The Merger Announcement That Changed...

The Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day comes from the June 9, 1966, Danville Register in Danville, Virginia, when it had the headline of:

NFL, AFL Announce Plans for Merger Into Giant Loop!

Yes, the report was accurate; this was the merger that did the most to form the behemoth of the National Football League in one swoop. 

June 8, 1966- The NFL and AFL announced that they were officially merging into one league. Under the merger agreement, the two would operate under the National Football League name, divided into the NFC and the AFC, and use the NFL logo.

They agreed to play separate regular season schedules and then play each other in a postseason championship, which eventually became known as the Super Bowl. In 1970, the schedules and teams were reorganized into one league with two conferences. A press release from the meeting stated: "The NFL and AFL today announced plans to join into an expanded major professional football league. It will consist of 26 teams in 25 cities, with the expectation of additional teams shortly." The group announcement went on to say, "The Main points of the plan include: Pete Rozelle will be the Commissioner, A world championship game this season (1966 season), all existing franchises retained, two new franchises no later than 1968." The World Championship game referred to would become what we now call Super Bowl I.

The two new franchises would be the New Orleans Saints in the NFL and the Cincinnati Bengals in the American Football League (AFL).