Roster
| 1921 Columbus Panhandles season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Ted Nesser |
| Home field | Neil Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–8 APFA (3–8 overall) |
| League place | 17th APFA |
The 1921 Columbus Panhandles season was their second in the newly formed American Professional Football Association (soon to become the National Football League). The team played all but one of their nine league games on the road, finishing the year with a record of 1 win and 8 losses, [1] seventeenth in the league.
During the 1921 season, Columbus was outscored by its opponents by a margin of better than 4 to 1.
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25 | at Akron Pros | L 14–0 | 0–1 | League Park | 2,000 | Recap | ||
| 2 | October 2 | at Dayton Triangles | L 42–13 | 0–2 | Triangle Park | "thousands" | Recap | [2] [3] | |
| 3 | October 9 | at Buffalo All-Americans | L 38–0 | 0–3 | Canisius Villa | "a good-sized crowd" | Recap | [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] | |
| 4 | October 16 | at Cleveland Tigers | L 35–9 | 0–4 | Dunn Field | "several thousand" | Recap | [10] [11] | |
| 5 | October 23 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 17–6 | 0–5 | Normal Park | 6,000 | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 30 | at Minneapolis Marines | L 28–0 | 0–6 | Nicollet Park | "A large crowd" | Recap | [12] | |
| 7 | November 6 | Akron Pros | L 21–0 | 0–7 | Neil Field | Recap | |||
| — | November 13 | Fort Wayne Pros | W 17–7 | — | Neil Field | — | |||
| 8 | November 20 | at Rochester Jeffersons | L 27–13 | 0–8 | Baseball Park | 2,500 | Recap | ||
| 9 | December 4 | at Louisville Brecks | W 6–0 | 1–8 | Eclipse Park | Recap | [13] | ||
| — | December 11 | Columbus Wagner Pirates | W 20–0 | — | Neil Field | — | |||
| Note: Games in italics indicate a non-league opponent. | |||||||||
| APFA standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Chicago Staleys | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | 128 | 53 | T1 | ||
| Buffalo All-Americans | 9 | 1 | 2 | .900 | 211 | 29 | L1 | ||
| Akron Pros | 8 | 3 | 1 | .727 | 148 | 31 | W1 | ||
| Canton Bulldogs | 5 | 2 | 3 | .714 | 106 | 55 | W1 | ||
| Rock Island Independents | 4 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 65 | 30 | L1 | ||
| Evansville Crimson Giants | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 89 | 46 | W1 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 2 | 1 | .600 | 70 | 55 | L1 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 4 | 4 | 1 | .500 | 96 | 67 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 3 | 2 | .500 | 54 | 53 | T1 | ||
| Rochester Jeffersons | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 85 | 76 | W2 | ||
| Cleveland Tigers | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 95 | 58 | L1 | ||
| Washington Senators | 1 | 2 | 0 | .334 | 21 | 43 | L1 | ||
| Cincinnati Celts | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 14 | 117 | L2 | ||
| Hammond Pros | 1 | 3 | 1 | .250 | 17 | 45 | L2 | ||
| Minneapolis Marines | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 37 | 41 | L1 | ||
| Detroit Tigers | 1 | 5 | 1 | .167 | 19 | 109 | L5 | ||
| Columbus Panhandles | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 47 | 222 | W1 | ||
| Tonawanda Kardex | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 45 | L1 | ||
| Muncie Flyers | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 28 | L2 | ||
| Louisville Brecks | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 27 | L2 | ||
| New York Brickley Giants | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 72 | L2 | ||
The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. Fritz Pollard, the first black head coach in the NFL, co-coached the Akron Pros in 1921. Paul Robeson played for the team in 1921 as well. He was among the earliest stars of professional football before football became segregated from 1934 to 1946. In 1926, the name was changed back to the Akron Indians, after the earlier semi-pro team. Due to financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and surrendered its franchise the following year.
The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before folding after one season. Three years later, the team tried again, playing in the Ohio League from 1907 to 1919, not winning a championship, before becoming charter members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) which became the National Football League (NFL).
Joseph Francis Carr was an American sports executive in football, baseball, and basketball. He is best known as the president of the National Football League from 1921 until 1939. He was also one of the founders and president of the American Basketball League (ABL) from 1925 to 1927. He was also the promotional director for Minor League Baseball's governing body from 1933 to 1939, leading an expansion of the minor leagues from 12 to 40 leagues operating in 279 cities with 4,200 players and attendance totaling 15,500,000.
The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural season of the American Professional Football Association, renamed the National Football League in 1922. An agreement to form a league was made by four independent teams from Ohio on August 20, 1920, at Ralph Hay's office in Canton, Ohio, with plans to invite owners of more teams for a second meeting on September 17, 1920. The "American Professional Football Conference" (APFC) was made up of Hay's Canton Bulldogs, Akron Pros, the Cleveland Tigers and the Dayton Triangles, who decided on a six-game schedule to play each other at home-and-away, an agreement to respect each other's player contracts, and to take a stand against signing college students whose class had not yet graduated.
The 1921 Chicago Staleys season was their second regular season completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA), later known as the National Football League. All games were played at home, with the team opening the year in Decatur, Illinois before moving to Chicago in time for its second league game.
The 1920 Akron Pros season was the franchise's inaugural season with the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and twelfth total season as a team. The Pros entered the season coming off a 5–5 record in 1919 as the Akron Indians in the Ohio League. The Indians were sold to Art Ranney and Frank Nied, two businessmen, to help achieve a better record and crowd. Several representatives from the Ohio League wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created.
The 1924 Columbus Tigers season was their fifth in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–4–1, winning only four games. They finished tenth in the league.
The 1923 Columbus Tigers season was their fourth in the league and first season as the Tigers. The team improved on their previous output of 0–8, winning five games. They finished eighth in the league.
The 1922 Columbus Panhandles season was their third in the league and last season as the Panhandles. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 1–8, losing all their games. They tied for fifteenth place in the league.
The 1921 Akron Pros season was their second completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA). The team failed to improve on their previous output of 8–0–3, losing three games. They finished third in the league.
The 1921 Buffalo All-Americans season was their second completed in the fledgling American Professional Football Association (APFA), later known as the National Football League (NFL). The team played 10 of their 12 league games at home, finishing 9–1–2 against league opponents.
The 1921 Canton Bulldogs season was their second completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA). The team improved on their previous output of 7–4–2, losing only two NFL games. They finished fourth in the league.
The 1921 Cleveland Tigers season was their second completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA), soon to be renamed the National Football League. The team improved on their previous record of 2–4–2, winning three games. They finished eleventh in the league.
The 1921 Dayton Triangles season was their second completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA), soon to be renamed the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–2–2, winning only four games. They finished eighth in the league.
The 1920 Buffalo All-Americans season was the franchise's inaugural season with the American Professional Football Association (APFA), an American football league, and fifth total as a team. The All-Americans entered 1920 coming off a 9–1–1 record in 1919 as the Buffalo Prospects in the New York Pro Football League (NYPFL). Several representatives from another professional football league, the Ohio League, wanted to form a new national league, and thus the APFA was created.
The 1920 Cleveland Tigers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and fifth total as an American football team. The Tigers entered the season coming off a 5-win, 2-loss, 2-tie (5–2–2) record in 1919. After the 1919 season, several representatives from the Ohio League, a loose organization of professional football teams, wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created.
The 1920 Columbus Panhandles season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (APFA)—later named the National Football League. The season concluded with the team going 2–6–2 and finishing 13th place in the APFA standings. The Panhandles entered the season after a 3–6–1 record in 1919. The team opened the 1920 season with a loss to the Dayton Triangles, and the Panhandles lost five straight until a victory over the Zanesville Mark Grays. Not a single player was on the All-Pro list.
The 1920 Dayton Triangles season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (AFPA)—later named the National Football League. The Triangles entered the season coming off a 5–2–1 record in 1919 in the Ohio League. After the 1919 season, several representatives from the Ohio League wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created. A majority of the team stayed from the 1919 team, including the coaching staff, while two players left the team.
The Nesser brothers were a group of American football-playing brothers who helped make up the most famous football family in the United States from 1907 until the mid-1920s. The group consisted of seven brothers who worked for Panhandle Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, Ohio, and who were later used as the foundation for the Columbus Panhandles of the Ohio League, and later the National Football League, when the club was founded by future NFL president Joe Carr in 1907.
Harold Matthew Gaulke was an American football player. He played professional football for the Columbus Panhandles in 1917 and from 1919 to 1922. He was the Panhandles’ starting quarterback in the first official National Football League game in October 1920.