rofessional football has given today's game much of its glamour and popularity along with many significant rule concepts. Let us continue our story on how the professional level graduated through its infancy where we left off in Part VIII.

The National Football League

The first organized league of professional football teams was the American Professional Football Association established in 1920. In 1922 the APFA gave way to a new league called the National Football League. The NFL like its predecessor struggled in the areas of quality player recruitment, fan support, and financial backing in the early days. Their prayers were answered just three years later though when Red Grange, the famous halfback from the University of Illinois, signed with the Chicago Bears in 1925.

Grange brought excitement to the game and that led to an enormous surge of fans to watch him. Other college players saw the attention that Grange garnered, and they also joined the ranks of NFL players. The league now had some of the best athletes in the world and a great patronage to make it economically viable.

Continued...