925	1931	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" /><ref name="NFL Champions" />
Racine Legion/Tornadoes	Racine, Wisconsin	1922	1926	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Rochester Jeffersons	Rochester, New York	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1925	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Rock Island Independents	Rock Island, Illinois	1920<ref group=upper-alpha name=a />	1925	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
St. Louis All-Stars	St. Louis, Missouri	1923	1923	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
St. Louis Gunners	St. Louis, Missouri	1934<ref group="upper-alpha" name="reds"></ref>	1934	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Staten Island Stapletons/Stapes	Staten Island, New York	1929	1932	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Toledo Maroons	Toledo, Ohio	1922	1923	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Tonawanda Kardex	Tonawanda, New York	1921	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />
Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	1921	1921	<ref name="National Football League Franchise Histories" />

See also

• NFL franchise moves and mergers
• Steagles
• Card-Pitt
• List of defunct and relocated Major League Baseball teams
• List of defunct NBA teams
• List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams
• Major League Soccer defunct clubs

References

General

• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} Template:Refend

External links

• National Football League