Happy Birthday NFL!

8:05 a.m. ET

One of the key missions of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is to preserve professional football’s historic documents and artifacts.

In our vast collection housed in the archives in Canton are the original meeting minutes for the forming of the American Professional Football Association on Sept. 17, 1920 in Canton, Ohio. Several men, including the legendary George Halas, sat around on the running boards of automobiles in the Hupmobile showroom owned by Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay.  By the end of the meeting, the first professional football league was formed. You know that league today by its current name (that it changed to in 1922) - the National Football League.

Ninety seasons later, I sit here writing about the most popular sports league in this country. Just one week removed from a thrilling Kickoff Weekend that included great performances by Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson and having witnessed the thrilling finishes by the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.

As Howie Long stated in his 2000 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement speech, “baseball may be this country’s pastime but football is its passion.”

There is no doubt that as the NFL celebrates its founding today, it remains the premiere professional sports league. Most people don’t realize just how long of a run that the NFL has had as being a fan favorite. In 1965, a Harris Poll determined that pro football was this country’s most popular sport. It has remained that way ever since.

So, take a moment today and wish the NFL a very Happy Birthday. Go ahead and leave your wishes as comments to this blog if you’d like. Then, tune in on Sunday and Monday and enjoy more memories provided by the excitement that this great league brings us every weekend.

Here's a piece on Profootballhof.com about the founding of the NFL. Enjoy.>>>