1.
Hartford, Wisconsin
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Hartford is a city in Washington and Dodge counties in the U. S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,223, all of this population resided in the Washington County portion of the city. John Thiel and Nicolas Simon first surveyed the area that would become Hartford in 1843, james and Charles Rossman accompanied Nicolas Simon back to Hartford in 1844, and soon bought 40 acres around the rapids of the Rubicon River. After constructing a dam across rapids in the river, the Rossmans built a sawmill that harnessed the power of the water to make lumber for the growth of the area, rails were laid in 1855 that linked Chicago, Milwaukee, La Crosse and Minneapolis until the early 1900s. The town was named after Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford was a New England settlement. Most of them arrived as a result of the completion of the Erie Canal, when they arrived in what is now Hartford there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. They laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings, the settlers of Hartford brought with them many of their Yankee New England values such as a passion for education by establishing many schools, as well as staunchly supporting abolitionism. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church though some were Episcopalian, due to the second Great Awakening some of them had converted to Methodism and some had become Baptists before moving to Hartford. Hartford, like much of Wisconsin, was aligned with early New England culture for most of its early history, the first church in Hartford was the First Congregational Church, constructed by Yankee New England migrants. The Church was built in 1847, German and Irish immigrants began arriving after 1842, though initially in small numbers. In the late 1870s the number of German immigrants increased, several buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and among them are some of the Kissel houses as well as houses they built for others. The Hartford post office contains an oil on canvas mural, Autumn Wisconsin Landscape and it was produced for the Section of Painting and Sculpture of the Treasury Department as part of the WPA Depression-era employment projects. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 8.02 square miles. Hartford is located within the Kettle Moraine, a large moraine formed when the Green Bay and these glacial movements created varied land formations such as kettles, lakes, hills, and kames that distinguish the region. The city was the site of an F1 tornado on June 18,2006, which caused damage to homes in the area. Lincoln Elementary School and the Silver Bell Motel both suffered roof and structural damage, Hartford Municipal Airport serves the city and surrounding communities. As of the census of 2010, there were 14,223 people,5,685 households, the population density was 1,791.3 inhabitants per square mile. There were 6,032 housing units at a density of 759.7 per square mile
2.
Xavier University
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Xavier University is a co-educational Jesuit, Catholic university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The school is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States, Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,485 students and graduate enrollment of 2,165. Xavier is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution, the school was founded in 1831 as a mens college in downtown Cincinnati next to St. Francis Xavier Church on Sycamore Street. The Athenaeum, as it was called, was dedicated to the patronage of Saint Francis Xavier by Bishop Edward Fenwick on October 17,1831. St. Xavier College moved in 1912 to its current North Avondale location, about 5 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, the original Anthenaeum is now the seminary of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. St. Xavier College and St. Xavier High School officially split in 1919, the schools name was changed a second time to its current name, Xavier University, in 1930. The Williams College of Business was established in 1961 and Xaviers first doctoral program in psychology began in 1997, Xavier fully admitted women in 1969, but women began attending the college in 1914 in the evening, weekend, and summer school divisions. Edgecliff College, another Catholic college in Cincinnati, merged with Xavier University in 1980, in 2000, Xavier opened its doors to the Cintas Center, an arena for the Musketeers. Xavier also opened the Gallagher Student Center in 2002, Smith Hall and the Conaton Learning Commons opened in 2010 as part of the James E. Hoff, S. J, Academic Quadrangle. Hoff was the Universitys 33rd President, 1991–2000, hoffs successor and 34th President, still serves Xavier. Fenwick Place, a complex, opened in the fall of 2011. At the center of campus are the Gallagher Student Center and Bellarmine Chapel, Bellarmine Chapels roof is in the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid, also known as a saddle roof, that will not collapse, even if the Chapel walls were removed. The chapel is the home to the Bellarmine Catholic Parish, six buildings with castle architecture sit elevated overlooking Victory Parkway to the west and resemble a single fortress. Next to the Gallagher Student Center is Science Row, Lindner Hall, Logan Hall and it houses the Departments of Mathematics, Computer Science, English, History, Philosophy, and Theology. Schmidt Hall sits next as the University’s current Administration Building, followed by Edgecliff Hall, originally Alumni Science Hall, it was renamed after the former Edgecliff College and is home to the Department of Music. On the opposite side of the mall to the east stands the tallest structure on campus and it houses the Office of Admission and Office of Financial Aid as well as the Departments of Modern Languages, Classics, Communication Arts, Political Science, and Sociology. Next is McDonald Library followed by Alter Hall, which is being rebuilt, Alter Hall is the main classroom building on campus, and was scheduled to be reopened for the 2015 fall semester. Finally, Hailstones Hall, which was the home of the Williams College of Business, is adjoined behind Alter to the east
3.
New Orleans Saints
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The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference South division, the team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr. David Dixon and the city of New Orleans. The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967, the franchise was founded on November 1,1966. The teams primary colors are old gold and black, their logo is a simplified fleur-de-lis and they played their home games in Tulane Stadium through the 1974 NFL season. The following year, they moved to the new Louisiana Superdome, for most of their first 20 years, the Saints were barely competitive, only getting to.500 twice. In 1987, they finished 12–3—their first-ever winning season—and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the next season of 1988 ended with a 10–6 record. In the year 2000, the Saints defeated the St. Louis Rams 31–28 to notch their first-ever playoff win, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast region. The Superdome was used as a temporary shelter for displaced residents. The stadium suffered damage from the hurricane, and from lack of available facilities, ultimately, however, the Superdome was repaired and renovated in time for the 2006 season at an estimated cost of US$185 million. The New Orleans Saints first post-Katrina home game was an emotionally charged Monday Night Football game versus their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints, under head coach Sean Payton and new quarterback Drew Brees, defeated the Falcons 23–3. The 2009 season was a one for the Saints. Winning a franchise-record 13 games, they qualified for Super Bowl XLIV, over the course of 49 seasons, the Saints have compiled an overall record of 331–418–5, with a regular-season record of 324–409–5 and a playoff record of 7–9. First the brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who founded the Louisiana Superdome and the USFL. Senator Russell Long, and then–NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL–NFL merger. Dixon and a civic group had been seeking an NFL franchise for over five years and had hosted record crowds for NFL exhibition games. To seal the merger, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on November 1,1966, when the deal was reached a week earlier, Dixon strongly suggested to Rozelle that the announcement be delayed until then. Dixon told an interviewer that he cleared the name with New Orleans Archbishop Philip M. Hannan
4.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
5.
Lineman (gridiron football)
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In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line. A number of NFL rules specifically address restrictions and requirements for the offensive line, linemen are usually the largest players on the field in both height and weight, since their positions usually require less running and more strength than skill positions. An offensive linemans motion during a play is limited to just a few quick steps to establish position. Offensive linemen thus tend to be the largest players on the field, with excellent agility and balance, most pro and college football offensive lineman tend to weigh over 300 pounds. On passing plays, the line is responsible for stopping defensive players from tackling the quarterback before he has thrown the ball. The interior offensive line consists of the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball into play, in addition to the interior line, a full offensive line may also include a Tight End outside one or both of the tackles. However, ends are eligible to catch passes, when an offensive lineman knocks a player down on a block, leaving the defensive player lying flat on his back, it is colloquially known as a pancake block. When an offensive line has an number of men on either side of the center. The defensive line consists of one or two defensive tackles and two ends who play outside the defensive tackles. The defensive line works with the linebackers to try to control the line of scrimmage, the 4-3 defensive formation, most commonly used in the NFL, employs two defensive tackles, while the 3-4 formation uses just a single defensive tackle, called the nose tackle. However, defensive ends in a typical 3-4 have responsibilities more similar to a 4-3 defensive tackle than 4-3 defensive ends, on running plays, the goal is to tackle the ball carrier. The defensive tackles are usually the most skilled run defenders on the team, on passing plays, the defensive line tries to reach the quarterback. Defensive ends are usually the most skilled pass rushers on the team, in order to increase the pressure on the quarterback, teams will often have players other than the defensive line attempt to tackle the quarterback, this is called a blitz. Defensive linemen—particularly defensive ends—are called upon to do more running than offensive linemen, thus they usually tend to be somewhat lighter and faster
6.
Cincinnati
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Cincinnati is a city in the U. S. state of Ohio that serves as county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the side of the confluence of the Licking with the Ohio River. With a population of 298,550, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and its metropolitan statistical area is the 28th-largest in the United States and the largest centered in Ohio. The city is part of the larger Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington combined statistical area. In the 19th century, Cincinnati was an American boomtown in the heart of the country, it rivaled the larger cities in size. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was listed among the top 10 U. S and it was by far the largest city in the west. By the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads drawing off freight shipping, trade patterns had altered and Cincinnatis growth slowed considerably. Cincinnati is home to two sports teams, the Cincinnati Reds, the oldest franchise in Major League Baseball. The University of Cincinnati, founded in 1819, is one of the 50 largest in the United States, Cincinnati is known for its historic architecture. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as Paris of America, due mainly to such ambitious projects as the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel. The original surveyor, John Filson, named it Losantiville, in 1790, Arthur St. Ethnic Germans were among the early settlers, migrating from Pennsylvania and the backcountry of Virginia and Tennessee. General David Ziegler succeeded General St. Clair in command at Fort Washington, after the conclusion of the Northwest Indian Wars and removal of Native Americans to the west, he was elected as the mayor of Cincinnati in 1802. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819, exporting pork products and hay, it became a center of pork processing in the region. From 1810 to 1830 its population tripled, from 9,642 to 24,831. Completion of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1827 to Middletown, Ohio further stimulated businesses, the city had a labor shortage until large waves of immigration by Irish and Germans in the late 1840s. The city grew rapidly over the two decades, reaching 115,000 persons by 1850. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21,1825, the first section of the canal was opened for business in 1827. In 1827, the canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown, by 1840, during this period of rapid expansion and prominence, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the Queen City
7.
University of Cincinnati
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The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, in the U. S. state of Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio. In the 2010 survey by Times Higher Education, the university was ranked in the top 100 universities in North America, beginning with the 2011 edition of the U. S. This includes being the number 3 ranked university in the nation in the Up-and-Coming National Universities section of the 2014 edition, in 2014, U. S. News & World Report ranked UC in the top 200 of universities worldwide. The university garners roughly $400 million per annum in research funding, ranking 22nd among public universities in the United States. The school offers over 100 bachelors degrees, over 300 degree-granting programs, with an economic impact of over $3.5 billion per year, it is the largest single employer in Greater Cincinnati. In 1819, Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio were founded in Cincinnati, local benefactor Dr. Daniel Drake founded and funded the Medical College of Ohio. William Lytle of the Lytle family donated the land, funded the Cincinnati College and Law College, the college survived only six years before financial difficulties forced it to close. In 1835, Daniel Drake reestablished the institution, which joined with the Cincinnati Law School. In 1858, Charles McMicken died of pneumonia and in his will he allocated most of his estate to the City of Cincinnati to found a university, the universitys board of rectors changed the institutions name to the University of Cincinnati. By 1893, the University expanded beyond its primary location on Clifton Avenue, as the university expanded, the rectors merged the institution with Cincinnati Law School, establishing the University of Cincinnati College of Law. In 1896, the Ohio Medical College joined Miami Medical College to form the Ohio-Miami Medical Department of the University of Cincinnati in 1909. As political movements for temperance and suffrage grew, the university established Teachers College in 1905, the Queen City College of Pharmacy, acquired from Wilmington College, became the present James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. In 1962, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music was acquired by the university, the Ohio legislature in Columbus declared the university a municipally-sponsored, state-affiliated institution in 1968. During this time, the University of Cincinnati was the second oldest and second-largest municipal university in the United States, by an act of the legislature, the University of Cincinnati became a state institution in 1977. In 1989, President Joseph A. Steger released a Master Plan for a stronger academy, over this time, the university invested nearly $2 billion in campus construction, renovation, and expansion ranging from the student union to a new recreation center to the medical school. It included renovation and construction of buildings, a campus forest. Upon her inauguration in 2005, President Nancy L. Zimpher developed the UC|21 plan, in addition, it includes putting liberal arts education at the center, increasing research funding, and expanding involvement in the city. In 2009, Gregory H. Williams was named the 27th president of the University of Cincinnati and his presidency expanded the accreditation and property of the institution to regions throughout Ohio to compete with private and specialized state institutions, such as Ohio State University
8.
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
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Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,144 at the 2010 census and it is located at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay, although the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula. Sturgeon Bay is located at 44°49′56″N 87°22′19″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.66 square miles, of which,9.82 square miles is land and 1.84 square miles is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 9,144 people,4,288 households and 2,385 families, the population density was 931.2 inhabitants per square mile. There were 4,903 housing units at a density of 499.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 95. 1% White,1. 0% African American,0. 9% Native American,0. 6% Asian,1. 0% from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2. 7% of the population. 38. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age in the city was 45.2 years. 19. 8% of residents were under the age of 18,7. 4% were between the ages of 18 and 24,22. 5% were from 25 to 44, 31% were from 45 to 64, and 19. 2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48. 1% male and 51. 9% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 9,437 people,4,048 households, and 2,432 families residing in the city. The population density was 981.4 people per square mile, there were 4,447 housing units at an average density of 462.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97. 22% White,0. 33% Black or African American,0. 78% Native American,0. 37% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 46% from other races, and 0. 82% from two or more races. 1. 28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,35. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was out with 23. 5% under the age of 18,7. 6% from 18 to 24,26. 6% from 25 to 44,23. 7% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males, the median income for a household in the city was $31,935, and the median income for a family was $45,084. Males had an income of $31,879 versus $21,414 for females
9.
O. J. Simpson
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Orenthal James O. J. Simpson, nicknamed The Juice, is a former American football running back, broadcaster, actor, and convicted armed robber and kidnapper. Simpson attended the University of Southern California, where he played football for the USC Trojans. He played professionally in the National Football League as a back for 11 seasons, with the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977. In 1973, he became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, holding the record for the single season yards-per-game average, which stands at 143.1. He is the player to ever rush for over 2,000 yards in the 14-game regular season NFL format. Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983, after retiring from football, he began new careers in acting and football broadcasting. In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman after a lengthy and internationally publicised trial. The families of the victims filed a suit against him. In 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to 33 years imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole. He is serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, born and raised in San Francisco, California, Simpson is the son of Eunice, a hospital administrator, and Jimmy Lee Simpson, a chef and bank custodian. His father was a drag queen in the San Francisco area. Later in life, Jimmy Simpson announced that he was gay, Simpsons maternal grandparents were from Louisiana, and his aunt gave him the name Orenthal, which she said was the name of a French actor she liked. Simpson has one brother, Melvin Leon Truman Simpson, one living sister, Shirley Simpson-Baker, as a child, Simpson developed rickets and wore braces on his legs until the age of five. His parents separated in 1952, and he was raised by his mother, growing up in San Francisco, Simpson and his family lived in the housing projects of the Potrero Hill neighborhood. In his early years, he joined a street gang called the Persian Warriors and was briefly incarcerated at the San Francisco Youth Guidance Center. At Galileo High School in San Francisco, Simpson played for the football team. From 1965 to 1966, Simpson was a student at City College of San Francisco and he played both offense and defense and was named to the Junior College All-American team as a running back. Simpson was awarded a scholarship to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles
10.
Cincinnati Bengals
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The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals currently compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference North division. Their home stadium is Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati and their current head coach is Marvin Lewis, who has held the position since 2003 and is currently the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL, behind the New England Patriots Bill Belichick. Their chief rivals are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, the Bengals were founded in 1966 as a member of the American Football League by former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown. Brown was the Bengals head coach from their inception to 1975, after being dismissed as the Browns head coach by Art Modell in January 1963, Brown had shown interest in establishing another NFL franchise in Ohio and looked at both Cincinnati and Columbus. Due to the merger of the AFL and the NFL. The Bengals, like the other former AFL teams, were assigned to the AFC following the merger, Cincinnati was also selected because, like their neighbors the Reds, they could draw from several large neighboring cities that are all no more than 110 miles away from downtown Cincinnati. The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1981 and 1988, but lost Super Bowls XVI, after Paul Browns death in 1991, controlling interest in the team was inherited by his son, Mike Brown. In 2011, Brown purchased shares of the owned by the estate of co-founder Austin Knowlton and is now the majority owner of the Bengals franchise. The 1990s and the 2000s were a period of great struggle, following the 1990 season, the team went fourteen years without posting a winning record nor making the playoffs. The Bengals had several head coaches and several of their top draft picks did not pan out, Mike Brown, the teams de facto general manager, was rated as among the worst team owners in American professional sports. Since the mid-2000s, the teams fortunes have improved, two years after becoming head coach, Lewis guided the Bengals to their first winning season and first division title in over a decade. After the acquisition of Andy Dalton as quarterback in 2011, the Bengals had made the playoffs each season until 2016, the Bengals drafts are also highly touted, leading to a consistency that had long escaped the franchise. However, the team has remained unable to win in the postseason and have not won a game since 1990. The Bengals are one of the 13 NFL teams to not have won a Super Bowl as of the 2016 season, the franchise takes its name from an earlier Cincinnati Bengals team, which played from 1937–1941. It also was a nod to Paul Browns Massillon, Ohio, in 1967, an ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League. Brown named the team the Bengals in order to give it a link with past professional football in Cincinnati, another Bengals team had existed in the city and played in three previous American Football Leagues from 1937 to 1942. The citys world-renowned zoo was home to a rare white Bengal tiger
11.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
