1923 NFL season

American football season November 2013 March 2026 1923 Canton Bulldogs September 30 – December 16, 1923 The 1923 NFL season was the fourth regular season of the National Football League (NFL). It was the second year after the name of the league was changed from the original "American Professional Football Association." For the first time, all of the clubs that were considered to be part of the NFL fielded teams. The new clubs that entered the league included the Duluth Kelleys, the St. Louis All Stars (which only lasted one season), and a new Cleveland Indians team, while the Evansville Crimson Giants dropped out of the league and folded. The Canton Bulldogs repeated as NFL Champions after ending the season with an 11–0–1 record. No championship game took place; rather the title was decided based upon winning percentage for games played with other National League teams. Background Growth and trials By 1923, the fourth season of existence of the National Football League (NFL), organizational efficiency and athletic professionalism had begun to supplant the ad hoc, semi-pro nature of the league's first years. In December 1923, the sports editors of 13 football cities could truthfully write: "Professional football made rapid strides during the season just completed and the post-graduate game climbed rapidly in public favor.... Pro football of today is different than in the olden days.... The majority of elevens make use of 'all-time' footballers. The day of stars getting in several hours before a game and running through signals in a hotel corridor is past. With but few exceptions, all of the clubs in the pro wheel engaged in daily practices to build up machine-like play.""Fifteen Sport Writers Pick Leading Professional Football Players in the Country: All American Professional Football Selections," Duluth News Tribune, Dec. 23, 1923, p. 27.See also: "Professional Elevens Enjoy Great Campaign; Evils Are Eliminated," Pittsburgh Gazette, Dec. 23, 1923, p. 22. With no revenue streams from merchandise or radio and without television, all team revenue flowed through the gate — and the gate still did not cover most expenses. Even teams in the biggest cities such as the Bears and the Cardinals of Chicago — appeared to struggle to make ends meet. For small-market teams, the situation was said to be worse. In Wisconsin, losses incurred by the teams in Green Bay and Racine forced the selling $5 stock or soliciting $10 donations (respectively) in a frantic effort to maintain solvency for the forthcoming 1924 season."Football Fans Launch Plan to Save Legion Team: Milt Knoblock Father of Idea," Racine News-Times, Dec. 17, 1923, pp. 12-13. In Ohio, teams in Akron, Columbus, and Toledo piled up losses in the first half of the 1923 campaign and ominous game cancellations in the back end. Jim Thorpe's Oorang Indians, with their all-Native American roster, would provide a short-lived novelty as a touring circus at the gate but would deliver a painfully poor product on the field. They found themselves on Thanksgiving day playing an exhibition game in the rain with the Athletic Club of Marion, Ohio at a county fairgrounds in front of a crowd of 100 people, some of whom remained shuttered in their cars parked along the sidelines.F.L. Kraner, "Thorpe's Indians Win First Game of Season: Defeat Athletics at Fairground, 31 to Nothing," Marion Star, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 26. No team, execept for the Chicago Bears, was profitable and many franchises were doomed, yet the National Football League managed to survive. League meeting The NFL's annual scheduling meeting — always the most important conclave of team owners and representatives — was held in Chicago on January 20 and 21, 1923. There were representatives of 17 teams in attendance, as well as petitioners for new franchises from Cleveland, St. Louis, Davenport, St. Paul, and Duluth."Pro Football League Again Headed by Carr," Chicago Tribune, Jan. 21, 1923, p. 23. The gathering re-elected Joe F. Carr of Columbus as league president and named John A. Dunn of Minneapolis vice-president, with Carl Storck of Dayton tapped as secretary-treasurer. Making the appearance in an effort to a franchise for Davenport, Iowa was Jack Collins of Rock Island, former right-hand man of Independents owner Walter Flanigan.Andy Pheldown, "Pro Grid League Berth To Be Sought for Davenport at Chicago Meet Saturday," Davenport Daily Times, Jan. 19, 1923, p. 33. While league rules assigned territorial rights prohibiting two franchises within a five mile radius, Rock Island was not expected to oppose establishment of a rival on the other side of the Mississippi, other league owners did not feel that the Iowa city passed muster, and the request for a franchise was denied. The January meeting also established a league salary limit of $1,200 per game — about $75 per player on average — and limited the team roster size to 16 players.R.C. Christiansen, Mill City Scrum: The History of Minnesota's First Team in the National Football League. Fargo, ND: Ryan Cornell Christiansen, 2023; p. 205. League owners also decided to assign official team colors for each franchise to avoid on-field confusion caused by similarity of uniform schemes. Teams Twenty teams competed in the NFL during the 1923 season. First season in NFL First and only season in NFL Team folded this season Last season before hiatus, rejoined NFL in 1925 Team Head coach(es) Stadium(s)Akron Pros Dutch Hendrian (5 games)Wayne Brenkert (2 games) Akron League ParkBuffalo All-Americans Tommy Hughitt Buffalo Baseball Park (5 games)Canisius Villa (1 game)Canton Bulldogs Guy Chamberlin League FieldChicago Bears George Halas Cubs ParkChicago Cardinals Arnie Horween Comiskey ParkCleveland Indians Cap Edwards Dunn FieldColumbus Tigers Gus Tebell (3 games)Gaylord Stinchcomb (7 games) Neil ParkDayton Triangles Carl Storck Triangle ParkDuluth Kelleys Joey Sternaman Duluth Athletic ParkGreen Bay Packers Curly Lambeau Bellevue ParkHammond Pros Wally Hess Turner Field Louisville Brecks Jim Kendrick Parkway FieldMilwaukee Badgers Jimmy Conzelman Milwaukee Athletic ParkMinneapolis Marines Harry Mehre Nicollet ParkOorang Indians Jim Thorpe Traveling teamRacine Legion Babe Ruetz Horlick FieldRochester Jeffersons Leo Lyons Edgerton ParkRock Island Independents Herb Sies Douglas ParkSt. Louis All-Stars Ollie Kraehe Sportsman's ParkToledo Maroons Guil Falcon Armory Park Standings Championship With an unbeated record of 10 wins and 1 tie, the Canton Bulldogs were named the World Champions of Professional Football for 1923 by the league's owners. Despite the accolade, the year proved a financial disaster even for the league's best team, with the franchise losing $10,000 (the equivalent of about $185,000 in 2025 funds) for the year.John Hogrogian, "All Pros of 1923," The Coffin Corner, vol. 5, no. 8 (1983). The franchise was sold and moved to Cleveland for the 1924 NFL season. Postseason play Six days after the December 9 end of the NFL season, league champion Canton accepted a challenge to play against the Frankford Yellow Jackets of Philadelphia, who were not an NFL team but who had billed themselves as "champions of the East" with a 9-1-2 record against teams in the "Anthracite League" and against four other NFL teams."Canton Bulldogs Play Frankfort [sic] in Tilt for Laurels; Famous Ohio 'Pro' Gridders Tied but One Contest and Won Eleven", St. Louis Star, December 15, 1923, p. 11 Canton won the game in Philadelphia in the final two minutes of play on a field goal from future Hall of Famer Pete Henry."Canton Bulldogs Take Professional Grid Title", Baltimore Sun, December 16, 1923, p. 2-1 All-American Professional Football Team 1923 All-Pro Team In mid-December 1923, with the season recently completed, a group of 15 sportswriters from NFL cities picked first, second, and third squads for an "All-American Professional Football Team." Participating writers came from papers in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Duluth, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh (2), Racine (2), Rock Island, and St. Louis. No writer from Chicago, a city with two NFL franchises, participated. This was the first time that what would eventually be known as an "All-Pro" team was systematically chosen from among the ranks of the NFL's players. During this first era of integrated play, two African-American players were named to the 1923 team — end Jay "Ink" Williams of the Hammond Pros and tackle Fred "Duke" Slater of the Rock Island Independents."African American Pioneers," Pro Football Hall of Fame, www.profootballhof.com, February 11, 2004. The complete list of those tapped for this All-Pro team included: — First Team Second Team Third Team Position Name Team Name Team Name Team E Ink Williams Hammond Guy Chamberlin Canton Ben Winkelman Milwaukee T Ed Healey Bears Russ Hathaway Dayton Cub Buck Green Bay G Bub Weller St. Louis Frank Morrissey Buffalo Tom McNamara Toledo C Harry Mehre Minneapolis Larry Conover Canton Charlie Guy Cleveland G Swede Youngstrom Buffalo Hec Garvey Bears Al Nesser Akron T Pete Henry Canton Duke Slater Rock Island Tillie Voss Toledo E Gus Tebell Columbus Duke Hanny Bears Dick O'Donnell Duluth QB Paddy Driscoll Cardinals Jimmy Conzelman Milwaukee Johnny Armstrong Rock Island HB Jim Thorpe Indians Harry Robb Canton Milt Romney Racine HB Al Michaels Akron Curly Lambeau Green Bay Hal Erickson Milwaukee FB Doc Elliott Canton Dinger Doane Milwaukee Johnny Kyle Cleveland References 35em Further reading Tom Bennett, et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. Revised and expanded edition. New York: Macmillan, 1977. Bob Carroll, et al. (eds.), Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. Santo Labombarda and NFL Communications Department (eds.), 2024 NFL Record and Fact Book. New York: National Football League, 2024. Tod Maher and Bob Gill (eds.), The Pro Football Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan USA, 1997. David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991. 1923