NFL Empires: 1935

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).

I started where the previous season ended, removing St. Louis and Cincinnati (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"). No new teams were added this year.

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1935 season:

Green Bay (green) beat the Chicago Bears (light blue) to gain the West, but they came in second place in the Western Division behind Detroit (purple), who won the championship game against the Eastern winners, New York (dark blue). That game was in Detroit, so New York kept their land. At the other end of the standings, all the teams with losing records have either one county or no land.

Here is the map before the season started:

Detroit does what Detroit does.

NFL Empires: 1934

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).

I started where the previous season ended, moving Portsmouth to Detroit (distributing the most distant third of their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals", but gaining land around Detroit like a new team) and adding St. Louis midway through the season (gaining a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking) as a replacement for Cincinnati, who was suspended. Cincinnati has already lost all their land by that time.

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1934 season:

It's all Chicago Bears (light blue), who were the Western Division champions. New York (dark blue) won the Eastern Division and the championship game (in New York, so they didn't gain any of Chicago's land). Chicago had beaten New York in New York on week 10, so New York actually lost land this season.

Here is the map before the season started (note a lack of St. Louis):

The Bears dominate.

NFL Empires: 1933

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).

I started where the previous season ended, removed Staten Island (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"), and adding Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati (gaining a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1933 season:

The fall of Green Bay! The Chicago Bears (light blue) won the championship as the winners of the West conference, beating New York (dark blue) in the championship game. Brooklyn (medium blue) came in second in the East, but only managed to gain a slice of west Texas. Teams were still playing unequal schedules, ranging from nine to fourteen games. Brooklyn played four fewer games than New York, with six of Brooklyn's ten games at home.

Here is the map before the season started:

Green begone.

NFL Empires: 1932

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).

I started where the previous season ended, removed Frankford, Cleveland, and Providence (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"), and adding Boston (gaining a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

In 1932, the NFL only had eight teams, tied for the lowest in its history. It sure made this map-making easier!

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1932 season:

The Chicago Bears (light blue) won the championship, but they only earned a draw in Green Bay (green). In fact, no one beat Green Bay at home, so they still dominate the map while coming in second place.

Here is the map before the season started:

Can we all just agree that the Cardinals suck?

NFL Empires: 1931

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).

This is the twelfth season of the NFL, starting where the previous season ended, removing Newark and Minneapolis (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"), and adding Cleveland (gaining a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1931 season:

Green Bay (green) won the season again. They held onto their territory, but only gained relatively little new territory. Second-place Portsmouth (purple) gained territory, but there was little non-green land to go around.

Here is the map before the season started:

Green Bay, Green Bay, Green Bay.

NFL Empires: 1930

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).

This is the eleventh season of the NFL, starting where the previous season ended and removing Boston and Buffalo (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"), moving Dayton to Brooklyn (losing the most distant third of their land, but gaining new land like a new team), and adding Portsmouth (gaining a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

When the league started in 1920, the median central point of teams was in western Ohio. In 1924, the center was in Chicago. By 1930, the center had shifted to Philadelphia. The New York metropolitan area has four teams this year!

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1930 season:

Green Bay (green) won the season thanks to a missed extra point by Portsmouth (purple) in the final game. Otherwise, New York (dark blue) would have won the season, with much the same map. Minneapolis and Frankford fell off the map entirely, while the Chicago Bears (light blue) returned in a strong way.

Here is the map before the season started:

Continued Green Bay dominance, and the others are left fighting for scraps.

NFL Empires: 1929

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).

This is the tenth season of the NFL, starting where the previous season ended and removing Detroit and the Yankees (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"), moving Pottsville to Boston, and adding Buffalo and others (given a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1929 season:

Once again, Dayton (medium blue) held onto their territory by never playing at home. They finished in last place, winless. The victors were Green Bay (green), and their empire matches reality. The Chicago Bears (light blue) had a horrible second half of the season (no wins in their last nine games, including seven at home) and thus fell off the map entirely.

Here is the map before the season started:

NFL Empires: 1928

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).

This is the ninth season of the NFL, starting where the previous season ended and removing Cleveland and Buffalo (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals") and adding Detroit (given a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1928 season:

Green Bay (green) gained quite a bit; newbie Detroit (chartreuse) went gangbusters, and Dayton (medium blue) still holds a lot of land. The official winner of the NFL in 1928? Providence (dark gold). They only had three away games (two wins and a tie), and they were against lowly New York Yankees (red-orange), Frankford (beige), and Pottsville (teal). Dayton never played a home game.

Here is the map before the season started:

Not a good year for Chicago.

NFL Empires: 1927

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperialist 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).

This is the eighth season of the NFL, starting where the previous season ended and removing almost half the teams as the NFL kicked out the poorer members, even the ones who had done well on-field (I distributed their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals"). The Brooklyn Lions (orange) moved to the Bronx and changed their name to the New York Yankees, so they are treated similar to a new team (They get a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking).

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1927 season:

Duluth (violet) has a lot of land, but they started the season with even more. Cleveland (grayish green) gained the most territory, but they actually came in fourth place. The New York Giants (dark blue) won officially, but they played more at home than away, including a home loss to Cleveland.

Here is the map before the season started:

Quite a change from the end of 1926! Oh look, the Cardinals had some land.

NFL Empires: 1926

This is a continuation of my "empire" maps (where victors take the territory of the losers) of the NFL. Different than most such imperial 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).

This is the seventh season of the NFL, starting where the previous season ended and removing Rock Island and other teams which folded or took a hiatus (distributing their land to neighbors based on distance to "capitals") and adding Los Angeles and other new teams with new territory (taking a 100-mile radius, except only halfway to a "capital" city of the land the new team is taking). There were 22 teams participating in 1926, more than any other season till the NFL-AFL merger.

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

Here then is the map of the NFL empires after the 1926 season:

Kansas City (dark teal) continued its dominance on the map, but their only two home games were against fellow road warriors Duluth (light violet) and Los Angeles (gold), so they never risked much. Kansas City went 8-3, which was good enough for fourth place. Frankford (tan) won the league with a 14-1-2 record, but they only had three road games.

Here is the map before the season started:

Oh look. Hartford was light blue.