The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926. The team played its home games from 1923 in Frankford Stadium in Frankford, a section in the northeastern part of Philadelphia, noted for the Market–Frankford Line that terminates there.
The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and Andy Salata in Newark.
The 1924 NFL season was the fifth regular season of the National Football League. The league had 18 teams play during the season, including the new clubs Frankford Yellow Jackets, Kansas City Blues, and Kenosha Maroons. The Louisville Brecks, Oorang Indians, St. Louis All Stars and Toledo Maroons folded.
The 1925 NFL season was the sixth regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team. The Kenosha Maroons folded, with the Racine Legion and Minneapolis Marines mothballing.
The 1928 NFL season was the ninth regular season of the National Football League. The league dropped to 10 teams as the Cleveland Bulldogs and the Duluth Eskimos both folded before the season, while the Rochester Jeffersons, after missing two seasons of play, also folded, and the Buffalo Bisons also had a year out from the league. The Detroit Wolverines were added as an expansion team.
The 1930 NFL season was the 11th regular season of the National Football League.
The Philadelphia Quakers were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926 and won the league's only championship.
Francis Dale "Hap" Moran was an American football halfback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Frankford Yellow Jackets, the Chicago Cardinals, the Pottsville Maroons and the New York Giants. He played college football for Carnegie Tech and Grinnell.
Henry "Two-Bits" Homan was a professional American football player. Homan was a college stand-out at Lebanon Valley College where he played quarterback and graduated in 1924. He gained his nickname of "Two Bits" due to his size. Standing at 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) and weighing in at an average 150 lb (68 kg) throughout his playing day, Homan was one of the smallest players ever in the National Football League (NFL).
The 1925 National Football League (NFL) Championship, claimed by the Chicago Cardinals, has long been the subject of controversy, centering on the suspension of the Pottsville Maroons by NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, which prevented them from taking the title. The Maroons were one of the dominant teams of the 1925 season, and after defeating the Chicago Cardinals 21–7 on December 6, they came away with the best record in the league. However, Carr suspended and removed the team from the NFL after they played an unauthorized exhibition game in Philadelphia, on the grounds that they had violated the territorial rights of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. Chicago played and won two more games against weak NFL opponents, but were sanctioned because Cardinals player Art Folz hired four Chicago high school football players to play for the Milwaukee Badgers under assumed names to ensure a Cardinals victory.
Edward James Doyle was a professional football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1924 to 1925 with the Frankford Yellow Jackets and the Pottsville Maroons. During his two-year NFL career, Doyle scored three touchdowns. He also helped Pottsville win the 1925 NFL Championship, before it was stripped from the team due to a disputed rules violation.
Joseph A. Carpe was a professional football player in the early National Football League (NFL). A native of Westville, Illinois, Carpe attended Millikin University. He made his NFL debut in 1926 with the Frankford Yellow Jackets. That year, he was a member of the Yellow Jackets NFL Championship team. He also played for the Pottsville Maroons, Boston Bulldogs, and was an original member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 1930 Frankford Yellow Jackets season was their seventh in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous league record of 9–4–5, winning only four league games. They lost all eight games they played in October and finished ninth in the league standings.
The 1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets season was their third in the National Football League. The team improved on their previous output of 10–4, winning fourteen games. By virtue of their league-best record of 14–1–2, they were crowned the 1926 NFL Champions. The 1926 Yellow Jackets are the last NFL franchise to win a championship, and later go defunct.
The 1925 Frankford Yellow Jackets season was their second in the National Football League. The team improved on their previous output of 11–2–1, winning thirteen league games to finish the season in sixth place. The team's overall record, against league and non-league opponents in 1925 was 15–7. They set the unofficial record for most games played in a season during the years before the league went to a fixed-length schedule: they played 20 NFL games Even counting playoff games, no NFL team has since played more than 20 games in a season.
Rae Crowther was a professional football player for the National Football League (NFL) Frankford Yellow Jackets from 1925 until 1926. He won the 1926 NFL Championship with the Yellow Jackets. Outside of the NFL, he played for the Millville Big Blue, a successful independent team out of New Jersey. In 1925 Rae and Millville played several pick-up games in Florida against the Tampa Cardinals, featuring Red Grange. Rae's brother Saville also played alongside him with Frankford and Millville in 1925.
Leo Frederick Douglass was a professional football who played in the National Football League (NFL) in 1926. Douglass split the 1926 season playing for the Brooklyn Lions and the Frankford Yellow Jackets. He won the 1926 NFL championship when with Yellow Jackets.
The Union Quakers of Philadelphia were a professional independent football team, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921. The team evolved from a number of pro players who played with the Union Club of Phoenixville during their 1920 season. During their only season of operation, the club won the "Philadelphia City Championship". All of the team's home games were played at the Baker Bowl.
Russell S. "Pug" Daugherity was a professional football player-coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1927. Prior to his professional career, Daugherity played at college football, while attending the University of Illinois.
Arnold Henry "Itch" Oehlrich was an American football player. He played college football as a fullback for Nebraska from 1925 to 1927. He also played professional football in the National Football League (NFL), principally as a halfback, for the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1928 and 1929.
