1920 All-Pro Team

Official list of the best NFL players in 1920 August 2023 thumb|right|295px|First publication of Bruce Copeland's 1920 "All-Star Professional Teams" list. 26em 1920 All-Pro Team border-top:#aaa 1px solid All-Pro 1920 APFA season Selectors Rock Island Argus (Bruce Copeland) border-top:1px #aaa solid → 1921 1922 The 1920 All-Pro Team — originally cast as the All-Star Professional Teams — was a select list of top performers of the 1920 season of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), forerunner of the National Football League. The list was the sole creation of Bruce Copeland, sports editor of the Rock Island Argus, one of the most pro football-centric newspapers of the day. It was published on December 2, 1920. Background The 1920 team was a list compiled by Bruce Copeland, sports editor of the Rock Island Argus, who considered only members of the association's "Big Eight" teams for inclusion.David S. Neft and Richard M. Cohen, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional NFL Football from 1892 to the Present. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991; p. 20. These were, in his view, the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Chicago Cardinals and Tigers, Cleveland Tigers, Dayton Triangles, Decatur Staleys, and Rock Island Independents. He justified these eight teams as constituting an elite of the league based upon "comparative scores."Bruce Copeland, "All-Star Professional Teams," Rock Island Argus, December 2, 1920, p. 17. In addition to his "three first teams" of eleven players each, Copeland named three reserve elevens, with an addition 44 players accorded "honorable mention" status.John Hogrogian, "1920 All-Pros," The Coffin Corner, vol. 6, no. 1 (1984). In all, 111 players were named to Copeland's end-of-season roll call of star performers for 1920. Copeland's three "All-Star Professional Teams" were published in the Argus on December 2, 1920. Biases While five of the six teams excluded were of lesser caliber than their league peers, Copeland did omit one important squad from consideration — the Buffalo All-Americans, who finished fifth in the league standings. The All-Americans never played a game during the 1920 season outside of New York state and the team's personnel and their relative capabilities may have been unknown to Copeland. It has been noted that since this was the list of a single sportswriter, there appears to be a discernible bias towards the "home team," the Rock Island Independents, in Copeland's choices. Copeland himself stated that his selections were based upon personal observations and "past acquaintance with most of the players with the Akron Indians, Canton Bulldogs, and Cleveland Tigers, which did not play this year in Rock Island." Copeland's original article presents rationales for the players selected for first team honors. In these explanations, Copeland intimates that superior defensive performance was the chief consideration for linemen, rather than the offensive blocking ability of interior linemen or the pass-catching prowess of ends. Rock Island end Oak Smith is lauded, for example, as one who could "not be boxed" and who "broke through opposing lines almost at will, spilling the runner, interference, or blocking punts." On the other hand, the two top receiving ends in the league in Copeland's estimation, Dave Reese and Dutch Thiele of Dayton, are dismissed as "woefully weak" on defense, "as was demonstrated by repeated gains in their direction" during their 1920 appearance in Rock Island. Teams thumb|right|240px|Guy Chamberlin of the Decatur Staleys was deemed the top end in the APFA by Copeland. Chamberlin, a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, won championships in 6 of his 9 professional years. First team Position Player Team End Guy Chamberlin Decatur Staleys End Oak Smith Rock Island Independents Tackle Wilbur Henry Canton Bulldogs Tackle Hugh Blacklock Decatur Staleys Guard Fred Denfeld Rock Island Independents Guard Dewey Lyle Rock Island Independents Center George Trafton Decatur Staleys Quarterback Paddy Driscoll Chicago Cardinals Halfback Eddie Novak Rock Island Independents Halfback Fritz Pollard Akron Pros Fullback Rip King Akron Pros thumb|right|240px|Diminutive halfback Fritz Pollard (L), "the colored Akron flash", was "supreme in the open field with the possible exception of [Paddy] Driscoll," Copeland wrote. Second team Position Player Team End George Halas Decatur Staleys End Obe Wenig Rock Island Independents Tackle Cub Buck Canton Bulldogs Tackle Ed Shaw Rock Island Independents Guard Alf Cobb Akron Pros Guard Harrie Dadmun Canton Bulldogs Center Paul Des Jardien Chicago Tigers Quarterback Al Mahrt Dayton Triangles Halfback Norb Sacksteder Dayton Triangles Halfback Joe Guyon Canton Bulldogs Fullback Guil Falcon Chicago Tigers Third team Position Player Team End Bobby Marshall Rock Island Independents End Bob Nash Akron Pros Tackle Burt Ingwersen Decatur Staleys Tackle Walt Buland Rock Island Independents Guard Tommy Tomlin Akron Pros Guard Ross Petty Decatur Staleys Center Freeman Fitzgerald Rock Island Independents Quarterback Milt Ghee Chicago Tigers Halfback Dutch Sternaman Decatur Staleys Halfback Frank Bacon Dayton Triangles Fullback Pete Calac Canton Bulldogs References 35em Further reading Bruce Copeland, "All-Star Professional Teams," Rock Island Argus, December 2, 1920, p. 17. John Hogrogian, "1920 All-Pros," The Coffin Corner, vol. 6, no. 1 (1984). External links "1920 APFA All-Pros," Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com Category:All-Pro Teams Allpro