National Football League Century Division

The NFL Century Division was one of the four divisions of the National Football League during the 1967 through 1969 seasons (the others were: Capital, Central, Coastal). The NFL, previously, consisted of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The four-division setup was used in the preparation of the merger of the NFL and American Football League for the 1970 NFL season.

The NFL Century Division had four teams in each season; however, it had five different members: Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1967 and 1969 the four teams were the Browns, Cardinals, Giants, and Steelers. For the 1968 season, the Giants were placed in the Capital Division, with the Saints switching to the Century.

For the 1967-1969 seasons, the NFL's four divisional names each began with "C" (each name also consisted of seven letters.) The Century Division was the only one not based on Geography, while the Capital Division's teams were in the Eastern U.S. (including Washington. D.C.); the Central Division in the upper Midwest, while the Coastal had two teams on each coast. One speculation for the name Century Division is it was a reference to the 20th Century Limited train which connected the division's original four cities. As such, the Century Division's teams varied widely by geography, although not to the extent of the Coastal Division.

After the AFL–NFL Merger in 1970, the division was disbanded; New York joined the NFC East; St. Louis also joined the NFC East before moving to the NFC West in 2002. New Orleans became a member of the NFC West, moving to the newly-formed NFC South in 2002. Cleveland and Pittsburgh joined the AFC Central (later the AFC North), with the Cincinnati Bengals (from the AFL West) and Houston Oilers (from the AFL East).

Two teams from the Century Division, the Steelers, and Cardinals, played in Super Bowl XLIII. The Cleveland Browns were the only team to win a division title in the Century Division.

Division champions

See also

• Browns–Steelers rivalry, the strongest one between any two former Century Division teams.