A rival league started in 1960, fought the NFL for players and television, then agreed to merge in 1966. Here is how the AFL-NFL war worked, what the merger changed and why the draft came first.
The Colts beat the Giants in the first NFL title game to go to sudden-death overtime. Here is how that afternoon unfolded and how much of its reputation as a turning point is earned.
In 1925 a college star left Illinois for the Chicago Bears and drew crowds pro football had never seen. Here is what Red Grange did, what it changed and what it did not.
In the 1920s and early 1930s the NFL was a shaky league of small-town clubs that came and went. Here is how it worked, why so many teams failed, and what finally steadied it.
The NFL began in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, born in a car dealership in Canton, Ohio. Here is why it formed, who joined, and what it looked like.
For decades football had no forward pass. The 1906 reforms allowed it with heavy limits, and it took years of rule changes and a few famous games before passing became central.
After a brutal 1905 season, colleges debated abolishing football. A White House meeting and a convention of schools saved the game and created the body now called the NCAA.
On November 6, 1869, two New Jersey colleges played a game now counted as the first of college football. Here is what it looked like, what it was not, and why it still matters.
Walter Camp is called the father of American football. Here is what he actually changed, which changes were collective work, and why a problem with the scrum led to downs.
American football, soccer and rugby share a family tree. Here is how a street game became two codes in England and then a third, very different game on American campuses.