Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo in the 20s

[sukie]

Found this interesting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_(1920s_NFL_teams)


The NFL[edit]


Buffalo QB, head coach and part-owner Tommy Hughitt.




The Buffalo All-Americans had success during its first couple of APFA seasons, posting a 9–1–1 regular season record in 1920 where they became the first professional NFL team to win by margins of 20 or more points in each of its first four games, an asterisked record which was not tied until the 2007 New England Patriots' offense duplicated the feat against other (all) professional and league teams on October 1, 2007;^[5] the asterisked record is because in the early NFL, the All-Americans played several non-league opponents in their first four wins in 1920.^[6] Like the 1990s-era Buffalo Bills seven decades later (and the 1960s-era Bills four decades later), the 1918–21 All-Americans team is often considered one of the best professional teams to have never won an NFL championship. Even though they didn't officially win any championships, there are two championships that are disputable, in 1920 and 1921.

...more...

[sukie]

Re: Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo.

And our first championship ripped off by the league We were getting the big screw back in the 20s!!!

"Staley Swindle"[edit]

For more details on this topic, see Staley Swindle.
On November 27, 1921, the All-Americans claimed the AFPA title with a record of 9–0–2. However, for reason still unknown, owner Frank McNeil agreed to play two more games. He did tell the Buffalo media that the two games were exhibitions and would have no bearing on the team's claim to the AFPA title. Meanwhile, George Halas and the Chicago Staleys, manage to capture second place in the AFPA in 1921, with their only loss of the season against Buffalo. Meanwhile McNeil scheduled the two additional games against the Akron Pros and Chicago, in back-to-back games. The first game was scheduled for December 3 against the tough Akron Pros, after which his team would take an all-night train to Chicago to play the Staleys the next day.

The All-Americans defeated the Pros on December 3. They then rode to Chicago, where they disembarked the next day, worn out and in no condition to play the Staleys. The All-Americans then lost to the Staleys, 10–7. Meanwhile McNeil still believed his team was the AFPA's 1921 champion, and even invested in tiny gold footballs for his players to commemorate the achievement. However Halas declared that the title was Chicago's, basing his claim on his belief that the second game of the Buffalo-Chicago series mattered more than the first. He also pointed out that the aggregate score of the two games was 16–14 in favor of the Staleys. McNeil insisted the Buffalo All-Americans were the champions, still maintaining that the last two games his team played were merely exhibitions. It didn't matter. The league awarded the championship by a vote of the Association's executive committee in January 1922 to the Staleys.

This episode is referred to by several sports historians and Buffalo sports fans as the "Staley Swindle." McNeil eventually went to his grave trying to get the league's decision overturned. ^[10] In their decision, based on a generally accepted (but now obsolete) rule that if two teams play each other more than once in a season, the second game counts more than the first, the executive committee followed established tradition. Had Buffalo not played the last game (or if it had not been counted as per Buffalo's wishes), they would have had an undefeated season and won the title. ^[11]

In both the 1920 and 1921 seasons, Buffalo played all of its games at home (the lone exceptions being the two 1921 matches in Chicago and one against the Detroit Tigers).

(same link)

[swiper]

Re: Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo in the 20s

They played for pierogies.

PierogiRecipe15.jpg

[swiper]

Re: Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo in the 20s

And sometimes golumpkis.

[Mace]

Re: Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo in the 20s

Screwed again in 1949 :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bills_%28AAFC%29

There was some controversy over Buffalo's exclusion from the enlarged NFL. Buffalo had experienced more success on the field and at the gate than Baltimore, and the original three-team plan would have left the league with 13 teams, not only an odd number, but also one considered to be bad luck. The move had left Buffalo as the only AAFC market without an NFL team post-merger, and one that had outdrawn the NFL average in fan attendance. With that in mind, Buffalo fans produced more than 15,000 season ticket pledges, raised $175,000 in a stock offering,^[3] and filed a separate application to join. When the vote to admit Buffalo was held on January 20, 1950, a majority of league owners (including the three already-admitted AAFC teams) were willing to accept Buffalo. However, league rules required a unanimous vote, but the vote was only 9-4 in favor. The opposition to the Bills' entry was led by Chicago Bears owner George Halas (who had a longstanding animosity toward Buffalo's previous NFL franchise) and Los Angeles Rams owner Dan Reeves.

By damn, there is George Halas again.

[Scumbag College]

Re: Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo in the 20s

This thread has made me hate George Halas' filthy guts.

[sukie]

Re: Prior to Ralph. Pro football in Buffalo in the 20s

Yeah we royally got the shaft back in the day.