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...

 Columbus Panhandles season was their inaugural season in the National Football 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 2-7-2, earning them fourteenth place in the league.

Roster

Player	Position
John Beckwith	B
Hi Brigham	G
John Davis	B
Charlie Essman	G
Jim Flower Jim Flower James Tod Flower Jr. was a professional football player with the Columbus Panhandles and the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association . He also served as a player-coach for the Pros in 1924, guiding the team to a 2-6 record.Before he joined the NFL, Jim played college football...	T/E
Hal Gaulke	B/E
Babe Houck	G
Oscar Kuehner	T/G
Frank Lone Star Frank Lone Star Frank Lone Star was a professional football player for the Columbus Panhandles in 1920. He played at the collegiate level at Carlisle Indian Industrial School.-Biography:Frank Lone Star was born on January 27, 1887 in Wisconsin....	G/T
Wilkie Moody	B/T
Joe Mulbarger Joe Mulbarger Joseph Griffin "Joe" Mulbarger was a professional American football player who played offensive lineman for seven seasons for the Columbus Panhandles/Tigers.-References:...	T/G
Frank Nesser Frank Nesser Frank Nesser was a professional football player in the "Ohio League" and the early National Football League. During his career he played mainly for the Columbus Panhandles, however he did also play for a little for the Akron Indians, whenever he was recruited by Indians manager, Peggy Parratt.Frank...	B/G
Phil Nesser Phil Nesser Phillip Gregory Nesser born June 6, 1893) was a professional American football player in the "Ohio League" and the early National Football League for the Columbus Panhandles...	G/T
Ted Nesser Ted Nesser Theodore Nesser Jr. was a professional football player-coach in the "Ohio League" and the early National Football League. During his career he played mainly for the Columbus Panhandles, however he did also play for a little for the Massillon Tigers, Akron Indians, Canton Bulldogs and the Shelby...	C/T
Dwight Peabody	E
Homer Ruh	E/B
John Schneider John Schneider (American football) John J. Schneider was a professional American football player in the "Ohio League" and the early National Football League for the Columbus Panhandles. He played from around 1909 until 1921 with the Panhandles...	B
Lee Snoots	B
Will Waite	G/C
Oscar Wolford	G/C
Howard Yerges	B

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
1	October 3, 1920	at Dayton Triangles Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north...	L 14-0
2	October 10, 1920	at 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...	L 37-0
3	October 17, 1920	at Fort Wayne Friars Fort Wayne Friars The Fort Wayne Friars were an early professional football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team, which was also known as the Friars Athletic Association, consistently fielded good and noteworthy teams...	L 14-0
4	October 24, 1920	at Detroit Heralds	L 6-0
5	October 31, 1920	at Cleveland Tigers	L 7-0
6	November 7, 1920	at Zanesville Mark Greys	W 10-0
7	November 14, 1920	at 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...	L 43-7
8	November 21, 1920	at Zanesville Mark Greys	T 0-0
9	November 25, 1920	at Elyria Athletics Elyria Athletics The Elyria Athletics were an American football team based in Elyria, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League until 1919, then became an independent team...	T 0-0
9	November 28, 1920	at Youngstown Patricians Youngstown Patricians The Youngstown Patricians were a semi-professional football team based in Youngstown, Ohio. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the professional football championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core of the...	L 0-2
10	December 5, 1920	at Columbus Wagner Pirates	W 24-0

• Games in italics are against non-NFL teams.

Week 2

Columbus Panhandles (0-0-0) at Dayton Triangles (0-0-0) - Triangle Park

Dayton defeated Columbus 14-0 in the first game between two APFA teams. Lou Partlow scored the first TD in a game between two league teams on a 7 yard run in the 3rd quarter. Mid way thru the 4th quarter Francis Bacon returned a punt 60 yards for the 2nd TD.

Week 3

Columbus Panhandles (0-1-0) at Akron Pros (1-0-0) - Akron League Park

Wingback Frank McCormick ran for two early touchdowns to give Akron a 14-0 lead. Bob "Nasty" Nash later recovered a fumble in the end zone (the first fumble recovery for a touchdown in a game of two league teams) and the defense added the leagues first safety to give the Akron Pros a 37-0 victory over the Columbus Panhandles.