In one sense the National Football League (NFL), which was founded in 1920, can make a claim to be older than the Canadian Football League (CFL). However, it is arguable that the present NFL can only date its current existence back to the amalgamation with the American Football League which took place in 1970.
The CFL was created in 1958. However, the CFL can trace its existence back to 1884 when the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU) was established. The CRFU was reorganized as the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) in 1891. The CFL can trace its history directly back to 1884 and the CRFU.
The CFL was also an amalgamation of two leagues: the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) which was formed in 1907, and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) which was formed in 1936. The WIFU was the successor to the Western Canada Rugby Football Union (WCRFU) which had been formed in 1911. Both the IRFU and the WCRFU predate the NFL.
[Note to football historians: The IRFU was much better known by its nickname, "The Big Four."]
The CRU was Canadian football's governing body. Both the IRFU and the WIFU were long standing members of the CRU. The CRU was instrumental in creating the CFL.
Two of the original IRFU teams, Hamilton Tigers and Toronto Argonauts, predate the IRFU by many years. The Hamilton Foot Ball Club was formed in 1868. Through amalgamations with other Hamilton football teams, it became today's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Toronto Argonaut Football Club, formed in 1873, is the same Toronto Argonaut Football Club presently in the CFL. (The Toronto Argonauts are the oldest professional football franchise in North America, older even than the Chicago/St Louis/Phoenix Cardinals.) Today's Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers were original WIFU and CFL teams.
The Grey Cup, the trophy awarded annually to the champions of the CFL, was first awarded to the 1909 Canadian football champions.
The very first game of North American football was played in Toronto.
Therefore, it is clear that Canadian football is older than the game presently played in the USA, and that the roots of the present CFL go back much farther than the roots of the NFL.
national football league
The CFL focuses more on speed and quickness rather than brute strength as in the NFL. Many CFL players are talented (they have excellent football skills) but are considered too small and undersized to play in the NFL. Many players who were originally thought to be too unskilled to play in the NFL have proved their skills in the CFL and have had successful NFL careers thereafter. Extremely speedy players enjoy the much less cramped field in the Canadian game, which favours their style of play.
There is little data available regarding the average size of a CFL player. There is, however, less discrepancy in size in the Canadian Football League than in the NFL of the United States. Canadian football tends to focus more on speed and basic athleticism than the NFL, which encourages specialized players.
Career CFL passing yards: 21,288. Career NFL passing yards: 49,325.
Yes the NFL began in 1920 and the NBA began in 1946
CFL-3 downs NFL-4 downs
The teams that share a name between the NFL and CFL are the Detroit Lions of the NFL and the British Columbian Lions of the CFL.
yes. Basketball is older the the cfl.
CFL. It must be short for RoughRiders. There is no team called the "Riders" in the NFL. However, there is a team called the Raiders.
NFL is four downs and cfl is three therefore having more passing. Also the cfl field is longer(120 yards and 20 yard endzones) compared to NFL which is(100 yards and 10 yard endzones). Finally the cfl ball is larger.
They can if the get drafted.
none
national football league
NFL stands for "National Football League," which is the professional football league in the USA. CFL stands for "Canadian Football League," which is the professional football league in Canada.
Generally, yes. However, there are rules regarding players being under contract to only one team. If a CFL player has an opportunity to play in the NFL, he first gets released from his CFL duties. Then, he signs an NFL contract. Dominique Dorsey recently missed the first half of the 2009 CFL season while he was signed with the Washington Redskins. They released him just before the season opener and he returned to his CFL team, the Toronto Argonauts.
Yes ... QB Warren Moon won the CFL Most Outstanding Player award with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1983 and the NFL Most Valuable Player award with the Houston Oilers in 1990. Moon is one of two men inducted in both the CFL and NFL Hall of Fame ... the other is Bud Grant.
Well Mexico doesn't have NFL but Canada is the only other country with NFL.Theirs is CFL(Canadian Football League).