The NFL was not always called the NFL: When the league was founded in 1920, it was known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). It was later renamed the National Football League (NFL) in 1922.
The shortest NFL player on record was Jack "Soapy" Shapiro: Shapiro, who played in the early 1900s, was listed as 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 119 pounds. Despite his small stature, he played as a running back and defensive back.
The first sudden death overtime game in NFL history was the 1958 NFL Championship: The game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, often referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played," went into overtime and was won by the Colts 23-17.
The New England Patriots were once called the Boston Patriots: The team was originally established in 1959 as the Boston Patriots. They changed their name to the New England Patriots in 1971 to better represent the entire New England region.
The Green Bay Packers are the only publicly owned team in the NFL: The team is owned by the Green Bay Packers, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, and is governed by a board of directors. It has over 360,000 shareholders.
The NFL's highest-scoring game in history was the 1966 game between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants: The game ended with a final score of 72-41 in favor of the Redskins.
The NFL had a player-coach in the modern era: Norm Van Brocklin, a Hall of Fame quarterback, served as both the quarterback and head coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 1961. He is the last player-coach in the NFL.