1920 Dayton Triangles season

Sports season November 2013 March 2026 Dayton Triangles A group of men standing in rows of three in their football uniforms. One executive is all the way to the left, and the other executive is on the right. The words "Triangle Football Team, 1920" is written on the photograph. 1920 5–2–2 Overall 4–2–2 APFA 6th APFA Bud Talbott Carl Storck Triangle Park The 1920 Dayton Triangles season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (AFPA)—later named the National Football League. The Triangles entered the season coming off a 5–2–1 record in 1919 in the Ohio League. After the 1919 season, several representatives from the Ohio League wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created. A majority of the team stayed from the 1919 team, including the coaching staff, while two players left the team. The Triangles opened the season with a win against the Columbus Panhandles. This game is considered the first league game where two APFA teams played against each other. After a six-game winning streak, the Triangles faced their first loss of the season to the future champions, the Akron Pros. This team would give the Triangles their only two losses of the year. The Triangles finished the season with a 5–2–2 record, which earned them sixth place in the APFA standings. No players were awarded with the first team All-Pro award, Norb Sacksteder made the second team, and Frank Bacon made the third team. 2 Offseason The Dayton Triangles finished 5–2–1 in their 1919 season in the Ohio League.http://www.profootballarchives.com/1919dayt.html 1919 Dayton Triangles Maher Sports Media The Pro Football Archives February 28, 2012 The Triangles had several players added to their team for the 1920 season: Max Broadhurst, Doc Davis, Guy Early, Russ Hathaway, Chuck Helvie, Pesty Lentz, Norb Sacksteder, Ed Sauer, Fritz Slackford, and Tiny Turner. Two players—one with a last name Albers, and one with a last name Yerges—did not play for the Triangles in 1920, and the coaching staff stayed the same.http://www.daytontriangles.com/1919team.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20080509064309/http://www.daytontriangles.com/1919team.htm usurped May 9, 2008 1919 Dayton Triangles & Season Record DaytonTriangles.com September 12, 2012 After the 1919 season, representatives of four Ohio League teams—the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, and the Akron Pros—called a meeting on August 20, 1920, to discuss the formation of a new league. At the meeting, they tentatively agreed on a salary cap and pledged not to sign college players or players already under contract with other teams. They also agreed on a name for the circuit: the American Professional Football Conference.PFRA Research (1980), pp. 3–4Siwoff, Zimmber & Marini (2010), pp. 352–353 They then invited other professional teams to a second meeting on September 17. At that meeting, held at Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay's Hupmobile showroom in Canton, representatives of the Rock Island Independents, the Muncie Flyers, the Decatur Staleys, the Racine Cardinals, the Massillon Tigers, and the Hammond Pros agreed to join the league. Representatives of the Buffalo All-Americans and Rochester Jeffersons could not attend the meeting, but sent letters to Hay asking to be included in the league.PFRA Research (1980), p. 4 Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/09/19/113313269.pdf Thorpe Made President The New York Times September 19, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f8MWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OiEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3568,5105560&dq=gridders&hl=en https://archive.today/20120711044518/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f8MWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OiEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3568,5105560&dq=gridders&hl=en dead July 11, 2012 Organize Pro Gridders; Choose Thorpe, Prexy The Milwaukee Journal September 19, 1920 24 Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed, so there were no minimum or maximum number of games needed to be played.Peterson (1997), p. 74Davis (2005), p. 59 Also, representatives of each team voted to determine the winner of the APFA trophy.Price Mark April 25, 2011 http://www.ohio.com/news/searching-for-lost-trophy-1.204246 Searching for Lost Trophy Akron Beacon-Journal June 23, 2012 Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 October 3 Columbus Panhandles W 14–0 1–0 Triangle Park "biggest crowd" for pro opener Recap "Local Eleven Goes Great in Opening Game," Dayton Daily News, Oct. 4, 1920, p. 8."Large Crowd Sees Local Team Humble Columbus 11," Dayton Herald, Oct. 4, 1920, p. 16. 2 October 10 Cleveland Tigers T 0–0 1–0–1 Triangle Park 4,000 Recap "Football Results," Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct. 11, 1920, p. 8."Triangles and Cleveland Tigers Battle to 0 to 0 Tie in Great Grid Game," Dayton Herald, Oct. 11, 1920, p. 16."Edge in 0–0 Battle with Tigers Held by Triangles; Kinderdine Shows Class," Dayton Daily News, Oct. 11, 1920, p. 9."Tigers in 0 to 0 Battle at Dayton: Cofall Saves Day by Downing Triangle Star After Run of 75 Yards," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 11, 1920, p. 16. 3 October 17 Hammond Pros W 44–0 2–0–1 Triangle Park 2,000 Recap 4 October 24 Canton Bulldogs T 20–20 2–0–2 Triangle Park 5,000 Recap Barney, "News and Views," Dayton Herald, Oct. 25, 1920, p. 14. 5 October 31 vs. Cincinnati Celts W 23–7 3–0–2 Triangle Park Recap "Triangles Too Strong for Celts — Win 23 to 7," Dayton Daily News, Nov. 1, 1920, p. 8.Barney, "Triangles Have No Trouble in Defeating the Cincinnati Celts at the Park Sunday," Dayton Herald, Nov. 1, 1920, p. 20."Celts Lose to Triangles: Cincinnati Eleven Scores Only Touchdown in Second Period," Cincinnati Enquirer, Nov. 1, 1920, p. 8. — November 7 Muncie Flyers cancelled due to rain "Rain Prevents Triangle Game," Dayton Herald, Nov. 8, 1920, p. 14. 6 November 14 at Rock Island Independents W 21–0 4–0–2 Douglas Park 2,000+ Recap "What Rock Island Thinks of Triangles," Dayton Herald, Nov. 18, 1920, p. 22. 7 November 21 at Akron Pros L 0–13 4–1–2 League Park 3,700 Recap 8 November 25 Detroit Heralds W 28–0 5–1–2 Triangle Park Recap "Triangles Beat Detroit Heralds in Easy Contest," Dayton Daily News, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 24."Triangles Have Little Difficulty in Disposing of Detroit Herald Eleven," Dayton Herald, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 26."Dayton Pros Wallop Detroit," Akron Beacon-Journal, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 22. 9 November 28 Akron Pros L 0–14 5–2–2 Triangle Park 5,000 Recap Note: Non-APFA opponents in italics. Thanksgiving Day: November 25. Standings Game summaries Game 1: vs. Columbus Panhandles Panhandles 0 0 0 0 Triangles 0 0 7 7 October 3, 1920, at Triangle Park The Triangles' opening game against the Columbus Panhandles is considered by football historians to be the first football game between two APFA teams. Since kickoff times were not standardized in 1920, it is unknown if this game or the Muncie–Rock Island game is the first game played. The Triangles won 14–0.Braunwart & Carroll (1981), p. 1 The Triangles' defense made a goal-line stand in the second quarter while the Panhandles had the ball on the 3-yard line. Before halftime, the Triangles' back Al Mahrt completed a 30-yard pass to end Dutch Thiele to give the Triangles possession on the 5-yard line. The Triangles failed to convert, however, as time ran out.Braunwart & Carroll (1981), p. 2 Early in the third quarter, the Triangles started a possession on their own 35-yard line. Four consecutive run plays carried them to midfield. Soon after, back Lou Partlow had a succession of runs which resulted in a touchdown. The other Triangle score came in the middle of the fourth quarter when end Frank Bacon returned a punt for a 60-yard touchdown. After both touchdowns, George Kinderdine was responsible for the extra points. Game 2: vs. Cleveland Tigers Tigers 0 0 0 0 Triangles 0 0 0 0 October 10, 1920, at Triangle Park After the historic game, the Triangles played against the Cleveland Tigers. The owner of the Tigers, Jimmy O'Donnell, helped with the foundation of the APFA.Grabowski (1992), p. 51 No team scored, and the game ended in a 0–0 tie. Game 3: vs. Hammond Pros Pros 0 0 0 0 Triangles 7 20 3 14 October 17, 1920, at Triangle Park The Hammond Pros were the Triangles' next opponent. In the first quarter, Mahrt had a one-yard rushing touchdown. The Triangles scored three touchdowns in the second quarter: a 50-yard receiving touchdown from Mahrt, a 35-yard receiving touchdown from Reese, and a rushing touchdown from Partlow. The extra point was missed after the first touchdown. In the next quarter, Roudebush kicked a 35-yard field goal. The last score of the game was a receiving touchdown from Sacksteder. The final score of the game was 44–0 before a crowd of 2,000.May 2020 Game 4: vs. Canton Bulldogs Bulldogs 7 7 3 3 Triangles 0 14 6 0 October 24, 1920, at Triangle Park In their fourth contest of the season, the Triangles battled the Canton Bulldogs, who had the Hall-of-Fame back Jim Thorpe.Jim Thorpe http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?player_id=213 Pro Football Hall of Fame March 4, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120418205336/http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?player_id=213 April 18, 2012 live The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the first quarter on a two-yard rushing touchdown by Pete Calac.May 2020 But the Triangles came back in the second quarter,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ki1KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_YUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1232%2C110248 Thorpe Saves Canton Eleven with Two Goals Youngstown Vindicator October 25, 1920 10 scoring twice: Bacon had a four-yard rushing touchdown, and end Dave Reese had a 50-yard receiving touchdown.May 2020 Guyon scored a 22-yard rushing touchdown during the second quarter, but the extra point was missed.May 2020 In the third quarter, the Triangles responded with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Partlow, but Dayton missed the extra point to make the score 20–14.May 2020 Thorpe then came into the game, and kicked a 45-yard field goal to bring his team within three points. In the final minutes, Thorpe kicked another 35-yard field goal to tie it.May 2020 The Triangles were the first team to score on the Bulldogs since the opening game of the previous year. Game 5: vs. Cincinnati Celts Celts 0 7 0 0 Triangles 7 9 7 0 October 31, 1920, at Triangle Park The Cincinnati Celts were the next opponent for the Triangles. The Celts were not directly affiliated with the APFA and did not join the league until the following season.http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2240 Cincinnati Celts Ohio History Center Ohio Historical Society July 1, 2005 March 11, 2012 The lone score in the first quarter came from a fumble recovery by George Roudebush, who returned it for a touchdown.May 2020 In the next quarter, Wehringer for the Celts ran an interception back for a touchdown.May 2020 The Triangles scored twice in the second quarter: a rushing touchdown from Abrell and a 35-yard field goal from Roudebush.May 2020 Frank Bacon had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter, en route to the 23–7 victory for the Triangles.May 2020 Game 6: at Rock Island Independents Triangles 7 0 0 14 Independents 0 0 0 0 November 14, 1920, at Douglas Park In week eight, the Triangles played against the Rock Island Independents. The Independents had six players returning from injuries this game.Triangles Use Aerial Attack to Upset Independents Rock Island Argus November 15, 1920 In the first quarter, Rube Ursella for the Independents fumbled a punt on the 40-yard line, and the Triangles gained possession. On that possession, Bacon scored a rushing touchdown.May 2020 The Independents controlled the football for a majority of the second quarter. On their final possession of the half, they traveled to the Triangles' four-inch line, but the referee signaled to end the first half. In the fourth quarter, Ed Novack and Arnold Wyman for the Independents left the game due to injury. The Triangles scored two passing touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the game; the first was caught by Dave Reese, and the second was caught by Roudebush.May 2020 Game 7: at Akron Pros Triangles 0 0 0 0 Pros 0 0 0 13 November 21, 1920, at League Park In week nine, the Triangles played against the Akron Pros. The Pros came into this game as one of the few teams left in the APFA who were undefeated.Carroll (1982), p. 2 The game started out with three scoreless quarters until Rip King threw a 15-yard passing touchdown in the fourth quarter to Frank McCormick.May 2020 Fritz Pollard, a future Hall-of-Famer, rushed for a 17-yard touchdown, and Charlie Copley made one extra point and missed another one to beat the Triangles 13–0 and give the Triangles their first loss of the season.May 2020 Game 8: vs. Detroit Heralds Heralds 0 0 0 0 Triangles 14 14 0 0 November 25, 1920, at Triangle Park Coming off their first loss of the season, the Triangles played against the Detroit Heralds. Bacon contributed to every point in the first quarter; he first a 3-yard rushing touchdown, and followed up by a catching a receiving touchdown.May 2020 Dick Abrell contributed in the second quarter, as he scored a rushing touchdown.May 2020 Sacksteder caught a receiving touchdown from Roudebush to put the Triangles up 28–0 at halftime.May 2020 The second half was scoreless, and the Triangles moved on to a 5–1–2 record with one game left in their season. Game 9: vs. Akron Pros Pros 0 0 7 7 Triangles 0 0 0 0 November 28, 1920, at Triangle Park The Pros were now recognized as the top team in Ohio, and the Triangles had a rematch against the Pros. The game could have been classified as a World Championship, but the APFA had widened its battlefield with the Buffalo All-Americans and the Decatur Staleys still in contention for the APFA trophy. In front of 5,000 fans, Akron star Fritz Pollard returned a punt for a touchdown in the first quarter and had one receiving touchdown in the third quarter from King, delivering the Triangles their second loss of the year. Post-season Hurt by losses to the Akron Pros, the Triangles did not contend for the APFA trophy in 1920. The Triangles' performance of 5–2–2 would be the team's best before being sold and relocating to Brooklyn after the 1929 season.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/day/ Dayton Triangles Team Encyclopedia Pro-Football-Reference.com Sports Reference July 16, 2012 Sportswriter Bruce Copeland compiled the 1920 All Pro team; no players made the first team, Sacksteder made the second team, and Bacon made the third team.Hogrogian John 1984 http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/06-01-173.pdf 1920 All-Pros The Coffin Corner Professional Football Researchers Association 6 1 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140808122855/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/06-01-173.pdf August 8, 2014 As of 2012, no players from the 1920 Dayton Triangles were enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/alphabetical.aspx Alphabetically Pro Football Hall of Fame July 16, 2012 Roster Dayton Triangles 1920 rosterhttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/day/1920_roster.htm 1920 Dayton Triangles Starters, Rosters, & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Sports Reference March 3, 2012Presar Steve Rushle Bernie July 18, 2007 Dayton Triangles (1920–1929) http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~maxymuk/home/ongoing/dayton.html Rutgers University March 4, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120918011601/http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~maxymuk/home/ongoing/dayton.html September 18, 2012 live Dick Abrell (B) Frank Bacon (B/E) Max Broadhurst (T) Bill Clark (G/C) Harry Cutler (T) Doc Davis (G/T) Larry Dellinger (G/T) Guy Earley (G/B) Lee Fenner (E/B) Russ Hathaway (T/G) Earl Hauser (E/T) Chuck Helvie (E) Hobby Kinderdine (C) Pesty Lentz (B) Al Mahrt (B) Lou Partlow (B) Dave Reese (E) George Roudebush (B) Norb Sacksteder (T/B) Eddie Sauer (T/G) Fritz Slackford (B/E) Earl Stoecklein (G) Dutch Thiele (E) Glenn Tidd (C/G) Nelson Talbot (Coach) Tiny Turner (G) Charlie Winston (G) Notes 30em References Braunwart Bob Carroll Bob 1981 http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-02-059.pdf The First NFL Game(s) The Coffin Corner Professional Football Researchers Association 3 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20120311103812/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-02-059.pdf March 11, 2012 dead Carroll Bob 1982 http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/04-12-119.pdf Akron Pros 1920 The Coffin Corner Professional Football Researchers Association 4 12 https://web.archive.org/web/20120311103636/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/04-12-119.pdf March 11, 2012 dead Davis Jeff Papa Bear, The Life and Legacy of George Halas McGraw-Hill 2005 0-07-146054-3 https://archive.org/details/papabear00jeff Grabowski John 1992 https://books.google.com/books?id=UUy9tHItNu8C&q=1920+cleveland+tigers Sports in Cleveland: An Illustrated History Indiana University Press 9780253207470 Peterson Robert 1997 Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football Oxford University Press 0-19-507607-9 https://archive.org/details/pigskinearlyyear00pete_0 PFRA Research 1980 http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-038.pdf Happy Birthday NFL? The Coffin Corner Professional Football Researchers Association 2 8 https://web.archive.org/web/20120311103645/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-038.pdf March 11, 2012 dead Siwoff Seymour Zimmber Jon Marini Matt 2010 The Official NFL Record and Fact Book 2010 National Football League 978-1-60320-833-8 Category:Dayton Triangles seasons Dayton Triangles Dayton Tri