Founding and Early History

• Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau (hence the name Lambeau Field on which the team plays) and George Whitney Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896.
  
• In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest.
  
• They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL).