NFL Empires: 1970

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

1970 was the first season after the NFL-AFL merger was completed. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland moved to the AFC and the rest is history.

Since the Super Bowl was played at a neutral site, the winner gains one third of the territory of the loser (splitting the difference between a home game and an away game).

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1970 season:

Baltimore (royal blue) beat Dallas (gray green) in the Super Bowl, which is how Baltimore gained most of their land on this map. They had a great season (and thus home-field advantage during the playoffs) but they didn't beat any big empires till Dallas. In the NFC, Minnesota (dark violet) had home-field advantage, but they lost to San Francisco (burgundy), who then lost at home to Dallas in the conference championship. Thus no empire dominates the map.

Los Angeles (red), Kansas City (light violet), St. Louis (magenta), and New York (dark blue) all had respectable empires (by this year's standards), but all missed the playoffs by a game or two. Kansas City lost at home to Dallas, plus two home ties, to see their empire crumble. Detroit (gray purple) made the playoffs as a wildcard, but promptly lost in Dallas.

Here is the map before the season started:

So much for purple.

NFL Empires: 1969

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to the teams before the seasons.

Since the Super Bowl was played at a neutral site, the winner gains one third of the territory of the loser (splitting the difference between a home game and an away game).

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1969 season:

Purple power! Kansas City (light violet) of the AFL beat Minnesota (dark violet) in the Super Bowl, thus expanding their already-large empire. Kansas City had been second place in the AFL West, behind Oakland (light green yellow), but Kansas City beat the New York Jets (dark turquoise) then Oakland in the playoffs, in each of their home stadiums.

In the NFL, Minnesota took all their land during the regular season, then had home-field advantage in the playoffs. Baltimore (royal blue) still had a large remnant of the empire they began the year with, but they only came in second place in the Coastal Division, behind Los Angeles (red). Cleveland (brown) also lost land this year, despite a road playoff victory over Dallas (gray green). To round out the purple on the map, Detroit (gray purple) came in second in the Central, behind Minnesota, and thus weren't in the playoffs.

Here is the map before the season started:

Quite the difference, eh?

NFL Empires: 1968

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, Cincinnati was added. I've given them the land within a 100-mile radius to start.

Since the Super Bowl was played at a neutral site, the winner gains one third of the territory of the loser (splitting the difference between a home game and an away game).

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1968 season:

The New York Jets (dark turquoise) beat Baltimore (royal blue) in the Super Bowl, the first AFL victory over the NFL. The Jets thus were the first AFL team with a large empire on this map, including four capitals besides their own. Baltimore were undefeated at home, with plenty of road wins to amass a huge empire, even after losing a third of it to the Jets. Oakland (light green yellow) won the AFL West, but still didn't have much land to show for it.

Cleveland (brown) won the Century Division and amassed a significant chunk of land, despite losing the NFL Championship Game at home to Baltimore. Green Bay (kelly green) came in third place in the four-team Central Division, but are prominent on the map thanks to a last-week victory at Chicago (periwinkle).

Here is the map before the season started:

Hot map; cool map.

NFL Empires: 1967

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, New Orleans was added. I've given them the land within a 100-mile radius to start.

Since the AFL-NFL World Championship Game was played at a neutral site, the winner gains one third of the territory of the loser (splitting the difference between a home game and an away game).

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1967 season:

Green Bay (kelly green) had a bad season, including a loss to Pittsburgh (yellow) the final week of the season, but they still won the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. Pittsburgh was last place in the Century Division. Los Angeles (red) and Baltimore (royal blue) were first and second in the Coastal Division, both with large empires. Dallas (gray green) and Cleveland (brown) won their divisions, but neither amassed much of an empire.

In the AFL, Oakland (light green yellow) beat Houston (dark green yellow) in the championship game for the right to lose to Green Bay. Despite that final loss, Oakland still managed to have the largest empire of the AFL teams.

Here is the map before the season started:

New Orleans did all right for an expansion team, eh?

NFL Empires: 1966

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

In 1966, the NFL officially merged with the AFL. The two leagues kept their names and independent schedules, but met at the end of the season in the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later dubbed the Super Bowl. Thus Oakland, San Diego, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Miami, Buffalo, the New York Jets, and Boston entered the league. Also joining the league, but on the NFL side, was Atlanta. As new teams in the greater NFL, all the teams were given the land within 100 miles of their capitals, except for land controlled by a nearer capital.

Since the AFL-NFL World Championship Game was played at a neutral site, the winner gains one third of the territory of the loser (splitting the difference between a home game and an away game).

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1966 season:

Green Bay (kelly green) beat Kansas City (light violet) in the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. Since the AFL didn't have much land to start with, Green Bay only gained minimal land from the game, around Kansas City and Houston. In the preceding NFL championship game, Green Bay beat Dallas (gray green) in Dallas, but not much land changed hands that game either. Dallas had lost to Eastern fifth-place Washington (gold) in the next-to-last game of the season, and Washington lost to third-place Philadelphia (dark green) in the last week, so the land Dallas had amassed during the season got divvied up by the end. In the AFL championship game, Kansas City beat Buffalo (denim blue) in Buffalo, which is where Green Bay's new Houston lands came from.

Meanwhile, NFL Western second-place Baltimore (royal blue) expanded their empire nicely, although Eastern second-place Cleveland (brown) didn't. Surprisingly, Western last-place Minnesota (dark violet) managed to hold onto a decent empire, thanks to a mid-season victory at Green Bay and a late win at Detroit (gray purple).

Here is the map before the season started:

100 miles doesn't go very far in southern California, does it?

NFL Empires: 1965

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to the teams from the previous season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1965 season:

The big three on the map (Green Bay (kelly green), San Francisco (burgundy) and Minnesota (violet), came in first, fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the Western Conference. Green Bay beat Baltimore (medium blue) in a playoff game, then Cleveland (brown) in the championship game, but both were played in Green Bay so no land was won. Baltimore ended their season with home losses to Green Bay and Chicago (light blue), so they managed to shrink their empire despite their place in the standings. In the East, Dallas (gray green) and New York (dark blue) tied for second place, but both only managed minimal gains.

Here is the map before the season started:

Goodbye, Detroit. Goodbye, St. Louis!

NFL Empires: 1964

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to the teams from the previous season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1964 season:

Despite a fourth-place finish, Detroit (gray purple) made a great empire from beating Baltimore (medium blue) in the next-to-last game of the season. Baltimore only lost twice all season, earning first place in the West and managing to keep a sizable yet scattered empire. Cleveland (brown) was first in the East, and they beat Baltimore in the championship game, played in Cleveland. Cleveland didn't get much of an empire, though, due to an early home draw with second-place St. Louis (magenta) and a home loss to sixth-place Pittsburgh (yellow), coupled with failing to beat big landholders in away games. In the Western Conference, Green Bay (kelly green) and Minnesota (violet) tied for second, both with decent empires.

Here is the map before the season started:

Oh look. San Francisco lost their capital.

NFL Empires: 1963

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to the teams from the previous season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1963 season:

Chicago (light blue) beat New York (dark blue) for the championship, but the game was in Chicago, so they gained no land. Green Bay (kelly green) saw their empire shrink drastically this year, despite coming in second in the West. They started the season with a loss to Chicago and never recovered. Minnesota (violet) controlled a large empire for the first time (despite a losing record), thanks to a late-season draw at Chicago and victory at Philadelphia (dark green). By Eastern Conference standards, Cleveland (brown) had a large empire, as they came in second place in the East.

Here is the map before the season started:

Oh yeah. Detroit nearly disappeared, too.

NFL Empires: 1962

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to the teams from the previous season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1962 season:

Green Bay (kelly green) won the championship game over New York (dark blue), played in New York, so they expanded their massive empire. Green Bay was undefeated at home -- as was Detroit (gray purple), who came in second in the West, hence their large swath of land. Pittsburgh (yellow) earned second in the East, with a good empire by Eastern Conference standards.

Here is the map before the season started:

Remember Baltimore?

NFL Empires: 1961

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, Minnesota joined the league. They gained the land within a 100-mile radius of their new capital. Dallas were moved from the Western Conference to the East, where they've been ever since.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1961 season:

Green Bay (kelly green) beat New York (dark blue) for the championship, but the game was in Green Bay, so no land was won. Baltimore (medium blue) gained control of a decent empire, despite a mediocre third place in the West. Detroit (gray purple) and Philadelphia (dark green) earned second place in each conference, but neither were consistent at home, so they couldn't accumulate much land. Overall, this season had a high degree of parity, with lower teams beating higher teams and pairs of teams beating each other in the other's home stadium.

Here is the map before the season started:

Lots of land swapping going on...

NFL Empires: 1960

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, the Chicago Cardinals relocated to St. Louis. Also, Dallas joined the league. Both teams gained the land within a 100-mile radius of their new capitals.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1960 season:

Philadelphia (dark green) beat Green Bay (kelly green) in the championship game, but it was a home win, so they gained no land. Detroit (purple) and San Francisco (burgundy) tied for second in the West, while Cleveland (brown) was second place in the East, all with respectable empires. Dallas (sage green) managed to have some land at the end of the year (impressive for an expansion team) thanks to a draw at New York (dark blue) in their next-to-last game.

Here is the map before the season started:

Baltimore and St. Louis were the only teams that managed to hold onto the land around their capitals. That should give them solace after coming in fourth.

European Super League 2019-20

UPDATED August 23, '20: Final Standings are complete.

Some of the the richest clubs of European football have made noise about permanent spots in the UEFA Champions League, or wanting to create a closed European Super League. Naturally, I would prefer an open Super League, with promotion and relegation with the domestic leagues.

Since there are too many "big" clubs for one twenty-team league, I have created a twenty-team Super League and a second division with forty teams, split into East and West Leagues. To pick which teams are placed in which leagues, I used the UEFA Club Coefficients from the end of the 2014-15 season. Since then, each season, teams were relegated from the Super League to Division 2, replaced by the East and West champions. Beginning last season, the second-place team with the better record was also promoted to the Super League. (Ideally a playoff.) Three teams from each Division 2 league are relegated, replaced by the six teams that progress the furthest in the Champions League and Europa League. (Ideally, this would just be the final Champions League teams, with the relegated teams automatically qualified for the next season's Champions League so they have the potential for promotion as soon as possible.)

After the previous season, Schalke 04 was relegated from the Super League to Division 2 West. Napoli and Shakhtar Donetsk were relegated from the Super League to Division League East. Tottenham Hotspur, Genk and Salzburg were promoted from Division 2 to the Super League. PSV Eindhoven, Málaga, Leicester City, Ludogorets 1945, Basel 1893 and FCSB were relegated to their respective domestic leagues. Eintracht Frankfurt, Stade Rennais and Celtic were promoted to Division 2 West. Slavia Praha, Krasnodar and Dinamo Zagreb were promoted to Division 2 East.

To keep East and West at 20 teams each, Milan moved to the West.

Here is a map of the sixty teams in the international leagues. Click the rectangle tab thing in the upper left to get to the list where you can deselect the separate divisions.

Below are the final standings.

The standings include only games against teams in a team's division (Super League or Division 2). The first tiebreaker is the number of games played. The second tiebreaker is the UEFA club coefficient rankings.

The six teams that will be promoted from the domestic leagues are the six teams (that aren't above) who progress the furthest in the Champions League and Europa League. This will be Atalanta and the best five in the Europa League, which are Basel 1893, Copenhagen, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wolfsburg and İstanbul Başakşehir.

NFL Empires: 1959

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to teams from the 1958 season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1959 season:

Baltimore (medium blue) beat New York (dark blue) in the championship game, but it was played in Baltimore, so no land was won. Baltimore lost land this year, despite the championship, by losing at home to the Chicago Bears (light blue) and then Cleveland (brown) (both were second place in their divisions). Baltimore then beat the Bears in Chicago, but it was already after the Bears had lost at home to last-place Los Angeles (red). Pittsburgh (yellow) managed a large empire despite a mediocre record, thanks to key road victories in the second half of the season over Cleveland and New York.

Here is the map before the season started:

It's getting harder and harder to hold an empire for multiple seasons.

NFL Empires: 1958

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to teams from the 1957 season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1958 season:

In "The Greatest Game Ever Played", Baltimore (medium blue) beat New York (dark blue) at Yankee stadium for the championship. It was the first sudden death overtime NFL playoff game. The Chicago Bears (light blue) had a good imperial resurgence this year, coming in second in the West. Los Angeles (red) came in third in the West. All told, the Western Conference controlled about 90% of the land by the end of the season. Eastern second place Cleveland (brown) had barely more than Western fifth place Detroit (purple).

Here is the map before the season started:

'Twas the year of blue.

NFL Empires: 1957

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes to teams from the 1956 season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1957 season:

Detroit (purple) won the championship game over Cleveland (brown), but it was played in Detroit so no land was gained. In the Western Conference, Detroit and San Francisco (burgundy) tied for first, so they had a playoff game. It was played in San Francisco, so Detroit actually gained most of their land in that one game. Also prominent on the map is Baltimore (medium blue), who came in third in the West. Washington (gold) gained a good empire even though they had a losing record, fourth in the East, because they beat the Chicago Bears (light blue) in Chicago to get a piece of that crumbling empire. Second in the East was New York (dark blue), who lost most of their empire with a couple late home losses.

Here is the map before the season started:

Bad year for the Bears and that other Chicago team.

NFL Empires: 1956

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the seasons, New York moved from Manhattan to the Bronx. As with previous team relocations, they lost the most distant third of their empire (given to the neighbor with the closest capital), but gained the land within 100 miles of their new home.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1956 season:

New York (dark blue) won the championship game at home over the Chicago Bears (light blue), so no land exchanged hands. A couple weeks before, New York had lost at home to Cleveland (brown), who finished fourth place in the East. A couple weeks before that, New York had tied at home to the Bears. By the end of the season, New York didn't have much land left. The difference in the championship game was that New York opted to wear sneakers instead of cleats on the icy field, an echo of the 1934 championship game, which oddly enough featured the same two teams, the same city, the same field conditions, the same footwear, and the same result.

Here is the map before the season started:

All Chicago this year.

NFL Empires: 1955

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes from the 1954 season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1955 season:

Cleveland (brown) beat Los Angeles (red) in the championship game in Los Angeles, gaining wide swaths of land in the process, mostly in the east, courtesy of a late Los Angeles victory over Philadelphia (dark green). Washington (gold) came in second in the East, but barely made any progress on the empire front. The Chicago Bears (light blue) came in second in the West, amassing a large central empire where last-place Detroit (purple) had once ruled.

Here is the map before the season started:

Oh look! Even the Cardinals got some land!

NFL Empires: 1954

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes from the 1953 season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1954 season:

Cleveland (brown) won the championship game at home over Detroit (purple), with a final score of 56-10. A week earlier, however, Detroit beat Cleveland in the same stadium, 14-10, to take most of their land. Two weeks before that, Detroit hosted Philadelphia (dark green) and they tied. Philadelphia came in second in the East, while spreading their empire over almost all the eastern lands. Second place in the West were the Chicago Bears (light blue), who didn't even manage to conquer Chicago.

Here is the map before the season started:

The West Coast teams didn't fare too well this season.

NFL Empires: 1953

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, Dallas folded. They had no land anyway. Also, Baltimore got a new team, and with it, the land within 100 miles except the land controlled by a nearer capital.

The conferences were renamed Eastern and Western, but they otherwise stayed the same as before. Thus the Chicago Cardinals were in the East and Baltimore was in the West.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1953 season:

For the second year in a row, Detroit (purple) beat Cleveland (brown) in the championship game. This year, the game was in Detroit, so no land was exchanged. Cleveland's only losses were away from home, so they expanded their empire nicely. Detroit, meanwhile, lost at home early in the season to Los Angeles (red) and never beat a major land-holding team after that. San Francisco (burgundy) came in second in the West and gained most of their land when they beat Los Angeles in the middle of the season. Philadelphia (dark green) tied Washington (gold) at home early to lose Texas, but then beat Pittsburgh (yellow) to gain new holdings elsewhere.

Here is the map before the season started:

Oh yeah, and Green Bay (light green) came in last in the West.

NFL Empires: 1952

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, the New York Yanks folded. Their land was given to the neighbor with the closest capital (the New York Giants). Also, Dallas got a new team, and with it, the land within 100 miles.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1952 season:

Detroit (purple) beat Cleveland (brown) in the championship game, played in Cleveland. Thus not much brown remains on the map. Green Bay (light green) came in fourth in the National Conference, while Philadelphia (dark green) were third in the American Conference, but they were good enough to both gain large swaths of land. New York (dark blue) and Los Angeles (red) came in second in their conferences, but didn't fare so well in empire building. Dallas (blue teal) came in last place and lost all their land.

Here is the map before the season started:

Green attack!

NFL Empires: 1951

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, Baltimore folded. Their tiny scrap of land was given to the neighbor with the closest capital.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1951 season:

Land was slow to change hands between the two conferences. Los Angeles (red) won the National Conference and then the championship game (at home), but a late home loss to Detroit (purple) meant their empire shrunk over the season. Cleveland (brown) won the American Conference and managed to expand their massive empire. Most teams lost land this year, but Detroit and San Francisco (burgundy) made significant gains by tying for second place in the National Conference.

Here is the map before the season started:

Light colors, goodbye.

NFL Empires: 1950

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

Before the season, the NFL merged with the AAFC, but only three AAFC actually played this year while the others folded. On my map, I gave the newcomers (San Francisco, Cleveland, and Baltimore) the land within a 100-mile radius, but only halfway to a neighboring capitol if that neighbor controlled that land.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1950 season:

Cleveland (brown) won the championship game, playing at home against Los Angeles (red), so no land changed hands. Both teams won their divisional playoffs at home, as well. Cleveland was first place of the American Conference, which was the old East plus Cleveland and, from the West, the Chicago Cardinals (magenta), who didn't do so well this year. Los Angeles was first place of the National Conference, which was the old West plus San Francisco (burgundy), Baltimore (teal), and, from the East, the New York Yanks (cyan). The Yanks were the Bulldogs the previous year, and while they came in third place in the National Conference, they lost all land they gained during the season, ending back where they started. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears (light blue) were undefeated at home, coming in second in the National Conference and expanding their large empire.

Here is the map before the season started:

'Twas a bad year for the birds.

NFL Empires: 1949

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

The Boston Yanks relocated to New York and became the Bulldogs. Thus they gained the land within 100 miles of their new capital, except taking Philadelphia's land only halfway to Philadelphia and not taking Manhattan from the New York Giants.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1949 season:

Philadelphia (dark green) won the championship, beating Los Angeles (red) in Los Angeles to gain a large chunk of land. The Chicago Bears (light blue) and Chicago Cardinals (magenta) still control huge empires, after coming in second and third, respectively, in the West. The Bears had beaten the Cardinals early in the season to take most of their land, but then promptly lost at home to Los Angeles. Near the end of the season, the Cardinals won in Los Angeles to get much of it back.

Here is the map before the season started:

What's more important? The championship game or the battle for Chicago?

NFL Empires: 1948

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

1948 was the first year that a team had a design painted on their helmets, when a halfback of the Los Angeles Rams painted horns on his team's helmets. Other than that, nothing much changed from 1947.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1948 season:

The Chicago Cardinals (magenta) still control the most land, but they didn't win the championship game. They lost to Philadelphia (dark green), who had won the East. (The game was played in Philadelphia, so no land changed hands.) Philadelphia made advances, but the largest land winner was the Chicago Bears (light blue). The two Chicago teams traded home losses, so the Cardinals didn't quite get everything back they had lost to the Bears previously.

Here is the map before the season started:

There once was a team from Detroit...

NFL Empires: 1947

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

There were no changes from the 1946 season.

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1947 season:

The Chicago Cardinals (magenta) took their strong land holdings from the previous year and added to it with a good season on the gridiron. They won the championship game over Philadelphia (dark green). Meanwhile, Boston (cyan) had their best season in franchise history, a 4-7-1 record, including two road wins. Los Angeles (red), also prominent on the map, came in fourth place in the West.

Here is the map before the season started:

The map sure is a lot brighter these days.

NFL Empires: 1946

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialism sports maps, instead of gaining all the loser's land from a victory home or away, the victor only gets territory for an away victory, and just two-thirds of it (or one-third for an away tie).

The map started where the previous season ended, but Cleveland moved to Los Angeles. I distributed the most distant third of their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals". (They would have also gained a 100-mile-radius area around Los Angeles, but they already had that land.)

My data was from Pro Football Reference and most of the logos from SportsLogos.net and Sports Ecyclopedia.

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1946 season:

Los Angeles (red) didn't do so well in their new home, losing their first game to Philadelphia (dark green). The Chicago Bears (light blue) won the Western Division, but lost the next-to-last game to the Chicago Cardinals (magenta). The Bears then beat New York (dark blue) in New York for the championship. But since New York had lost land to Boston (cyan) and Los Angeles near the end of the season, not much land was up for grabs in the championship game. The Cardinals, who look like they won this map, came in fourth place in the five-team West.

Here is the map before the season started:

Look at all the bright colors!