Football game between the Los Angeles Bulldogs (darker jerseys) and (then) Cleveland Rams at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, 1938. Bulldogs won 28-7.
From the LA Times Photographic Collection at UCLA Library.
| Team | Period of Play in/for Los Angeles |
League |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Buccaneers (1) | 1926 | National Football League |
| Los Angeles Wildcats {1} | 1926 | American Football League I* |
| California Shamrocks | 1935 | American Legion Football League |
| Hollywood Braves | 1935 | American Legion Football League |
| Los Angeles (Southern California) Maroons | 1935 | American Legion Football League |
| Westwood Cubs | 1935 | American Legion Football League |
| Long Beach Eagles | 1936 | No League Affiliation? |
| Hollywood Stars | 1936-1938 | California Pro Football League |
| Los Angeles Cardinals | 1936 | No League Affiliation? |
| San Pedro Longshoremen | 1936 | No League Affiliation? |
| Los Angeles Bulldogs | 1937 | American Football League II* |
| Los Angeles Bulldogs | 1938 | No League Affiliation (2) |
| Los Angeles Bulldogs | 1939 | American Professional Football Association |
| Los Angeles Bulldogs | 1940-1945 | Pacific Coast Professional Football League |
| Hollywood Bears | 1940-1942, 1946-1947 | Pacific Coast Professional Football League |
| Los Angeles Mustangs | 1943-1944 | Pacific Coast Professional Football League, American Football League lll* |
| Hollywood Rangers | 1944 | American Football League lll* |
| Los Angeles Wildcats (3) | 1944 | American Football League lll* |
| Hollywood Wolves | 1944 | Pacific Coast Professional Football League |
| Los Angeles Dons | 1946-1949 | All American Football Conference |
| Los Angeles Rams (4) | 1947-1995 | National Football League |
| Los Angeles Chargers (5) | 1960 | American Football League lV* |
| Long Beach Admirals | 1967 | Continental Football League |
| Los Angeles Express | 1983-1985 | United States Football League |
| Los Angeles Raiders (6) | 1982-1995 | National Football League |
| Los Angeles Cobras | 1988 | Arena Football League |
| Los Angeles Dragons (7) | 2000 | Spring Football League |
| Los Angeles Avengers | 2000-2009 | Arena Football League |
| Los Angeles Xtreme | 2001 | X Football League (8) |
| Los Angeles Lynx (9) | 2007 | National Indoor Football League |
| Los Angeles Dragons (10) | 2010 | United States Australian Football League |
| Los Angeles Kiss (11) | 2014-2016 | Arena Football League |
| Los Angeles Rams (4) | 2016-present | National Football League |
| Los Angeles Chargers (4) | 2017-present | National Football League |
| Los Angeles Wildcats (12) | 2019-2022 | X Football League |
* There were four unrelated leagues over history named "American Football League."
1) See comment box below.
2) Team's American Football League II league had disbanded, allowing Bulldogs to play National Football League teams.
3) No relationship to 1926 team.
4) Founded in Cleveland in 1936, the team moved to Los Angeles and L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 1946. It moved to Anaheim Stadium in Orange County in 1980 and to St. Louis in 1995. The team returned to Los Angeles in 2016.
5) In 1960, team moved to San Diego and the NFL after only one season in Los Angeles, then returned to Los Angeles in 2017 after 57 years.
6) Founded in Oakland in 1960, the team moved to Los Angeles in 1982. It returned to Oakland in 1995.
7) No affiliation with the L.A. Dragons of 2010.
8) League active in 2001. Thereafter disbanded, but relaunched in 2019.
9) Team was dissolved midseason during its inaugural season.
10) Australian Rules football team. No affiliation with the L.A. Dragons of 2000.
11) Team actually played at Honda Center in Anaheim, California (Orange County).
12) No relationship to Los Angeles Wildcats of 1926. The Wildcats played only half of one season in 2020, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the team announced it would not return for the XFL 2023 seaoson, giving its place in the XFL to the San Antonio Brahmas.
Also see: Women's Professional Football in Los Angeles County
Neither the Los Angeles Buccaneers nor the Los Angeles Wildcats from 1926 ever played any games in Los Angeles. Both teams were considered "road teams." The Buccaneers played out of Chicago and the Wildcats out of Moline, Illinois. The teams were named for Los Angeles only to showcase football talent from California and west coast colleges. According to historian Michael McCambridge, in his 2005 book "America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation," the Buccaneers actually did want to play in their namesake city, but could not do so because the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission, at the time, prohibited professional games in its stadium.
