Below is a list of professional football Championship Games in the United States, involving:

  • the informal western Pennsylvania professional football circuit (WPC, 1890 to c.1910);
  • the 1902 "National" Football League and the World Series of Professional Football (WSF, 1902–1903);
  • the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC, 1903–1919);
  • the New York Pro Football League (NYPFL, 1916–1919);
  • the American Professional Football Association and the National Football League (NFL, 1920–present);
  • the All-America Football Conference (AAFC, 1946–1949);
  • the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969);
  • the World Football League (WFL, 1974–1975);
  • the United States Football League (USFL, 1983–85);
  • the XFL (2001);
  • the United Football League (2009–2011);
  • and any inter-league challenge games that included at least one champion of a major, or borderline-major, league.

Prior to 1920, no national professional football league existed, and play was scattered across semi-pro and professional leagues in the upper midwest. The first efforts at pro football championships were the World Series of Professional Football, featuring teams from and around New York City and the 1902 "National" Football League in Pennsylvania; two of the three "N"FL teams participated as one team in the World Series of Pro Football.

The Ohio League and New York Pro Football League were two prominent regional associations in the 1910s (the NYPFL held an actual championship game in 1919).

In 1920, teams from the Ohio League and New York Pro Football League, along with other midwestern teams, formalized into the American Professional Football Association (APFA), and the league was later renamed the National Football League (NFL).

The NFL conducted play for thirteen years before creating a "Championship Game": from 1920 through 1932, league "champions" were determined by won-loss record with ties excluded, but the schedules and rules were so ill-defined that conflicts exist to this day over who the actual champions were: some teams played more games than others, while some played against college or semi-pro teams, some played after the season was over, and some stopped play before a season was over. For example, in 1921, the Buffalo All-Americans disputed the Chicago Staleys' title, and in 1925, the Pottsville Maroons claimed the championship was theirs, not the Chicago Cardinals'. The APFA also had no official Championship Games before it changed its name to the NFL in 1922.

Boston/Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who credited with significant innovations by the NFL, convinced the NFL in 1933 to play a Championship Game between the two Division winners following the success of the 1932 Playoff Game.

Thus, 1933 was the year of the first national professional football Championship Game in the United States. See National Football League championships: note that game scores marked with a † (1921 and 1932) were de facto Championship Games, as these were the deciding games in determining a Championship, and also the last game played in that season - further, the Portsmouth Spartans, who were defeated in the 1932 Game, finished third as the Game counted in the season standings.

All games are listed under the year in which the majority of regular season games were played: especially since the 1960s, many championship games have been played in the January or, since 2002, February of the following year (i.e. the Championship Game of the 2011 NFL season was played in February 2012, but is listed here under 2011).

Prior to 1920

  • 1890 (WPC) - Allegheny Athletic Association (3-2-1)
  • 1891 (WPC) - Pittsburgh Athletic Club (7-0-0)
  • 1892 (WPC) - Allegheny Athletic Association 4, Pittsburgh Athletic Club 0
  • 1894 (WPC) - Allegheny Athletic Association 30, Pittsburgh Athletic Club 0
  • 1895 (WPC) - Duquesne Country and Athletic Club 10, Pittsburgh Athletic Club 6
  • 1896 (WPC) - Allegheny Athletic Association 18, Pittsburgh Athletic Club 0
  • 1897 (WPC) - Greensburg Athletic Association 6, Latrobe Athletic Association 0
  • 1898 (WPC) - Duquesne Country and Athletic Club 16, Western Pennsylvania All-Stars 0
  • 1900 (WPC) - Homestead AC 30, East End Athletic Association (Pittsburgh) 0
  • 1901 (WPC) - Homestead AC 18, Philadelphia Athletics 0
  • 1902 (NFL1902) – Pittsburgh Stars 11, Philadelphia Athletics 0

::: (WSF) – All-Syracuse 36, Orange AC 0

::: (OIC) – Akron East Ends

  • 1903 (OIC) – Massillon Tigers (8-1-0) 11, Akron East Ends 0

::: (WPC) - Latrobe Athletic Association 6, Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA 0

::: (WSF) – Franklin Athletic Club 12, Watertown Red & Black 0

  • 1904 (OIC) – Massillon Tigers (7-0-0) 6, Akron East Ends 5

::: (WPC) - Latrobe Athletic Association 5, Steelton Athletic Club 0

  • 1905 (OIC) – Massillon Tigers (10-0-0) 10, Canton Bulldogs 0
  • 1906 (OIC) – Massillon Tigers (10-1-0) 13, Canton Bulldogs 6
  • 1907 (OIC) – All-Massillons (7-0-1, won by a common-opponent tiebreaker over the Shelby Blues)
  • 1908 (OIC) – Akron Indians 8-0-1
  • 1909 (OIC) – Akron Indians (9-0-0) 12, Shelby Blues 9
  • 1910 (OIC) – Shelby Blues/Shelby Tigers (14-0-1) 8, Akron Indians 5
  • 1911 (OIC) – Shelby Blues (10-0-0) 1, Canton Bulldogs 0 (forfeit)
  • 1912 (OIC) – Elyria Athletics (8-0-0)
  • 1913 (OIC) – Akron Indians (8-1-2) 20, Shelby Blues 0
  • 1914 (OIC) – Akron Indians (8-2-1) 21, Canton Bulldogs 0
  • 1915 (OIC) – Youngstown Patricians (8-0-1) 13, Washington Vigilants 7
  • 1916 (OIC) – Canton Bulldogs (9-0-1) 24, Massillon Tigers 0
  • 1917 (OIC) – Canton Bulldogs (9-1-0) 7, Detroit Heralds 0

::: (NYPFL) – All-Tonawanda 9, Rochester Jeffersons 7

  • 1918 (OIC) – Dayton Triangles (8-0-0) 62, Miamis 0

::: (Buffalo Semi-Pro FL) – Buffalo Niagaras 5-0-0, did not play outside Buffalo due to 1918 flu pandemic

  • 1919 (OIC) – Canton Bulldogs 9-0-1

::: (NYPFL) – Buffalo Prospects 20, Rochester Jeffersons 0

::: (Self proclaim) - Rock Island Independents

1920-1932

  • 1920 (APFA) – Akron Pros (8-0-3) 0, Buffalo/Phoenixville (20-1*-1) 0; Akron wins by virtue of no losses†
  • 1921 (APFA) – Chicago Staleys (10-1-1) 10, Buffalo All-Americans 7†
  • 1922 (NFL) – Canton Bulldogs 10-0-2
  • 1923 (NFL) – Canton Bulldogs 11-0-1
  • 1924 (NFL) – Cleveland Bulldogs 7-1-1
  • 1925 (NFL) – Chicago Cardinals 11-2-1
  • 1926 (NFL) – Frankford Yellow Jackets 14-1-1

::: (NFL-AFL26 challenge) – New York Giants 31, Philadelphia Quakers 0

  • 1927 (NFL) – New York Giants 11-1-1
  • 1928 (NFL) – Providence Steam Roller 8-1-2
  • 1929 (NFL) – Green Bay Packers 12-0-1
  • 1930 (NFL) – Green Bay Packers 10-3-1
  • 1931 (NFL) – Green Bay Packers 12-2-0
  • 1932 (NFL) – Chicago Bears (7-1-6) 9, Portsmouth Spartans 0†

1933-1959

  • 1933 (NFL) – Chicago Bears 23, New York Giants 21
  • 1934 (NFL) – New York Giants 30, Chicago Bears 13
  • 1935 (NFL) – Detroit Lions 26, New York Giants 7
  • 1936 (NFL) – Green Bay Packers 21, Boston Redskins 6
  • 1937 (NFL) – Washington Redskins 28, Chicago Bears 21
  • 1938 (NFL) – New York Giants 23, Green Bay Packers 17
  • 1939 (NFL) – Green Bay Packers 27, New York Giants 0
  • 1940 (NFL) – Chicago Bears 73, Washington Redskins 0
  • 1940 (PCFL–AFL40) – Los Angeles Bulldogs (PCFL) 7, Columbus Bullies (AFL40) 0
  • 1941 (AFL40-WIFU) – Columbus Bullies 31, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1
  • 1941 (NFL) – Chicago Bears 37, New York Giants 9
  • 1942 (NFL) – Washington Redskins 14, Chicago Bears 6
  • 1943 (NFL) – Chicago Bears 41, Washington Redskins 21
  • 1944 (NFL) – Green Bay Packers 14, New York Giants 7
  • 1944 (PCFL-AFL44) – Hollywood Rangers (AFL44) 21, San Diego Bombers (PCFL) 10 - San Antonio Toros 20 vs. Texarkana Titans 19
  • 1983 (USFL) - Michigan Panthers 24 vs. Philadelphia Stars 22
  • 1984 (USFL) - Philadelphia Stars 23 vs. Arizona Wranglers 3
  • 1985 (USFL) – Baltimore Stars 28 vs. Oakland Invaders 24
  • 1999 (RFL) - Mobile Admirals 14 vs. Houston Outlaws 12
  • 2001 (XFL) – Million Dollar Game – Los Angeles Xtreme 38 vs. San Francisco Demons 6
  • 2019 (AAF) - Shortened season: The Orlando Apollos had the best overall record when the league collapsed, and were declared champions.
  • 2020 (XFL) - Shortened season: The Houston Roughnecks had the best overall record mid-season, but the second half was not completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 2022 (USFL) – Birmingham Stallions 33 vs. Philadelphia Stars 30
  • 2023 (XFL) - Arlington Renegades 35 vs. DC Defenders 26;

:::(USFL) Birmingham Stallions 28 vs. Pittsburgh Maulers 12

::::An interleague championship was played March 30, 2024 as the inaugural game of the UFL.

::::* Birmingham Stallions 27, Arlington Renegades 14

  • Story of World Bowl I from the Professional Football Researchers Association

References