1920 NFL season
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| 1920 National Football League season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||
| Duration | September 26, 1920 - December 18, 1920 | ||
| Champions | Akron Pros | ||
National Football League seasons
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The 1920 NFL season was the inaugural regular season of the National Football League. The league was formed at the Jordan and Hupmobile auto showroom in Canton, Ohio on August 20 by four independent professional American football teams from Ohio: Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles. The four parties had played against each other unofficially as the "Ohio League" since 1903, complete with "championships," but it wasn't until 1920 that the league was formalized. 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: the Hammond Pros and the Muncie Flyers from Indiana; the Rochester Jeffersons from New York; and the Rock Island Independents, the Decatur Staleys, and the Racine Cardinals from Illinois. At the meeting, the league is given a new name: American Professional Football Association (It would not be changed to National Football League until 1922).
Four other teams also joined the Association during the year: Buffalo All-Americans, Chicago Tigers, Columbus Panhandles, and Detroit Heralds. Meanwhile, Jim Thorpe of the Canton Bulldogs was named the APFA's first president, but continued to play for the team.
However, the scheduling was left up to each team. There were wide variations, both in the overall number of games played and in the number played against other Association members. Thus, no official standings were maintained.
The Akron Pros ended up being the only undefeated team in the Association. Thus, at the league meetings in Akron on April 30, 1921, the team was awarded the championship of the 1920 season.
[edit] Unofficial final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage
Note: Tie games were not counted in the standings until 1972.
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Pros | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 |
| Decatur Staleys | 10 | 1 | 2 | .909 |
| Buffalo All-Americans | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 6 | 2 | 2 | .750 |
| Rock Island Independents | 6 | 2 | 2 | .750 |
| Dayton Triangles | 5 | 2 | 2 | .714 |
| Rochester Jeffersons | 6 | 3 | 2 | .667 |
| Canton Bulldogs | 7 | 4 | 2 | .636 |
| Detroit Heralds | 2 | 3 | 3 | .400 |
| Cleveland Tigers | 2 | 4 | 2 | .333 |
| Chicago Tigers | 2 | 5 | 1 | .286 |
| Hammond Pros | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 |
| Columbus Panhandles | 2 | 6 | 2 | .250 |
| Muncie Flyers | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
[edit] References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1911-1920 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- 1920 season in details PDF (92.6 KiB)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
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