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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

Season Eastern Division Record Western Division Record
1933 New York Giants 11–3 Chicago Bears 10–2–1
1934 New York Giants 8–5 Chicago Bears 13–0
1935 New York Giants 9–3 Detroit Lions 7–3–2
1936 Boston Redskins 7–5 Green Bay Packers 10–1–1
1937 Washington Redskins 8–3 Chicago Bears 9–1–1
1938 New York Giants 8–2–1 Green Bay Packers 8–3
1939 New York Giants 9–1–1 Green Bay Packers 9–2
1940 Washington Redskins 9–2 Chicago Bears 8–3
1941 New York Giants 8–3 Chicago Bears 10–1
1942 Washington Redskins 10–1 Chicago Bears 11–0
1943 Washington Redskins 6–3–1 Chicago Bears 8–1–1
1944 New York Giants 8–1–1 Green Bay Packers 8–2
1945 Washington Redskins 8–2 Cleveland Rams 9–1
1946 New York Giants 7–3–1 Chicago Bears 8–2–1
1947 Philadelphia Eagles 8–4 Chicago Cardinals 9–3
1948 Philadelphia Eagles 9–2–1 Chicago Cardinals 11–1
1949 Philadelphia Eagles 11–1 Los Angeles Rams 8–2–2
American Conference National Conference
1950 Cleveland Browns 10–2 Los Angeles Rams 9–3
1951 Cleveland Browns 11–1 Los Angeles Rams 8–4
1952 Cleveland Browns 8–4 Detroit Lions 9–3
Eastern Conference Western Conference
1953 Cleveland Browns 11–1 Detroit Lions 10–2
1954 Cleveland Browns 9–3 Detroit Lions 9–2–1
1955 Cleveland Browns 9–2–1 Los Angeles Rams 8–3–1
1956 New York Giants 8–3–1 Chicago Bears 9–2–1
1957 Cleveland Browns 9–2–1 Detroit Lions 8–4
1958 New York Giants 9–3 Baltimore Colts 9–3
1959 New York Giants 10–2 Baltimore Colts 9–3
1960 Philadelphia Eagles 10–2 Green Bay Packers 8–4
1961 New York Giants 10–3–1 Green Bay Packers 11–3
1962 New York Giants 12–2 Green Bay Packers 13–1
1963 New York Giants 11–3 Chicago Bears 11–1–2
1964 Cleveland Browns 10–3–1 Baltimore Colts 12–2
1965 Cleveland Browns 11–3 Green Bay Packers 10–3–1
1966 Dallas Cowboys 10–3–1 Green Bay Packers 12–2

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

References