First NFL Game Brought to Life in Film ‘Triangle Park’

The National Football League produces some of the most-watched telecasts in the US every year, and yet the precise origins of the sport remain a mystery to most. Filmmaker Allen Farst wanted to change all that. In his new movie, Triangle Park, Farst documents the first-ever NFL game: a 1920 matchup between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles. The film — one part documentary, one part live-action drama — centers on the sport’s inaugural game played out in Triangle Park in Dayton, Ohio.

Football as a sport was young, with no certainty it would survive. This game was the first where two teams aligned with the fledgling NFL played. The league, and the sport itself, proved resilient.