Eastern and Western Conferences (NFL) 1933–1969

The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then back to the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the NFL championship of 1932. NFL owners agreed that henceforth there would be an annual championship game, to be played between the teams with the best records from two divisions, Eastern and Western. The two-division/conference structure remained essentially stable for over 35 years, including the absorption of former All-America Football Conference teams in 1950, and the early expansion teams added in the 1960s in response to the American Football League. With the 1970 AFL–NFL merger the new, larger league was reorganized.

Teams

1933–1949

Eastern Division	Western Division
Boston Redskins (Washington from 1937)	Chicago Bears
Brooklyn Dodgers (Tigers 1944, defunct)	Chicago Cardinals
New York Giants	Cincinnati Reds (1933–34, defunct)
Philadelphia Eagles	Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Pirates (Steelers from 1940, merged with Philadelphia (Steagles) in 1943, and Chicago Cardinals (Card-Pitt) in 1944, resuming in 1945)	Portsmouth Spartans (Detroit Lions from 1934)
Boston Yanks (1944–1948, New York Bulldogs 1949)	St. Louis Gunners (1934, defunct)
	Cleveland Rams (1937, suspended operations for one year in 1943, Los Angeles from 1946)

1950–1966

American Conference 1950–1952 Eastern Conference 1953–1966	National Conference 1950–1952 Western Conference 1953–1966
Chicago Cardinals (St. Louis from 1960)	Baltimore Colts (I) (ex-AAFC, 1950, defunct)
Cleveland Browns (ex-AAFC, from 1950)	Chicago Bears
New York Giants	Detroit Lions
Philadelphia Eagles	Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers	Los Angeles Rams
Washington Redskins	New York Yanks (1950–51, ex-Bulldogs, Dallas Texans (I) 1952, defunct)
	San Francisco 49ers (ex-AAFC, from 1950)
	Baltimore Colts (II) (from 1953)
Dallas Cowboys (from 1961)	Dallas Cowboys (1960 only)
Atlanta Falcons (1966 only)	Minnesota Vikings (from 1961)

1967–1969

Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Capitol Division	Century Division	Central Division	Coastal Division
Dallas Cowboys	Cleveland Browns	Chicago Bears	Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints (1967 & 1969)	New York Giants (1967 & 1969)	Detroit Lions	Baltimore Colts (II)
Philadelphia Eagles	Pittsburgh Steelers	Green Bay Packers	Los Angeles Rams
Washington Redskins	St. Louis Cardinals	Minnesota Vikings	San Francisco 49ers
New York Giants (1968 only)	New Orleans Saints (1968 only)