In the spring of 1927, a league meeting was held in Cleveland in an attempt to solidify the league by relegating smaller and financially shaky teams out of the league. A total of just 12 teams would remain for the 1927 season.
The Buccaneers, Eskimos, Colonels and Buffalo Rangers were "showcase teams," the first efforts for the league to reach beyond the northeast and midwest. The Buccaneers, a response to the AFL's Los Angeles Wildcats, represented the state of California; the Eskimos the far northern plains, while the Colonels represented the Southern United States and the Rangers represented the state of Texas and other areas of the Southwestern United States.[clarification needed] These four teams (except the Rangers) all played primarily as traveling teams. Three of the four teams only lasted one season; the Buccaneers and Colonels both folded while the Rangers reverted to their previous status as the Bison, with only the Eskimos returning for 1927.
In mid-November, Brooklyn merged with the AFL's Brooklyn Horsemen and stayed in the NFL, playing one more game as the Lions before changing its name to the Brooklyn Horsemen for the last three games — all shutout losses.
Championship
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were named the NFL champions after finishing the season with the best record. Their 14 victories were the most in an NFL season to that point, a record that would not be bested until the 1968 Baltimore Colts won 15.
After the season, the Philadelphia Inquirer lobbied for a World Series-style game between the Yellow Jackets and the AFL's champions Philadelphia Quakers, with the Quakers' owner challenging the Yellow Jackets, but ultimately the NFL denied permission to this game to be held.[1]
Relegation
In January 1927, an owners' meeting was held in New York City at which tentative plans were made to reorganize the NFL into two classes, "A" and "B", with weaker teams demoted to the second division.[2] A follow-up meeting was held on April 23 and 24 in Cleveland's Statler Hotel to formalize these changes.[2]
Although the splitting of the league into tiers was initially envisioned, the decision was made to eliminate small and financially struggling teams from the league, with 10 of the league's 22 clubs thereby either relegated to independent semi-pro status or nudged into dissolution.[3]
The NFL would not again have as many as 22 teams until the 1970 season, which followed the NFL-AFL merger.
Teams
The league had a record 22 teams for the 1926 season.
David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete, Year-by-Year History of Professional Football From 1892 to the Present (St. Martin's Press 1994) ISBN0-312-11435-4
Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ( ISBN0-06-270174-6)
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Pros