Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from 1915 to 1917, Buffalo Niagaras in 1918, the Buffalo Prospects in 1919, Buffalo All-Americans from 1920 to 1923, Buffalo Bisons from 1924 to 1925 and in 1927 and 1929, and the Buffalo Rangers in 1926. The franchise, which was experiencing financial problems in 1928, did not participate in league play that season.
The Muncie Flyers, known as the Congerville Flyers for most of their existence, were a professional American football team from Muncie, Indiana, that played from 1905 to 1926. The Flyers were an independent squad for most of their existence, but are remembered mostly for their very brief stint in the American Professional Football Association. With only three official league games, one in 1920 and two in 1921, the Flyers are the third-shortest-lived team in league history, behind the two games of the original New York Giants and the one game of the Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen, and the shortest by a team not from the state of New York.
The New York Giants were a professional American football team with the American Professional Football Association whose only season played was in 1921. The team has also been referred to as the Brooklyn Giants and Brickley's Brooklyn Giants. The Brickley's Giants were the first of 17 professional football teams to represent New York City at one time or another. The team was founded in 1919 by Charles Brickley, who received All-American honors while at Harvard. Brickley's Giants played two games in their only season, losing to the Buffalo All-Americans, 55–0, and the Cleveland Tigers, 17–0. It was the second-shortest-lived franchise in APFA/NFL history, behind only another former New York APFA team, the Tonawanda Kardex, who played only one game in the same 1921 season.
The Ottawa Civics were a professional ice hockey team based out of Ottawa that played in the World Hockey Association. The team, which hastily adopted its identity in midseason when the Denver Spurs announced plans to sell the team and relocate to Ottawa, existed for approximately two weeks, folding after only seven games.
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 APFA season was the second season of the American Professional Football Association, which was renamed the National Football League in 1922.
The 1922 NFL season was the third regular season of what was now called the National Football League (NFL); the league changed its name from American Professional Football Association (APFA) on June 24, 1922.
Tonawanda High School is a public high school located in the City of Tonawanda, New York, United States. It is part of the Tonawanda City School District.
A nameless professional American football team, based in Syracuse, New York and generically known as the Syracuse Pros or Syracuse Eleven, was once thought to have joined the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League for the 1921 season. The team was coached by Mike Purdy and managed by Andy Friedman. Syracuse University multi-sport standout John Barsha was the team's franchise player.
The 1925 Rochester Jeffersons season was their sixth and final season in the National Football League. The team improved on their previous record against league opponents of 0–7, losing only six games and logging a tie. They tied for sixteenth in the league.
The 1921 Tonawanda Kardex season was their sole season in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA), in which they played only one game. The team finished 0–1 in league play, and tied for eighteenth place 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 Rochester Jeffersons season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and thirteenth as an American football team. The Jeffersons entered 1920 coming off a six-win, two-loss, two-tie (6–2–2) record in the New York Pro Football League (NYPFL) where it lost the championship game to the Buffalo Prospects. Several representatives from another professional football league, the Ohio League, wanted to form a new national league, and thus the APFA was created.
The New York Pro Football League (NYPFL) was a professional American football league, active in the 1910s, and based in upstate New York, primarily Western New York. Between 1920 and 1921, the league's best teams were absorbed into the National Football League, though none survive in that league. It was one of the biggest challengers to the Ohio League in professional football in the 1910s.
Walter Sumner "Tam" Rose was an American football player at Syracuse University and then a player and coach with the Tonawanda Kardex, including during the team's brief stint in the National Football League (NFL) He played halfback and served as the team's head coach from its founding in 1916. The team played only one game in the NFL before folding in 1921.
Oscar Carl "Ockie" Anderson was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Colgate University was selected as a first-team All-American in 1916 at quarterback. Anderson later played professional football for the Buffalo All-Americans of the American Professional Football Association (APFA)—now known as the National Football League (NFL). He was one of the leading scorers in the 1920 and 1921 APFA seasons.
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.
The 1921 NFL Championship controversy, known among Buffalo sports historians and fans as the Staley Swindle, is a dispute in which the Buffalo All-Americans unintentionally surrendered the 1921 APFA Championship title to the Chicago Staleys. The controversy began at the conclusion of the 1921 season, when the All-Americans finished the season with the best record in the American Professional Football Association. However, after losing what the All-Americans owner had intended to be an exhibition game to the Staleys on December 4, 1921, the All-Americans lost their title to Chicago on a tiebreaker.
