1920 Cleveland Tigers (NFL) season

Sports season March 2026 November 2013 Cleveland Tigers (NFL) Cleveland Tigers 1920 2–4–2 Overall 1–4–2 (AFPA) 10th AFPA Jimmy O'Donnell Stan Cofall and Al Pierotti Dunn Field The 1920 Cleveland Tigers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and fifth total as an American football team. The Tigers entered the season coming off a 5-win, 2-loss, 2-tie (5–2–2) record in 1919. After the 1919 season, several representatives from the Ohio League, a loose organization of professional football teams, wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created. The Tigers opened the season with a 0–0 tie against the Dayton Triangles, en route to a 2–4–2 record, which placed the team 10th in the final standings. In week 8, the Tigers scored 7 points against the Akron Pros, which was the only points Akron allowed all season. The sportswriter Bruce Copeland compiled the 1920 All-Pro list, but no players from the Tigers were on it. As of 2012, no player from the 1920 Tigers roster has been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Offseason thumb|right|Dunn Field, the home stadium of the 1920 Cleveland Tigers The Cleveland Tigers finished 5–2–2 in their 1919 season in the Ohio League.https://www.profootballarchives.com/1919clet.html 1919 Cleveland Tigers The Pro Football Archives Maher Sports Media December 7, 2012 After the 1919 season, representatives of four Ohio League teams—the Canton Bulldogs, the 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 3–4Siwoff Zimmber Marini 2010 352–353 They then invited other professional teams to a second meeting on September 17.PFRA Research 1980 1 At the second 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, the Chicago Cardinals, 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 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 January 5, 2013https://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 January 5, 2013 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 74Davis 2005 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 10 at Dayton Triangles T 0–0 0–0–1 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. 2 October 17 at Canton Bulldogs L0–7 0–1–1 Lakeside Park 7,000 Recap 3 October 24 at Akron Pros L 0–7 0–2–1 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. 4 October 31 Columbus Panhandles W 7–0 1–2–1 Dunn Field 5,000 Recap 5 November 7 Canton Bulldogs L 0–18 1–3–1 Dunn Field 8,000 Recap 6 November 14 Akron Pros T 7–7 1–3–2 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 Toledo Maroons W 14–7 2–3–2 Dunn Field 1,500 Recap Stuart M. Bell, "Tigers Win, 14–0, in Poor Contest: Always in Toledo Maroons' Territory But Attack Fails Miserably," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 22, 1920, p. 16."A Poor Game," Dayton Herald, Nov. 22, 1920, p. 14. 8 November 28 at Buffalo All-Americans L 0–7 2–4–2Buffalo Baseball Park 5,000 Recap "Buffalo All-Americans Outplay Cleveland Tigers on Soggy Gridiron: Buffalo Earns Hard Victory," Buffalo News, Nov. 29, 1920, p. 18."Cleveland Tigers Could Not Hold Buffalo Eleven," Buffalo Commercial, Nov. 29, 1920, p. 6."Buffalo Team Adds Cleveland to Long List: Local Pros Surprised the Visiting Football Eleven in More Ways Than One," Buffalo Times, Nov. 29, 1920, p. 12."Lone Touchdown Made in Buffalo: Professionals Defeat Cleveland Tigers by Score of 7 to 0," New York Herald, Nov. 29, 1920, p. 9. Note: Non-APFA teams in italics. Standings Game summaries Game 1: at Dayton Triangles Tigers 0 0 0 0 Triangles 0 0 0 0 October 10, 1920, at Triangle Park In their opening game of the 1920 season, the Tigers played the Dayton Triangles. The Triangles were coming off a historic game; it was the first match between two APFA teams.* 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 1–4 January 6, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20120311103812/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-02-059.pdf March 11, 2012 dead No team scored in this game, and it ended in a 0–0 tie.May 2020 Game 2: at Canton Bulldogs Tigers 0 0 0 0 Bulldogs 7 0 0 0 October 17, 1920, at Lakeside Park The Tigers next faced the Canton Bulldogs, which would be the Bulldogs' first APFA opponent. The Tigers lost 7–0 before a crowd of 7,000 people.May 2020 The Bulldogs' offense had 15 first downs, and the only score of the game came when the Bulldogs' Ike Martin had a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-u9XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BEUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4221%2C2532398 Canton Beats Cleveland October 18, 1920 14 The Toledo News-Bee January 5, 2013 Jim Thorpe of the Bulldogs, who would later be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PlayerId=213 Jim Thorpe Pro Football Hall of Fame June 23, 2012 made his season debut in the game, coming in as a substitute in the fourth quarter. Game 3: at Akron Pros Tigers 0 0 0 0 Pros 7 0 0 0 October 24, 1920, at League Park The Akron Pros were the Tigers' 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 6, 2012 The only score came from a punt block by Akron's 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 of the Pros 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 December 6, 2012 Game 4: vs. Columbus Panhandles Panhandles 0 0 0 0 Tigers 0 7 0 0 October 31, 1920, at League Park On Halloween the Tigers played against the Columbus Panhandles in front of 5,000 fans,Willis 2007 177 The Tigers won 7–0.November 1, 1920 Brickley Boy Wins for Cleveland https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=k_8v9Q84L5sC&dat=19201101&printsec=frontpage&hl=en The Toledo News-Bee 12 January 5, 2013 The lone score came from a rushing touchdown in the second quarter from Charlie Brickley.May 2020 This was the eighth straight loss for the Panhandles, dating back to 1919, and the seventh straight without scoring.Willis 2007 173 According to football historian Chris Willis, this loss for the Panhandles crushed the city of Columbus and made the Panhandles challenge lesser teams for the rest of the season. Game 5: vs. Canton Bulldogs Bulldogs 0 14 2 2 Tigers 0 0 0 0 November 7, 1920, at Dunn Field Tigers' next game was played against the Canton Bulldogs, who were coming off their first loss of the season.https://www.profootballarchives.com/1920apfacan.html 1920 Canton Bulldogs The Pro Football Archives Maher Sports Media April 2, 2012 Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs ran for two touchdowns in the second. Calac and Grigg had 6- and 15-yard rushing touchdowns.May 2020 The Bulldogs' defense forced two safeties—one in the third and one in the fourth quarter—to win the game 18–0.May 2020 Game 6: vs. Akron Pros Pros 0 7 0 0 Tigers 0 0 7 0 November 14, 1920, at Dunn Park, Cleveland, Ohio In their second game of November, the Tigers had a rematch with the Pros. Playing in front of 8,000 fans,https://www.profootballarchives.com/1920apfaakr.html 1920 Akron Pros The Pro Football Archives Maher Sports Media April 1, 2012 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 it the second tie of the season for the Tigers. Game 7: vs. Toledo Maroons Maroons 0 0 0 0 Tigers 7 0 0 7 November 21, 1920, at Dunn Field, Cleveland, Ohio The Toledo Maroons were the Tigers' next opponent. The Maroons were an independent team but joined the APFA in 1922.http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2361 Toledo Maroons Ohio History Central Ohio Historical Society July 1, 2005 December 7, 2012 Prior to this game, the Maroons did not score a point against an APFA tem all season, and that streak continued into this game.https://www.profootballarchives.com/1920tolm.html 1920 Toledo Maroons The Pro Football Archives Maher Sports Media December 7, 2012 In the first quarter, Baston blocked a kick and ran it for a touchdown. He would later score the game's final points in the fourth as he caught a receiving touchdown from Pierotti.May 2020 The final score of the game was a 14–0 victory for the Tigers. Game 8: at Buffalo All-Americans thumb|left|500px|The Tigers close in on Buffalo left halfback Buck Gavin, who gained six yards in a sea of mud. Tigers 0 0 0 0 All-Americans 0 0 7 0 November 28, 1920, at Buffalo Baseball Park In their final game of the 1920 season, the Tigers played against the Buffalo All-Americans, who were coming off their first loss of the season.https://www.profootballarchives.com/1920apfabuf.html 1920 Buffalo All-Americans (APFA) The Pro Football Archives Maher Sports Media October 6, 2012 The Public Ledger called the game "scrappy"; most forward passes were blocked, and neither team's offense was productive. A total of 5,000 fans showed up to the game. The All-Americans had possession on the 5-yard line and the 1-foot line, but the Tigers' defense stopped them.http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045211/1920-11-29/ed-1/seq-21/;words=TIGERS+CLEVELAND?date1=1920&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1920&proxtext=cleveland+tigers&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=0 Cleveland Tigers Fall Before Buffalo Eleven Public Ledger Philadelphia, Pennsylvania November 29, 1920 21 December 6, 2012 The only score of the game came in the third quarter when Buffalo quarterback Oscar Anderson scored an 8-yard rushing touchdown going around end. Post-season Due to several losses, the Tigers did not contend for the APFA trophy in 1920, a prize awarded by the league's owners to the league's best team at the end of the season. The Tigers' performance of 2–4–2 would be the team's best before folding in 1921.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cti/ Cleveland Tigers Team Encyclopedia Pro-Football-Reference.com Sports Reference July 16, 2012 Sportswriter Bruce Copeland compiled the 1920 All Pro team, but no players made the list.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 January 5, 2013 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 The following saw action in at least one game for the 1920 Cleveland Tigers."1920 Cleveland Tigers (APFA)". The Pro Football Archives. Maher Sports Media. Retrieved December 7, 2012 The number of APFA games in which they appeared follows in parentheses."1920 Cleveland Tigers Roster & Players," Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com Linemen Bert Baston (8) Harry Baujan (6) Tom Gormley (8) John Haggerty (5) Pat Herron (1) George Kerr (2) Phil Marshall (1) Ed O'Hearn (5) Irving Pearlman (8) Al Pierotti (5) Frank Rydzewski (3) Herb Sies (1) Joe Spagna (3) Ed Stahl (3) Claude Thornhill (8) Ray Trowbridge (3) Al Wesbecher (5) Backs George Brickley (5) Jim Bryant (3) Stan Cofall (3) George Conn (6) Earl Cramer (7) Mark Devlin (4) Dinger Doane (4) Moon Ducote (1) Johnny Gilroy (2) Charlie Hastings (3) Joey Mattern (1) Jack O'Hearn (5) Leo Petree (2) References 35em Further reading Davis Jeff Papa Bear, The Life and Legacy of George Halas McGraw-Hill 2005 0-07-146054-3 https://archive.org/details/papabear00jeff 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 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110817020602/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-038.pdf August 17, 2011 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 The Columbus Panhandles: A Complete History of Pro Football's Toughest Team, 1900–1922 Lanham, Maryland Scarecrow Press 2007 978-0-8108-5893-0 Category:Cleveland Indians (NFL) seasons Cleveland Tigers Cleveland Tig