NFL: The Long and Winding Road of NFL Franchise Relocations

WITH THE TALK OF LOS ANGELES NOT HAVING A TEAM, WE WONDERED:
WHERE HAVE NFL TEAMS BEEN?

When you think of the National Football League, the word “stability” comes to mind. But many of the NFL’s franchises have been “rolling stones”. Which teams have moved the most and which have been paragons of stability?

WHICH NFL TEAMS HAVE BEEN THE MOST STABLE?

“Stable” is a word many think of when thinking of the NFL. The franchises have proud histories and many have remained in the same city or metro areas for a long time.

Others have been rolling stones: almost a third of the league (10 teams) have relocated at least once. Three teams have moved more than once.

Let’s take a look at NFL moving days on a team-by-team basis.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

NFC EAST

• New York Giants–Have basically stayed in the NY metro area. They moved from Manhattan to The Bronx in 1956, temporarily relocated to New Haven, CT for the second half of the 1973 and the entire 1974 season, then temporarily relocated to Queens for the 1975 season, then permanently to East Rutherford, NJ in 1976.
• Dallas Cowboys–Have stayed in the Dallas area since their founding in 1960. Moved to Irving, Texas in 1971, to Arlington, Texas in 2009.
• Philadelphia Eagles–Merged in 1943 for one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a lack of players because of WWII to become the “Steagles”. Other than that, Philly’s been remarkably stable.
• Washington Redskins–Started as the Boston Braves, became the Boston Redskins, moved to Washington in 1937, now play in Landover, MD.
  

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  NFC WEST

• St. Louis Rams–Started in Cleveland, moved to Los Angeles, then to Anaheim and then to St. Louis.
• San Francisco 49ers–Never relocated–although the team played a game at Stanford Stadium after the 1989 earthquake.
• Arizona Cardinals–Began as the Chicago Cardinals, moved to St. Louis in 1960, then to Tempe, AZ as the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 and became the Arizona Cardinals in 1994.
• Seattle Seahawks–Started in Seattle and still there. Though, the team played three games in 1994 at Husky Stadium as the Kingdome was undergoing emergency repairs, and returned there for the entire 2000 and 2001 seasons before Seahawks Stadium (now Qwest Field) was completed. Switched conferences from NFC to AFC and now are in the NFC again.
  

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  NFC NORTH

• Green Bay Packers–Started and stayed in Green Bay. Regularly played some home games in Milwaukee.
• Detroit Lions–Started in Detroit, moved to Pontiac, MI (1975) and back to Detroit (2002).
• Chicago Bears–Started as the Decatur Staleys, moved to Chicago (1921 & renamed the Chicago Bears in 1922)
• Minnesota Vikings–Began in 1960, moved from suburban Bloomington to downtown Minneapolis (1982).
  

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  NFC SOUTH

• New Orleans Saints–Has stayed in NO, with the exception of the post-Hurricane Katrina year of 2005. Team played three home games in the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX, played four home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA and one official game at Giants Stadium in which it was designated the home team(!)
• Atlanta Falcons–Always in Atlanta.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers–Started in TB and still there–to some disgruntled fans’ displeasure.
• Carolina Panthers–Played first season at Memorial Stadium in Clemson SC due to work to complete the field in Charlotte NC.
  

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  NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

  AFC EAST

• New England Patriots–Started as the Boston Patriots (AFL), moved to Foxboro MA and became the New England Patriots in 1971.
• New York Jets–Started as the New York Titans (AFL) and have moved from Manhattan to Queens (1964) then to East Rutherford, NJ (1984).
• Miami Dolphins–Has stayed in the Miami area. Moved to unincorporated northern Dade County (now Miami Gardens) (1987).
• Buffalo Bills–Started in Buffalo, to Orchard Park, NY (1973). Before the Bills, there were many pro teams that came and went in Buffalo, including one other team named the Bills.
  

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  AFC WEST

• Denver Broncos–Same as they ever were. Changed uniforms (thankfully).
• Oakland Raiders–Started in Oakland, moved to LA, then back to Oakland.
• San Diego Chargers–Started in LA, moved to San Diego (1961).
• Kansas City Chiefs–Started in Dallas as the Texans, moved to KC MO (1963).
  

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  AFC NORTH

• Pittsburgh Steelers–Played in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, then moved to the North Shore (1970).
• Cleveland Browns–Present team started as the Browns (1999) after the original Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens.
• Cincinnati Bengals–Started and still in Cincinnati.
• Baltimore Ravens–Started as the Cleveland Browns and moved to Baltimore (1996).
  

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  AFC SOUTH

• Indianapolis Colts–Started as the Baltimore Colts, moved to Indy (1984).
• Tennessee Titans–Started as the Houston Oilers (AFL), moved temporarily to Memphis, TN (1997) as the Tennessee Oilers and permanently to Nashville (1998) & renamed Tennessee Titans (1999).
• Houston Texans–Never moved.
• Jacksonville Jaguars–Never moved.
  

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  So which NFL teams have been the most stable? Most teams–over half of the NFL–have been fixtures in their area for years.

  The following is a list of teams which haven’t experienced major moves to another city or have remained in their metro area.

  Most Stable Teams:

• Cleveland Browns
• Atlanta Falcons
• Denver Broncos
• Houston Texans
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Seattle Seahawks
• Carolina Panthers
• San Francisco 48ers
• Green Bay Packers
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• New York Giants
• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Jets
• New Orleans Saints
• Detroit Lions
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Minnesota Vikings
• New England Patriots

  Papa Was a Rolling Stone: NFL Division

  There have been three NFL teams with more than one major relocation in their history.

  Teams with the most moves:

• St. Louis Rams
• Arizona Cardinals
• Oakland Raiders

As always, there’s rumors and talk presently about several teams relocating, specifically back to the Los Angeles area. So, it’s doubtful that this list will remain the same for very long.

by Mondo Frazier
source: National Football League franchise moves and mergers
image: capitalcitychris.wordpress.com