The 1920

1920 NFL season

The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural regular season of the National Football League which was called the American Professional Football Association in 1920 and 1921...

 Buffalo All-Americans

Buffalo (NFL)

Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...

 season was their inaugural season in the league

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The team finished 9-1-1, enough for third place in the league. It was one of only four teams to finish the 1920 season.

This season was most notable for the last two games of the team's schedule. The first of these was a showcase game between the All-Americans and the league's flagship franchise, the Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

, in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

's Polo Grounds

Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...

. About 20,000 fans showed up for the game, a significant number for the still-regional league, and it spurred efforts, first with the New York Brickley Giants in 1921 and later with the New York Football Giants in 1925, to put a team in New York City.

The second game ended up deciding the championship. Held on the next day against the Akron Pros, a win would have likely secured the All-Americans the league title. However, the team only managed a scoreless tie with the Pros. Buffalo, however, still felt it had a strong case for a share of the title, and made their case before the league owners in April 1921. Buffalo stood at 9-1-1 and Akron at 8-0-3. Each team had eight more wins than losses, and Buffalo could also make the case that their lone loss, against Canton, was partially negated by their later win in the Polo Grounds due to a rule that gave more weight to late-season games than earlier ones. Joe Carr

Joseph Carr

Joseph "Joe" F. Carr was the president of the National Football League from 1921 until his death in 1939. Carr was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a mechanic for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, he directed the Columbus Panhandles football team in 1907 until 1922...

 didn't buy the argument, and moved to give Akron, by virtue of being undefeated, the sole title and possession of the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup

Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup

Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup was a silver trophy donated to the American Professional Football Association by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, Tire Division....

. The motion was accepted. Buffalo was given third place (the Decatur Staleys, who also made a pitch for a share of the title, took second). Worth noting is that under current interpretation, which counts ties (now very rare due to overtime) as half-wins and half-losses, Buffalo and Akron would have indeed been tied for the title at 9½-1½, but league rules ignored ties at the time.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
1	October 3, 1920	West Buffalo Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 32-6
2	October 10, 1920	All-Buffalo Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 51-0
3	October 17, 1920	McKeesport Olympics McKeesport Olympics The McKeesport Olympics were a professional football team from McKeesport, Pennsylvania from 1896 until around 1940. The Olympics were considered one of the top football teams in Pennsylvania from 1910 until 1919.... Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 28-7
4	October 24, 1920	Toledo Maroons Toledo Maroons The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:... Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 38-0
5	October 31, 1920	Rochester Jeffersons Rochester Jeffersons The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing... Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 17-6
6	November 7, 1920	All-Tonawanda Tonawanda Kardex The Tonawanda Kardex was an American football team active between 1916 and 1921. It played its games in City of Tonawanda, New York, a suburb of Buffalo with close ties to North Tonawanda, New York where American Kardex was founded... Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 35-0
7	November 14, 1920	Columbus Panhandles Columbus (NFL) The Columbus Panhandles were a professional football team from Columbus, Ohio who played in the "Ohio League" and later the American Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football League... Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	W 43-7
8	November 21, 1920	Canton Bulldogs Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918... Played at Canisius College Canisius College Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...	L 3-0
9	November 28, 1920	Cleveland Tigers Played at Buffalo Baseball Park Buffalo Baseball Park Buffalo Baseball Park was a stadium in Buffalo, New York. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of Buffalo Bisons of the International League. The ballpark opened in 1889...	W 7-0
10	December 4, 1920	Canton Bulldogs Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918... in New York City	W 7-3
11	December 5, 1920	Akron Pros Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional football team located played in Akron, Ohio from 1908–1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, however name was changed to the Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional... Played at Buffalo Baseball Park Buffalo Baseball Park Buffalo Baseball Park was a stadium in Buffalo, New York. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of Buffalo Bisons of the International League. The ballpark opened in 1889...	T 0-0

• Games in italics are against non-NFL teams.

Week 2

West Buffalo (0-0-0) at Buffalo All-Americans (0-0-0) - Canisius Field

On a rainy afternoon in Buffalo the All-Americans dismantled the local semi pro team from West Buffalo. Bodie Weldon ran for an early score in the 1st quarter. Quarterback Tommy Hughitt and Weldon added touchdowns in the 2nd quarter to make the score of the game 19-0 going into halftime. Hughitt scored from a yard out in the third quarter to make the score 25-0. West Buffalo got on the scoreboard when Bob Langdon intercepted a Buffalo pass and ran it back 75 yards for a touchdown. Buffalo finished off the scoring in the 4th quarter and won the game 32-6.