<P> League membership gradually stabilized throughout the 1920s and 1930s as the league adopted progressively more formal organization . The first official championship game was held in 1933 . The NFL stopped signing black players in 1927 but reintegrated in 1946 following World War II . Other changes followed after the war ; the office of league President evolved into the more powerful Commissioner post , mirroring a similar move in Major League Baseball . Teams became more financially viable , the last team folding in 1952 and the league absorbing teams from the briefly more successful All - America Football Conference in 1950 , two of which survive to the present day . By 1958 , when that season 's NFL championship game became known as `` The Greatest Game Ever Played '' , the NFL was on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States . </P>
<P> League membership gradually stabilized throughout the 1920s and 1930s as the league adopted progressively more formal organization . The first official championship game was held in 1933 . The NFL stopped signing black players in 1927 but reintegrated in 1946 following World War II . Other changes followed after the war ; the office of league President evolved into the more powerful Commissioner post , mirroring a similar move in Major League Baseball . Teams became more financially viable , the last team folding in 1952 and the league absorbing teams from the briefly more successful All - America Football Conference in 1950 , two of which survive to the present day . By 1958 , when that season 's NFL championship game became known as `` The Greatest Game Ever Played '' , the NFL was on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States . </P>
when was the first nfl game ever played
when was the first nfl game ever played
1933
1933