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The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Divisions in 1950 and then back to the Eastern and Western Divisions in 1953 and once more to the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1967, were organized as a result of the NFL championship of 1932. NFL owners agreed that henceforth there would be an annual championship game, to be played between the teams with the best records from two divisions, Eastern and Western. The two-division/conference structure remained essentially stable for over 35 years, including the absorption of former All-America Football Conference teams in 1950, and the early expansion teams added in the 1960s in response to the American Football League. With the 1970 AFL–NFL merger the new, larger league was reorganized.
 |
1933–1949
| Eastern Division | Western Division |
|---|---|
| Boston Redskins (Washington from 1937) | Chicago Bears |
| Brooklyn Dodgers (Tigers 1944, defunct) | Chicago Cardinals |
| New York Giants | Cincinnati Reds (1933–34, defunct) |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Green Bay Packers |
| Pittsburgh Pirates (Steelers from 1940, merged with Philadelphia (Steagles) in 1943, and Chicago Cardinals (Card-Pitt) in 1944, resuming in 1945) | Portsmouth Spartans (Detroit Lions from 1934) |
| Boston Yanks (1944–1948, New York Bulldogs 1949) | St. Louis Gunners (1934, defunct) |
| Cleveland Rams (1937, suspended operations for one year in 1943, Los Angeles from 1946) |
1950–1966
| American Division 1950–1952 Eastern Division 1953–1966 |
National Division 1950–1952 Western Division 1953–1966 |
|---|---|
| Chicago Cardinals (St. Louis from 1960) | Baltimore Colts (I) (ex-AAFC, 1950, defunct) |
| Cleveland Browns (ex-AAFC, from 1950) | Chicago Bears |
| New York Giants | Detroit Lions |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Green Bay Packers |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Los Angeles Rams |
| Washington Redskins | New York Yanks (1950–51, ex-Bulldogs, Dallas Texans (I) 1952, defunct) |
| San Francisco 49ers (ex-AAFC, from 1950) | |
| Baltimore Colts (II) (from 1953) | |
| Dallas Cowboys (from 1961) | Dallas Cowboys (1960 only) |
| Atlanta Falcons (1966 only) | Minnesota Vikings (from 1961) |
1967–1969
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Division | Century Division | Central Division | Coastal Division |
| Dallas Cowboys | Cleveland Browns | Chicago Bears | Atlanta Falcons |
| New Orleans Saints (1967 & 1969) | New York Giants (1967 & 1969) | Detroit Lions | Baltimore Colts (II) |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Pittsburgh Steelers | Green Bay Packers | Los Angeles Rams |
| Washington Redskins | St. Louis Cardinals | Minnesota Vikings | San Francisco 49ers |
| New York Giants (1968 only) | New Orleans Saints (1968 only) | ||
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