NFL Needs to Recognize Pre-Super Bowl Era

[mjt328]

One of my frustrations with the NFL, is the refusal to recognize championships from before Super Bowl I occurred.

Professional football in the NFL goes back to 1920.  Not 1967.

Here are some facts that not everyone may know:

 

The Green Bay Packers have actually won more championships (13 overall) than both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers combined.

The Chicago Bears have the second-most championships (9) out of anyone in the NFL.

 

Several teams who have never won a Super Bowl, have actually won multiple championships before that era began.  They include the Cleveland Browns (4), Detroit Lions (4), Buffalo Bills (2) and Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (2).  As a fan of the Bills, I know the frustration that exists over never hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and awful feeling like they will never get it done.  I often wonder if some of that could be alleviated if the NFL would just acknowledge more than 56 years of league history.

 

The Bills last championship was in 1965.  They have two overall.

The New York Jets last championship was in 1969.  They have one overall.

The Miami Dolphins last championship was in 1974.  They have two overall.

 

[Coach Tuesday]

I will add this to the list of my world grievances.

[nucci]

Not sure how an AFL championship can help alleviate 4 Superbowl losses in a row

[thenorthremembers]

It was a completely different league.  Should they recognize USFL and XFL as well?

 

I think the NFL does a good job of recognizing the history of the AFL and its impact on the development of what the NFL is now, but there is no reason to recognize the championships.

[Mikie2times]

4 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

One of my frustrations with the NFL, is the refusal to recognize championships from before Super Bowl I occurred.

Professional football in the NFL goes back to 1920.  Not 1967.

Here are some facts that not everyone may know:

 

The Green Bay Packers have actually won more championships (13 overall) than both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers combined.

The Chicago Bears have the second-most championships (9) out of anyone in the NFL.

 

Several teams who have never won a Super Bowl, have actually won multiple championships before that era began.  They include the Cleveland Browns (4), Detroit Lions (4), Buffalo Bills (2) and Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (2).  As a fan of the Bills, I know the frustration that exists over never hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and awful feeling like they will never get it done.  I often wonder if some of that could be alleviated if the NFL would just acknowledge more than 56 years of league history.

 

The Bills last championship was in 1965.  They have two overall.

The New York Jets last championship was in 1969.  They have one overall.

The Miami Dolphins last championship was in 1974.  They have two overall.

 

So do we count the AAFC which had multiple future NFL teams (just like the AFL). If so, the Browns have 4 more championships.  Then you see teams like the Frankford Yellow Jackets and Providence Steam Rollers in the NFL. 

 

I love the history of the game. I understand why they want a degree of uniformity and they accomplish that by using the word Championship vs Super Bowl. If the word is championship, nobody will dismiss what you're outlining. If the word is Super Bowl, we are talking about a specific title that didn't occur until the late 60's. 

[US Egg]

…..and another thing:

[Low Positive]

They talk about this stuff all the time. Turn in NFL network in the summer and you’ll likely see old Jim Brown footage, the Ice Bowl and Frank Gifford in the Greatest Game Ever Played. In another thread today, I wondered how badly the 1964 Bills would have been beaten by the NFL champion Browns in a hypothetical Superbowl -3.

[strive_for_five_guy]

We still haven’t won a Super Bowl in my lifetime, which will be an obsession of mine until we do.

[BillsVet]

I want the 1925 Pottsville Maroons to get credit for the NFL Championship they won and rightfully deserve recognition for!

 

 

 

 

[Low Positive]

8 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

I want the 1925 Pottsville Maroons to get credit for the NFL Championship they won and rightfully deserve recognition for!

 

 

 

 

[strive_for_five_guy]

4 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

I want the 1925 Pottsville Maroons to get credit for the NFL Championship they won and rightfully deserve recognition for!

 

 

 

 

No Fun League then, No Fun League now!  Lots of people turned off the radio and stopped listening after that BS.

 

 

[Low Positive]

14 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

I want the 1925 Pottsville Maroons to get credit for the NFL Championship they won and rightfully deserve recognition for!

 

 

 

 

What about the 1921 Buffalo All-Americans, staring player-coach Tommy Hughitt. They was robbed too. This guy can play for my squad any day.

Edited November 9, 2023 by FrenchConnection

[BillsVet]

15 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

No Fun League then, No Fun League now!  Lots of people turned off the radio and stopped listening after that BS.

 

I'm sure there were a lot of afternoon daily newspapers prematurely thrown in the trash by Maroons fans.  

14 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said:

What about the 1921 Buffalo All-Americans, staring player-coach Tommy Hughitt. They was robbed too. This guy can play for my squad any day.

 

What the heck was Warren Harding doing back then aside from covering up his affair?

[chongli]

1 hour ago, nucci said:

Not sure how an AFL championship can help alleviate 4 Superbowl losses in a row

 

Make that two AFL championships in a row. We were the best in the world. Also, four SB losses in a row means four AFC championships in a row, something no team has ever done. People need to start respecting the great history of our organization.

 

#BillsMafia

#OneBuffalo

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, mjt328 said:

One of my frustrations with the NFL, is the refusal to recognize championships from before Super Bowl I occurred.

Professional football in the NFL goes back to 1920.  Not 1967.

Here are some facts that not everyone may know:

 

The Green Bay Packers have actually won more championships (13 overall) than both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers combined.

The Chicago Bears have the second-most championships (9) out of anyone in the NFL.

 

Several teams who have never won a Super Bowl, have actually won multiple championships before that era began.  They include the Cleveland Browns (4), Detroit Lions (4), Buffalo Bills (2) and Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (2).  As a fan of the Bills, I know the frustration that exists over never hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and awful feeling like they will never get it done.  I often wonder if some of that could be alleviated if the NFL would just acknowledge more than 56 years of league history.

 

The Bills last championship was in 1965.  They have two overall.

The New York Jets last championship was in 1969.  They have one overall.

The Miami Dolphins last championship was in 1974.  They have two overall.

 

 

you got a link showing how the NFL does not acknowledge their own league champs throughout history?  

 

The NFL obviously did not include the AFL before the merger, so why would the NFL focus on another league's champs? Should they also acknowledge the XFL and USFL champs?

[nucci]

18 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

Make that two AFL championships in a row. We were the best in the world. Also, four SB losses in a row means four AFC championships in a row, something no team has ever done. People need to start respecting the great history of our organization.

 

#BillsMafia

#OneBuffalo

I'm aware of all this and we were never the best in the world. Not downplaying AFC championships but the goal is to win the Superbowl and we lost 4 in a row...something no team has ever done.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

3 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

It was a completely different league.  Should they recognize USFL and XFL as well?

 

I think the NFL does a good job of recognizing the history of the AFL and its impact on the development of what the NFL is now, but there is no reason to recognize the championships.

 

The USFL and XFL NEVER MERGED WITH THE NFL, so this is a BS argument. The Jets won Super Bowl III and the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV.

 

Mike Garrett, Len Dawson, Otis Taylor and Buck Buchanan were all AFL stars who played for the Chiefs in 1966 who won Super Bowl IV.

 

You can't treat the AFL like an also ran league of bums and call yourself a Bills fan.

Edited November 9, 2023 by EasternOHBillsFan

[MJS]

Well, NFL Championships are not the same as Superbowl Championships. They correlate to NFC and AFC championships today.

 

The Superbowl is a very specific thing. It is the game that two championship teams play against each other. It did not exist before 1967.

[May Day 10]

The start of the Superbowl was/is a pretty serious delineation (I mean the Browns and Lions traded championships for years prior to the Superbowl).   The NFL Champions prior to that are recognized.  Usually you talk in terms of a teams' Superbowl Championships.  If the just say Championships and omit pre-merger days, then they are wrong and should be bopped.

 

Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Frank Gifford, etc are all relevant and they all count.  
 

AFL Championships should not be viewed on the same plane as NFL Championships.

 

 

[dollars 2 donuts]

4 hours ago, nucci said:

Not sure how an AFL championship can help alleviate 4 Superbowl losses in a row

 

 

Tangential to that, Nuch, are we the only team to every lose 4 deciding championships in a row?

 

The Dodgers while in Brooklyn are the only team that comes to mind that might have lost three world series in a row, and I am not even sure about that.

 

EDIT:  New York Giants lost the World series in 1911, 1912 and 1913.

 

EDIT 2:  Detroit Tigers lost three straight in 1907, 1908 and 1909.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by dollars 2 donuts