In January of 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Senator William Hensley (D-NJ) to discuss the possibility of bringing back professional football on a national level. When the Great Depression hit, all professional football leagues that were operating on a national level went bankrupt. President Roosevelt looked to bring football back to help boost the economy. After the January meeting with the President, Senator Hensley met with Senators George Hall (D-NY), Edward Teech (R-IL) and Arthur Wilson (R-NH). They would form the "National Football League Committee" and started to put the building blocks for the NFA together. On November 16, 1938, the league was officially formed. Ten investors had agreed to start teams in this league and participate in a 12 Game schedule. The original 10 teams were the: Baltimore Knights Boston Bluejackets Cincinnati Buckeyes Chicago Packers Detroit Mustangs Milwaukee Indians New York Lions Philadelphia Colonials Pittsburgh Ironmen St Louis Aviators Also decided on November 16, 1938 was the President of the NFA. All 10 owners voted for Senator William Hensley to be the leagues President. Hensley accepted and would resign as Senator. He would also change his title from President to Commissioner. Senator George Hall would be appointed by Hensley as Deputy Commissioner. The first NFA regular season game to kick off was on September 10, 1939. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended the first game to kick off at Manhattan Field in New York City. The New York Lions hosted the Boston Bluejackets. New York won 18-14.