Eastern and Western Conferences (NFL) 1933–1969
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The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, 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.
Teams
1933–1949
| Eastern Division | Western Division |
|---|---|
| Boston Redskins (Washington from 1937) | Chicago Bears |
| Brooklyn Dodgers (Tigers 1944, merged into Boston Yanks 1945) | Chicago Cardinals |
| New York Giants | Green Bay Packers |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Portsmouth Spartans (Detroit Lions from 1934) |
| Pittsburgh Pirates (Steelers from 1940, merged with Philadelphia (Steagles) in 1943, and Chicago Cardinals (Card-Pitt) in 1944, resuming in 1945) | Cincinnati Reds (1933–34, defunct) |
| 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 Conference 1950–1952 Eastern Conference 1953–1966 |
National Conference 1950–1952 Western Conference 1953–1966 |
|---|---|
| Chicago Cardinals (St. Louis from 1960) | Chicago Bears |
| Cleveland Browns (ex-AAFC) | Detroit Lions |
| New York Giants | Green Bay Packers |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Los Angeles Rams |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | San Francisco 49ers (ex-AAFC) |
| Washington Redskins | New York Yanks (1950–51, ex-Bulldogs), Dallas Texans (1952), Baltimore Colts (from 1953) |
| Baltimore Colts (ex-AAFC, 1950, defunct) | |
| Dallas Cowboys (1960) | |
| Dallas Cowboys (from 1961) | Minnesota Vikings (from 1961) |
| Atlanta Falcons (1966) | |
1967–1969
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Division | Century Division | Central Division | Coastal Division |
| Dallas Cowboys | Cleveland Browns | Chicago Bears | Atlanta Falcons |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Pittsburgh Steelers | Detroit Lions | Baltimore Colts |
| Washington Redskins | St Louis Cardinals | Green Bay Packers | Los Angeles Rams |
| New Orleans Saints (1967, 1969) | New York Giants (1967, 1969) | Minnesota Vikings | San Francisco 49ers |
| New York Giants (1968) | New Orleans Saints (1968) | ||
Champions
1933–1966
1967–1969
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Capitol Division | Record | Century Division | Record | Coastal Division | Record | Central Division | Record |
| 1967 | Dallas Cowboys | 9–5 | Cleveland Browns | 9–5 | Los Angeles Rams | 11–1–2 | Green Bay Packers | 9–4–1 |
| 1968 | Dallas Cowboys | 12–2 | Cleveland Browns | 10–4 | Baltimore Colts | 13–1 | Minnesota Vikings | 8–6 |
| 1969 | Dallas Cowboys | 11–2–1 | Cleveland Browns | 10–3–1 | Los Angeles Rams | 11–3 | Minnesota Vikings | 12–2 |