1920 Akron Pros season

Sports season March 2026 November 2013 Akron Pros 1920 akron pros posing.jpg The 1920 Akron Pros team 1920 8–0–3 overall6–0–3 (APFA) 1st APFA (named champions) Akron Exhibition Co.Charles Stahl Frank Nied,Art Ranney Elgie Tobin League Park No playoffs until 1932 1919 The 1920 Akron Pros season was the franchise's inaugural season with the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and twelfth total season as a team. The Pros entered the season coming off a 5–5 record in 1919 as the Akron Indians in the Ohio League. The Indians were sold to Art Ranney and Frank Nied, two businessmen, to help achieve a better record and crowd. Several representatives from the Ohio League wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created. Returning to the team for the 1920 season would be most of last year's team, including quarterback Fritz Pollard. The Pros also added end Bob Nash, who previously played for the Tigers, Al Garrett, and end Al Nesser of the famous Nesser brothers. They opened their regular season with a win over the Wheeling Stogies, en route to an 8–0–3 record. In week 11, the Pros traded Bob Nash, in the first trade in APFA history. A meeting was held by the APFA to determine a winner, and the Pros' season concluded with the team winning the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup for finishing first place in the APFA. The Decatur Staleys and the Buffalo All-Americans laid claim to the title because of the number of wins each team had. Rip King and Fritz Pollard were named first-team all APFA and Alf Cobb was named second-team all APFA by the Rock Island Argus. The Pros only allowed seven points all season, which was the lowest among all APFA teams. The 1920 Akron Pros were the first team in the history of the APFA to have an undefeated record, in that they were never defeated in a game. Tied games were not counted in the standings until 1972: the Pros' 8-0-3 record would have been counted as an .864 percentage under current rules. In 2005, Pollard became the only player from the 1920 Akron Pros to be elected into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Offseason The Akron Pros, who were named the Akron Indians, finished 5–5 in their 1919 season in the Ohio League.https://www.profootballarchives.com/1919akri.html 1919 Akron Indians Maher Sports Media The Pro Football Archives June 12, 2011 The Indians lost money because of the constant poor performance; the team did not win an Ohio League Championship since 1914. The Indians was sold to Art Ranney and Frank Nied. The two changed the team name to the Akron Pros, as they hoped to achieve a better record and crowd.Carroll 1982 1 Representatives of four Ohio League teams—the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, and Ranney and Reid for the 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 3–4Siwoff Zimmber Marini 2010 352–353 They then contacted other major professional teams and invited them to a meeting for September 17.PFRA Research 1980 3 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,Peterson 1997 74Davis 2005 59 and 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 Ranney wrote all the information from these meetings on stationery and thus was promoted to secretary of the league. Regular season Returning to the team for the 1920 season would be most of last year's team including quarterback and future Hall of Famer Fritz Pollard. The Pros also added end Bob Nash, who previously played for the Tigers, Al Garrett, and end Al Nesser of the famous Nesser brothers.Carroll 1998 136–137 The Pros played all their home games at League Park in Akron.Bolar Iris https://www.akronlibrary.org/images/Divisions/SpecCol/images/PastPursuits/pursuits71.pdf St. Vincent de Paul of Akron 7 2008 Past Pursuits Akron-Summit County Public Library 4 1 March 17, 2022 The regular season schedule was not a fixed schedule but was created dynamically by each team as the season progressed.Peterson 1997 74 The first week of the season opened up on September 26, but the Pros did not have a game scheduled that week, and their season is denoted as beginning in week 2. The Pros played nine games against APFA teams and two against non-APFA teams; they played a total of six games at home. The two non-APFA teams the Pros would play in week two and four when the Pros played against the Wheeling Stogies and the Cincinnati Celts, respectively. In week seven, a game was scheduled to play at home against the Detroit Heralds, but the game was cancelled due to rain.Carroll 1982 3 During the season, Pollard was treated with disrespect because of being African American.Carroll 1998 137 He stated, "The white players were trying to hurt me."Carroll 1998 138 By the end of the season, Pollard would be one of the highest paid players in the APFA. The main reasons were because of his skin color as well as being a great player. Schedule The table below was compiled using the information from the Pro Football Archives and The Coffin Corner, both of which used contemporary newspapers.https://www.profootballarchives.com/1920apfaakr.html 1920 Akron Pros The Pro Football Archives Maher Sports Media April 1, 2012Carroll 1982 3–4 Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 October 3 Wheeling Stogies W 43–0 1–0 League Park 4,000 Recap "Akron Has Easy Opener: Nesser Stars in 43 to 0 Verdict Over Wheeling Pros," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 4, 1920, p. 18. 2 October 10 Columbus Panhandles W 37–0 2–0 League Park 1,500 Recap 3 October 17 Cincinnati Celts W 13–0 3–0 League Park 3,000 Recap 4 October 24 Cleveland Tigers W 7–0 4–0 League Park 5,000+ Recap "Akron Pros Win Sensational Football Game From Cleveland Tigers, 7–0: Nash Grabs Blocked Punt and Makes Only Touchdown in Game," Akron Beacon Journal, Oct. 25, 1920, p. 13. 5 October 31 at Canton Bulldogs W 10–0 5–0 Lakeside Park 6,000Pro Football Reference has this crowd as 10,000. Recap Tod Maher and Bob Gill (eds.), The Pro Football Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan USA, 1997; p. 99. — November 7 Detroit Heralds Canceled due to rain. 6 November 14 at Cleveland Tigers T 7–7 5–0–1 Dunn Field 8,000 Recap F.J. Powers, "Cleveland Tigers Hold Akron Indians, Leaders in Race for Pro Title, to 7–7 Tie: Put Up Year's Best Battle Before 8,000," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 15, 1920, p. 16. 7 November 21 Dayton Triangles W 13–0 6–0–1 League Park 3,700 Recap 8 November 25 Canton Bulldogs W 7–0 7–0–1 League Park 6,500 Recap Cleveland Plain Dealer News Bureau, [Akron Forces Thorpians to Yield Laurel: Rubber City Team Becomes World's Pro Football Champ by Second Defeat of Bulldogs,"] Rock Island [IL] Argus, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 27. 9 November 28 at Dayton Triangles W 14–0 8–0–1 Triangle Park 5,000 Recap 10 December 5 at Buffalo All-Americans T 0–0 8–0–2 Buffalo Baseball Park 3,000 Recap 11 December 12 at Decatur Staleys T 0–0 8–0–3 Cubs Park 12,000 Recap Bill Penhallegon, "Staleys Battle Akron to Scoreless Tie in Grid Scrap: Decatur Team Loses Chance to Score When Sternaman Kicks Wide," Decatur Herald, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 4."Staleys and Akron Battle to Scoreless Draw in Championship Tilt: Pro Teams Play Before 12,000 in Title Game," [Davenport, IA] Quad City Times, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 7."Decatur Holds Akron to a Scoreless Tie: Akron Comes Near Losing Title Honors to Staley's Outfit," Akron Evening Times, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 10."Staleys in 0–0 Tie with Akron," Hammond [IN] Times, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 6."Akron and Staleys Play Scoreless Tie: East and West Fail to Settle Pro Grid Title," Moline Dispatch, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 14. Note: Non-APFA teams are in italics. Thanksgiving Day: November 25. Game summaries Game 1: vs Wheeling Stogies Stogies 0 0 0 0 Pros 8 21 7 7 October 3, 1920, at League Park The Pros made their AFPA debut against the Wheeling Stogies. Playing in front of 4,000 fans, the Pros' defense started the game off with a safety in the first quarter. Throughout the game, Nesser scored three touchdowns—two fumble recoveries and one blocked field goal.Wheeling Easy for Akron Team October 14, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dGxKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QYYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5125%2C2791705 Youngstown Vindicator 14 December 11, 2011 Pollard also scored two rushing touchdowns to help lead Akron to a 43–0 victory over the Stogies. Blocking back Harry Harris also contributed by adding one rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Game 2: vs Columbus Panhandles Panhandles 0 0 0 0 Pros 7 14 14 2 October 10, 1920, at League Park The Pros' next game was against the Columbus Panhandles. Running back Frank McCormick rushed for two touchdowns to give Akron a 14–0 lead in the second quarter.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9e9XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BEUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=422%2C1570727 Maroons Can't Stand Gaff and Canton Wins, 42 to 0 The Toledo News-Bee 14 October 11, 1920 November 14, 2011 Bob Nash later recovered a fumble in the end zone. Harris and fullback Fred Sweetland also contributed, scoring one rushing touchdown each. Sweetland was hired by coach Elgie Tobin to be a backup, but the coach decided to play Sweetland this game. The defense added another safety in the fourth quarter to give the Akron Pros a 37–0 victory.Panhandlers Lose to Akron October 11, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eGxKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QYYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5019%2C4223434 Youngstown Vindicator 10 December 11, 2011 Game 3: vs Cincinnati Celts Celts 0 0 0 0 Pros 7 0 0 6 October 17, 1920, at League Park In week four, the Pros played against the Cincinnati Celts. The Celts were not directly affiliated with the APFA and would not join the league until the following year.http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2240 Cincinnati Celts June 1, 2005 December 14, 2011 Ohio History Central Ohio Historical Society Fullback Rip King scored the first touchdown by a five-yard rush in the first quarter.Akron Machine Defeats Celts October 18, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fGxKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QYYMAAAAIBAJ&dq=gridders&pg=1697%2C5720695 Youngstown Vindicator 10 December 11, 2011 Pollard also scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter en route to a 13–0 Akron victory. The Pro's kicker for that game, Charlie Copley, made one extra point and missed the other. The Pros' defense was so dominant that the Celts did not get a single first down all game long.Crippen Ken July 4, 2011 http://www.leatherheadsofthegridiron.com/?p=92 Building a Champion: 1920 Akron Pros Leatherheads of the Gridiron August 31, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233334/http://www.leatherheadsofthegridiron.com/?p=92 December 2, 2013 usurped Game 4: vs Cleveland Tigers Tigers 0 0 0 0 Pros 7 0 0 0 October 24, 1920, at League Park The Cleveland Tigers were the Pros next opponent. Playing in front of 6,000 fans, the game was called a "punting duel" by the Youngstown Vindicator.Cleveland is Loser to Fast Akron Eleven October 15, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ki1KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_YUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3473%2C108964 Youngstown Vindicator 10 December 11, 2011 The only score came from a punt block by Bob Nash in the first quarter. Nash grabbed the ball from the Tigers' punter, Stan Cofall on the 8-yard line and ran in for the score. With an extra point from Charlie Copley, the Pros defeated the Tigers 7–0 to keep their undefeated season alive. During the game, injuries for both teams occurred. Pollard dislocated his right shoulder, and Tuffy Conn for the Tigers injured his right leg in the fourth quarter.Akron Downs Cleveland Tigers The Toledo News-Bee October 25, 1920 12 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=k_8v9Q84L5sC&dat=19201025&printsec=frontpage&hl=en February 25, 2012 Game 5: at Canton Bulldogs Pros 3 7 0 0 Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 October 31, 1920, at Lakeside Park, Canton, Ohio "With four games under their belt", the Pros were starting to gain attention around the league. Their next game was against the Bulldogs. This game, according to the Youngstown Vindicator, was the first of a two-game series for the "national professional football championship". Playing under a crowd of 10,000, the Pros defeated the Bulldogs 10 to 0.Akron Takes Canton Over in Great Game November 1, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MC1KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_YUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3302%2C1526680 Youngstown Vindicator 20 December 11, 2011 In the first quarter, after an exchange in punts and a long pass which resulted in 13-yards, Charlie Copley of the Pros kicked a 38-yard field goal. On a Bulldog possession at midfield, Gilroy attempted to pass the ball, but it was tipped by the Pros' Copley and Bob Nash. Pike Johnson caught the ball before it landed and ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown. The Youngstown Vindicator called it the "most sensational play of the contest". In the third quarter, Jim Thorpe came into the game, but could not help the Bulldogs score. Game 6: at Cleveland Tigers Pros 0 7 0 0 Tigers 0 0 7 0 November 14, 1920, at Dunn Park, Cleveland, Ohio In week eight, the Pros played against the Tigers. Playing in front of 8,000 fans, the Pros allowed their first and only points of the year from a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mark Devlin to Tuffy Conn and an extra point by Al Pierotti in the third quarter.Cleveland and Akron in Draw November 5, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Oy1KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_YUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1388%2C4219041 Youngstown Vindicator 9 December 11, 2011 Pollard had a 20-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and Copley made an extra point to tie the game at 7–7, making the first tie for the Pros of the season. Game 7: vs Dayton Triangles Triangles 0 0 0 0 Pros 0 0 0 13 November 21, 1920, at League Park The Triangles came into this game as one of the few teams left undefeated.Carroll 1982 2 The game started out with three scoreless quarters until King threw a 15-yard passing touchdown in the fourth quarter to McCormick. Pollard also rushed for a 17-yard touchdown and Copley made one extra point and missed another one to beat the Triangles 13–0. This brought one of only two loses the Triangles had this season. Game 8: vs Canton Bulldogs Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 Pros 7 0 0 0 November 25, 1920, at League Park In a Thanksgiving Day battle touted as the World's Championship of Professional Football, Akron met the Canton Bulldogs for the second time of the 1920 season. A fumbled punt by the Bulldogs gave the Pros the ball at the 32-yard line.Akron Defeats Canton Eleven: Wins Professional Championship for the World from Thorpe's Bulldogs November 26, 1920 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=pqgf-8x9CmQC&dat=19201126&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Youngstown Vindicator 13 December 11, 2011 On their next drive, the Pros' passing game gave them the lone score, a passing touchdown from King to Nash in the first quarter. Once again, the Pros shutout the Bulldogs, winning 7–0."Akron Defeats Canton Eleven: Wins Professional Championship for the World from Thorpe's Bulldogs," Youngstown Vindicator, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 13. Game 9: at Dayton Triangles Pros 7 0 7 0 Triangles 0 0 0 0 November 28, 1920, at Triangle Park, Dayton, Ohio The Pros were now recognized as the top team in Ohio, and in their second game of week ten, the Pros played against the Triangles. The game could have been classified as a World Championship because of both teams' records, but the APFA had widened its battlefield with Buffalo and Decatur still with a high winning percentage. Pollard returned a punt for a touchdown early in the first quarter and also had one receiving touchdown in the third quarter from King. Game 10: at Buffalo All-Americans Pros 0 0 0 0 All-Americans 0 0 0 0 December 5, 1920, at Buffalo Baseball Park, Buffalo, New York Pros had the Buffalo All-Americans as their next opponent. The All-Americans were tired from their 7 to 3 victory against the Canton Bulldogs the day before. Before the start of the game, Nash was sold to the All-Americans for $300 and 5% of the Akron-Buffalo gate, making the first deal in APFA history. The reason for the trade was because rain caused a low number of fans. However, Nash did not appear in the game for either team, and Scotty Bierce replaced Nash for the Pros. The rain caused sloppy game play as well as a small crowd of 3,000 people. It resulted in a 0–0 tie. Game 11: at Decatur Staleys Pros 0 0 0 0 Staleys 0 0 0 0 December 12, 1920, at Cubs Park, Chicago The stage was set for a de facto championship battle between the Pros and the Decatur Staleys. In anticipation of additional public interest, Staleys' coach George Halas moved the Decatur home game to the much larger Cubs Park in Chicago and hired Paddy Driscoll from the Cardinals to play on his team in order to help defeat the Pros, which was against league rules at the time.Willis 2010 131Davis 2005 61 Twelve thousand fans, which was the largest recorded crowd of the season, showed up to watch the game. Of the crowd, about 2,000 were from Pollard's hometown.Young Frank Fritz Pollard Shows Old Time Form as Akron and Staleys Pros Play Tie Chicago Defender 6 December 18, 1920 The Pros almost scored twice, but failed once because of ineligible receiver penalties. On the other hand, Pollard made a touchdown-saving tackle against Sternment in the third quarter. On the same drive, the Staleys missed a 30-yard field goal. The Staleys' Chamberlin attempted to injure Pollard twice in an attempt to remove him from the game. The final score ended in a 0–0 tie;https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=72QVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qgoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4624%2C57266 Decatur and Akron Pros battle to Tie The Milwaukee Sentinel December 13, 1920 6 November 14, 2011 however, the Chicago Defender reported that the refereeing was biased towards Decatur. Standings thumb|right|450px|Several Pros players celebrating their championship. Postseason Since there were no playoff system in the APFA until 1932,http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/first_playoff_game.aspx History: The First Playoff Game Pro Football Hall of Fame June 10, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232114/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/first_playoff_game.aspx June 3, 2011 live a meeting was held to determine the 1920 NFL Champions. Each team that showed up had a vote to determine the champions. Since the Akron Pros had a 1.000 winning percentage, the Pros were awarded the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup on April 30, 1921.http://www.ohio.com/news/searching-for-lost-trophy-1.204246 Searching for the Lost Trophy Akron Beacon Journal April 25, 2011 Price Mark December 21, 2011 The trophy was a "silver-loving cup", donated by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. This decision, however, would arise with controversy. The Staleys and the All-Americans each stated that they should win the award because they had more wins and were not beaten by the Akron Pros. Each player from the Pros was also awarded with a golden fob.http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2010/9/29/medallion-from-nfls-first-champions/ Medallion from NFL's first champions Pro Football Hall of Fame September 29, 2010 June 10, 2011 September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924082434/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2010/9/29/medallion-from-nfls-first-champions/ dead It was of a football and "1920", "WORLD CHAMPIONS", and each players' first initial and last name was inscribed on the fob. Five players from the Pros received awards. On December 2, King and Pollard were named 1st Team, Alf Cobb was named 2nd Team, and Nash as well as Brad Tomlin were named 3rd Team all AFPA by the Rock Island Argus.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1920_APFA/allpro.htm 1920 APFA All-Pros Sports Reference Pro-Football-Reference.com June 8, 2011Hogrogian 1984 1–2 The Pros did not officially celebrate their championship season until the following year. In October 1921, most of the team was invited to the Elks Club of Akron, which was labeled as "a grand homecoming celebration for the world's champions". Legacy In their inaugural AFPA season, the Pros posted an undefeated, 8–0–3 season. As a result, they were the first team in the history to complete a non-modern "perfect season". Only four other teams have accomplished this feat: the 1922 Canton Bulldogs at 10–0–2,https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cbd/1922.htm 1922 Canton Bulldogs Statistics & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Sports Reference June 10, 2011 the 1923 Canton Bulldogs at 11–0–1,https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cbd/1923.htm 1923 Canton Bulldogs Statistics & Players Sports Reference Pro-Football-Reference.com June 10, 2011 the 1929 Green Bay Packers at 12–0–1,https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/1929.htm 1929 Green Bay Packers Statistics & Players Sports Reference Pro-Football-Reference.com June 10, 2011 and the 1972 Miami Dolphins at 17–0.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1972.htm 1972 Miami Dolphins Statistics & Players Sports Reference Pro-Football-Reference.com June 10, 2011 Prior to 1972, the NFL did not count ties in winning percentage; however, in that year the NFL altered its rules to treat tied games as being worth half of a win.Siwoff Zimmber Marini 2010 360 With that being said, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only team to have a modern perfect season.https://www.espn.com/espn/thelife/music/news/story?id=6657642 Who is the Best 'Undefeated' Team in Sports History? ESPN September 16, 2011 December 12, 2011 Three other teams accumulated a perfect regular season record, but lost in the postseason; the 1934 Chicago Bears posted a 13–0 record but lost the 1934 NFL Championship Game to the New York Giants, while the 1942 Chicago Bears posted an 11–0 record but lost the 1942 NFL Championship Game to the Washington Redskins, and the 2007 New England Patriots posted a 16–0 record but lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants.Corbett Baker 2010 348 The 1920 Akron Pros had one of only two black players in the AFPA, Fritz Pollard. He later went on to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2005.http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PLAYER_ID=242 Hall of Famers > Fritz Pollard Pro Football Hall of Fame December 12, 2011 December 22, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20111222072359/http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?player_id=242 dead Even though the Pros were given the trophy in 1920, the league lost track of the event, and for a long time published in its own record books that the 1920 championship was undecided. It was not until the 1970s that the NFL discovered its early vote on awarding the Akron Pros the championship.PFRA Research 1921 1 Roster thumb|center|650px|1920 Akron Pros team photo. Akron Pros 1920 roster Blocking backs Harry Harris* Tommy Holleran Elgie Tobin Running backs Matt Brown George Conn Ken Crawford FB Andy King* FB Frank McCormick* Mark Miles Fritz Pollard* Fred Sweetland Linemen Russ Bailey* C Scotty Bierce* E Alf Cobb* G Charlie Copley* T Budge Garrett G/T/E Pike Johnson* T Frank McCormick* E Frank Moran T Bob Nash* E/T Al Nesser* E Al Pierotti C Bill Preston T Tommy Tomlin* G Special teams Russ Bailey K/P/KR/PR Charlie Copley K Coaching staff Elgie tobin – head coach Art Ranney – manager Frank Nied – manager * = starterCarroll 1982 41920 Akron Pros Starters, Rosters, & Players https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/akr/1920_roster.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com Sports Reference June 10, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110604174719/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/akr/1920_roster.htm June 4, 2011 liveAkron Pros 1920 Stats, History, Awards and More http://databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=AKR&lg=apfa&yr=1920 Database Sports June 10, 2011 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20111121052804/http://databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=AKR&lg=apfa&yr=1920 November 21, 2011 Scores by quarter Opponents 0 0 7 0 Pros 39 49 28 35 See also 1920 APFA season List of NFL champions Perfect season References 25em Further reading 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 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120311103636/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/04-12-119.pdf March 11, 2012 Carroll John 1998 Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement University of Illinois Press 0-252-01814-1 Corbett Bernard Baker Jim 2010 The Most Memorable Games in Giants History: The Oral History of a Legendary Team Bloomsbury Publishing 9781608190683 Davis Jeff Papa Bear, The Life and Legacy of George Halas McGraw-Hill 2005 New York 0-07-146054-3 https://archive.org/details/papabear00jeff http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/06-01-173.pdf 1920 All-Pros Hogrogian John The Coffin Corner Professional Football Researchers Association 1984 6 December 20, 2011 1 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120511105221/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/06-01-173.pdf May 11, 2012 Peterson Robert 1997 Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football Oxford University Press New York 0-19-507607-9 https://archive.org/details/pigskinearlyyear00pete_0 http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-038.pdf Happy Birthday NFL? Professional Football Researchers Association June 10, 2011 PFRA Research The Coffin Corner 1980 2 8 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120311103645/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-038.pdf March 11, 2012 PFRA Research http://www.profootballresearchers.org/articles/once_more_with_feeling.pdf Once More, With Feeling: 1921 Professional Football Researchers Association 1921 May 13, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20101126223713/http://profootballresearchers.org/Articles/Once_More_With_Feeling.pdf November 26, 2010 Siwoff Seymour Zimmber Jon Marini Matt 2010 The Official NFL Record and Fact Book 2010 National Football League 978-1-60320-833-8 Willis Chris 2010 The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr The Scarecrow Press 978-0-8108-7669-9 External links 1920 Akron Pros at Pro-Football-Reference.com Akron Pros 1920 Stats, History, Awards and More at DatabaseFootball.com collapsed collapsed collapsed Category:NFL championship seasons Akron Pros Category:Akron Pros seasons Akron Pros