The NFL wasn’t “made” by just one person; it was created in 1920 by a group of team owners who formed a new pro football league in Canton, Ohio, originally called the American Professional Football Association (APFA). A key early leader and public face was legendary player Jim Thorpe, who served as the league’s first president.

Quick Scoop

How the NFL Started

  • On September 17, 1920, several professional team representatives met in a car showroom in Canton, Ohio, to organize a new league called the APFA.
  • This league was renamed the National Football League (NFL) in 1922, marking the official birth of the NFL name fans know today.

The People Behind It

  • Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay hosted the founding meeting in his Hupmobile dealership and helped gather the owners who would launch the league.
  • Jim Thorpe, one of the most famous athletes of the era, was chosen as the first president, lending star power and credibility to the new league.

Early Teams Involved

  • Early franchises included the Akron Pros, Decatur Staleys (who later became the Chicago Bears), and the Racine/Chicago Cardinals, among others.
  • The Akron Pros became the first champions of the new league after the 1920 season, setting the stage for the NFL’s championship tradition.

Why It Matters Today

  • The founders’ goal was to stabilize pro football—control salaries, stop players from jumping between teams, and make the sport more organized and legitimate.
  • That small 1920 meeting in Canton grew into today’s massive NFL, now the most commercially powerful American football league and a dominant force in U.S. sports culture.

TL;DR: No single person “made” the NFL; a group of team owners formed a new league in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, with Jim Thorpe as its first president and the name changing to “National Football League” in 1922.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.