The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural season of the American Professional Football Association, renamed the National Football League in 1922. The league was formed on August 20, 1920, by independent professional American football teams from Ohio, all of whom had previously played in the Ohio League or New York Pro Football League (NYPFL). At the meeting, they first called their new league the American Professional Football Conference. A second organizational meeting was held in Canton on September 17, adding more teams to the league, and at the meeting, the name of the league became the American Professional Football Association. Four other teams also joined the Association during the year. Meanwhile, Jim Thorpe of the Canton Bulldogs was named the APFA's first president but continued to play for the team.
Lucas Staley is a former American college football player who was a running back for Brigham Young University (BYU). Staley was a consensus All-American, and was recognized in 2001 as the best college running back in the nation. The Detroit Lions picked him in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft, but he suffered a career-ending knee injury before appearing in a regular season pro football game.
George Edward Trafton was an American football player and coach, boxer, boxing manager, and gymnasium proprietor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was also selected in 1969 as the center on the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team.
Horlick Field, located on the north side of Racine, Wisconsin, in the United States, is a 5,000-seat football stadium and a baseball park enclosed within stone walls and chain fences. The land for the field was donated by William Horlick, the inventor of malted milk. It was designed in 1907 by Walter Dick, who also designed the North Beach Beach House.
The 1920 Decatur Staleys season was the inaugural regular season of the franchise that would be known as the Chicago Bears, and they completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. The club posted a 10–1–2 record under first year head coach/player George Halas earning them a second-place finish in the team standings. The stars of the Staleys were Ed "Dutch" Sternaman, Jimmy Conzelman, and George Halas. Sternaman had a remarkable season with 11 rushing TDs, 1 receiving TDs, 4 field goals, and 3 PATs, totaling 87 points scored out of the Staleys' total of 164. Jimmy Conzelman ran for two scores and threw two more. Halas led the team in receiving scores with 2. In the last league game of the season, the Staleys needed a win versus Akron to have a chance at the title. Akron, predictably, played for a tie, achieved that, and won the first APFA title.
Edward Sternaman, better known as Dutch, was an American player, coach, and owner in professional football for the NFL's Chicago Bears.
Joseph Staley is an American football offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Central Michigan.
Howard Lee "Whitey" Woodin was an American football player. He played with the Racine Legion and the Green Bay Packers and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1973. After retiring from football, Woodin remained in Green Bay and worked for many years at Falls Power and Paper Company.
John Wayne Mangum Jr., is an American former professional football player who played in 9 NFL seasons from 1990-1998 for the Chicago Bears. He played collegiately at Alabama and holds the career record for passes broken up (47).
Maurice Joseph "Moe The Toe" Racine was a placekicker and offensive lineman for the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1958-1974 of the Canadian Football League. He was part of four Grey Cup winning teams with the Rough Riders and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2014.
William "Bill" Patrick Staley is a former American football player. He played five years as an AFL and NFL football player for a total of 49 games. Two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, three with the Chicago Bears
Eugene Russell Smith was a professional football player during the early years of the National Football League with the Chicago Staleys, Chicago Bears, Canton Bulldogs, Milwaukee Badgers, Cleveland Bulldogs, Detroit Panthers and Hammond Pros. Smith won NFL championships with the Staleys in 1921, the Canton Bulldogs in 1923 and the Cleveland Bulldogs in 1924. He played a total of 50 games in the NFL.
Robert Adam Charles Koehler was an American football player who played fullback for seven seasons for the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).
Charles Robert Rutkowski was a player in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills in 1960 as a defensive end. He played at the collegiate level at Ripon College.
Douglas Park is located at 18th Avenue and 10th Street in Rock Island, Illinois. A former National Football League venue, it was the site of the first National Football League game on September 26, 1920. The stadium was home to the Rock Island Independents from 1907 until 1925. The Independents were an original franchise of the National Football League (1920–1925). It was a minor league baseball stadium for the Rock Island Islanders from 1907 until 1937. The Islanders played in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1920–1921), Mississippi Valley League (1922–1933) and Western League (1934–1937). Numerous Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductees, including NFL legends George Halas, Curly Lambeau and Jim Thorpe, performed at Douglas Park.
Ralph Lewis "Jake" Lanum was a professional American football player who played running back for five seasons for the Chicago Bearsand its predecessors the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Staleys.
The 1919 Decatur Staleys season was the first in the team's long existence. It was also the only season in which the Staleys-Bears team was amateur, not a member of the National Football League or managed by George Halas. The team was industrial team, which was made up purely of regular A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company employees, and posted a 6–1 record to win the Central Illinois Championship.
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois as the Chicago Cardinals from 1920 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri for the 1960 season.
Richard William Barker Jr. was an American football player and coach, wrestler and coach, and athletic director. He played professional football for the Chicago Staleys. Barker served as the head football coach at Cornell College and Franklin & Marshall College as well as starting the wrestling programs at Michigan and Cornell College.
