New York Yankees (1936 AFL)

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

New York Yankees
Founded1936
Folded1937
Based in New York, New York, United States
League American Football League (1936-1937)
Team historyNew York Yankees (1936-37)
Team colorsRed, White, Blue    
Head coaches Jack McBride (1936-1937)
Owner(s)James Bush (president)
Home field(s) Yankee Stadium
Triborough Stadium

The New York Yankees of the second American Football League was the second professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL (and the National Football League), the Yankees of the third AFL, the Yankees of the American Association (then also called the American Football League) and the (later) Yankees of the All-America Football Conference. The Yankees played their home games in Yankee Stadium and Triborough Stadium in New York, New York. Jack McBride was the team’s head coach throughout its existence; Yankees' president James Bush served as president of the second American Football League in 1936.

Formed by signing National Football League players, primarily New York Giants, the 1936 Yankees (including back Elmer Strong and tackle Jess Quatse) [1] [2] battled the Boston Shamrocks and the Cleveland Rams for the league title (which Boston won). New York Giants-turned-Yankees also included end Les Borden and back Stu Clancy. [3] The 1937 edition of the Yankees was never truly in the running as league newcomers Los Angeles Bulldogs were the only AFL team with a winning record as Los Angeles dominated the league with an unbeaten, untied 8-0-0 record (the Yankees finished in third place for the second straight year, this time with 2-3-1).

While there was no "official" all-AFL team declared for the 1936 season, guard Alex Drobnitch was the sole Yankee to be named to the All-League team in 1937. Other Yankees stars include Dean Nesmith, [4] Charlie Segal, Al Rose, and Irv "King Kong" Klein. [3]

The complete domination of the AFL by the Bulldogs decimated attendance in Yankee Stadium as LA played the second half of its season on the American West Coast (while the Yankees averaged roughly 14,000 in attendance in 1936, the number was cut to about 5000 in 1937). With all the AFL clubs (except Los Angeles) deeply in the red, the second American Football League – and the Yankees – closed up shop at the end of the 1937 season. [5] [3]

YearWLTFinishHead Coach
1936 5323rd (AFL) Jack McBride
1937 2313rd (AFL)Jack McBride

Some sources indicate the Yankees of the third American Football League (1940) a continuation of the 1936-1937 Yankees, citing a common head coach (Jack McBride) and the continuing existences of two other AFL II teams, the Cincinnati Bengals (which also competed in the third AFL) and the Los Angeles Bulldogs (which became a founding member of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in 1940 – after competing with Cincinnati in the American Professional Football League, which ironically called itself the American Football League in 1938). While circumstantial evidence hints at the Yankees having a similar continuation, there is no record of any Yankees games played in 1938 and 1939, and the 1940 Yankees team had different ownership/management from its 1937 namesakes, aside from their common head coach. They had a center, Henry Bogacki who played on the team.

Related Research Articles

All-America Football Conference Professional American football league operating from 1946–1949

The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After its folding, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts.

Philadelphia Quakers (AFL)

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.

The first American Football League (AFL), sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League (NFL). Founded by Charles "C.C." Pyle, (1882–1939), and General Charles X. Zimmerman, (1865–1926), as vice president and starring Hall of Fame halfback Harold Edward "Red" Grange, (1903–1991), the short-lived league with nine teams competed against the more established – then six-year-old – NFL, both for players and for fans. While Pyle's and Grange's New York Yankees team and the already established Philadelphia Quakers became reliable draws, the lack of star power and the uncertain financial conditions of the other seven teams led to the league's dissolution after one season.

The American Football League, also known retrospectively as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name, was a professional American football league that operated from 1940–1941. It was created when three teams, the original Cincinnati Bengals, the Columbus Bullies, and the Milwaukee Chiefs, were lured away from the minor-league American Professional Football Association and joined three new franchises in Boston, Buffalo, and New York City in a new league. It competed against the National Football League (NFL), the oldest existing professional football league, established 1920 and reorganized 1922.

The American Football League (AFL) was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League (NFL) throughout its existence. While the American media generally ignored its operation, this second AFL was the first "home" of the Cleveland Rams, which joined the National Football League after one year in the AFL.

The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a professional american football minor league that existed from 1935 to 1940. Originally comprising teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, the league eventually expanded its reach to include teams from Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and California to become a national league with major league aspirations by 1939. In 1938, the league became the American Professional Football League after the collapse of the second major league of the same name, but changed its name once again the following year to American Professional Football Association (APFA). Some sources refer to it as the American Professional Football League.

The 1926 AFL season is the only season of the first American Football League. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, Ohio, but by the end of the season, only four teams were still in existence: three teams owned or subsidized by league founder C. C. Pyle and star Red Grange and league champion Philadelphia Quakers. The initial lineup of teams included the traveling Wildcats and a charter member of the National Football League, the Rock Island Independents, which became a second traveling team after having poor attendance in its first three games.

The 1937 AFL season is the second and final season of the second American Football League. After the folding of the Syracuse/Rochester Braves in the 1936 season and the departure of the Cleveland Rams for the National Football League, the league added the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Bulldogs, the latter being the first professional football team to play its home games on the American West Coast.

The Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), also known as the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) was a professional American football minor league based in California. It operated from 1940 through 1948. One of the few minor American professional sports leagues that competed in the years of World War II, the PCPFL was regarded as a minor league of the highest level, particularly from 1940 to 1945, at a time in which the major National Football League did not extend further west than Chicago and Green Bay. It was also the first professional football league to have a team based in Hawaii.

Los Angeles Bulldogs

The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948. Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937, the Bulldogs were the first team on the major league level to play its home games on the American West Coast. They were considered "the best football team in existence outside the NFL".

The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL, the Yankees of the second AFL, and the (later) Yankees of the All-America Football Conference. The Yankees played their home games in Yankee Stadium and Downing Stadium in New York, New York.

In professional team sports, a traveling team is a member of a professional league that never competes in its home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team as a barnstorming team competes in exhibition games and not within a league or association framework as a traveling team does. While leagues may designate a traveling team prior to the start of competition, some teams become road teams by simply not scheduling any home games.

The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois. Coached by Jim Clark, the team was designed to be a showcase for University of Washington star back George “Wildcat” Wilson. Compared to most traveling teams in professional football, the Wildcats were successful, compiling a 6–6–2 record in the only season of the team's – and the league's – existence.

The Cleveland Panthers were a professional American football team. They were an independent team founded in 1919 from the remains of the Youngstown Patricians. The Panthers played, with various degrees of success, continuously from 1919 and eventually, as fewer opponents played them each year after 1926, sputtered to a quiet folding in 1933.

The Chicago Bulls were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Joey Sternaman, the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle and Red Grange as shareholders. Joey Sternaman was also the coach and blocking back for the Bulls throughout their brief existence.

The Boston Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940. Owned by Sheldon H. Fairbanks, the team played its home games in the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Coach Eddie Casey’s team was a competitive one, finishing the 1940 season with a 5-4-1 record, good for third place in the AFL, behind league champions Columbus Bullies and second-place Milwaukee Chiefs.

Rochester Tigers

The Rochester Tigers were a professional American football team that competed in the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Owned by Mike Palm and Harry Newman, the Tigers were originally awarded to Rochester as a charter member of the AFL, but were shifted to Brooklyn two weeks afterward despite the lack of availability of a home stadium in its new home town, then moved back to Rochester midway through the 1936 season.

The Syracuse Braves were a professional American football team that competed in the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Coached by Don Irwin and Red Badgro, the Braves played in Municipal Stadium, which had a capacity of only about 10,000 people. The team was not a strong draw as it lost its first five games, prompting a search for a new home, including Providence, Rhode Island, before settling upon a move to Rochester.

The Pittsburgh Americans or Pittsburgh Amerks were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1936 until 1937. The team was a member of the major-league American Football League and participated in the league's 1936 and 1937 seasons.

The Louisville Tanks were a minor league professional American football team that existed from 1935 to 1940. The team formed in the wake of the dissolution of the Louisville Bourbons of the short-lived American Football League of 1934. Organized and owned by American Standard, Inc., the team was coached by AS plant manager H.M. "Harry" Reed; its name and colors come from one of the products sold by American Standard. The Tanks played their home games at Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

References

  1. David L. Porter, editor, Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Football (Greenwood Press 1987) ISBN   0-313-25771-X
  2. David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, NS Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia:The Complete, Year-by-Year History of Professional Football From 1892 to the Present (St. Martin's Press 1990) ISBN   0-312-11435-4
  3. 1 2 3 George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN   0-385-13091-0
  4. "KATS Hall of Fame". Kansas Athletic Trainers Society. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  5. Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (HarperCollins 1999) ISBN   0-06-039232-0