Brooklyn Horsemen
Encyclopedia
The Brooklyn Horsemen was a professional football
team that competed in the American Football League
during the 1926 season
.
On November 12, 1926, the team withdrew from the AFL and merged with Brooklyn Lions of the National Football League
. The new team created by the merger was initially called the Brooklyn Lions and competed in the NFL from November 22, 1926. For the last three games of the 1926, the merged team competed as the Brooklyn Horsemen. After three consecutive losses by shutout, the merged team winked out of existence.
and played their home games in Brooklyn
's Commercial Field
. Coached by Eddie McNeely, the Horsemen got the team name after McNeely's signing of Elmer Layden
and Harry Stuhldreher
, two of Notre Dame
's Four Horsemen
. While the team's first game was decided by a 60-yard touchdown pass from Stuldreher to Ed Harrison, the team had trouble maintaining a steady offense (and, ultimately maintaining a fan base). After losses to the Los Angeles Wildcats
and Boston Bulldogs
in front of decreasing crowds, a scheduled game at Ebbets Field
against league leader (and eventual champion) Philadelphia Quakers
was cancelled due to inclement weather. On November 7, 1926, the Horsemen played their last AFL game, a 21-13 loss to the New York Yankees
, and then merged with their NFL cousins, the Brooklyn Lions, to complete the season in the NFL as the Brooklyn Horsemen.
team that played in 1926. The team was formed as the league's countermove to the first American Football League, which enfranchised a team called the Brooklyn Horsemen. In the months before the regular season began, both leagues battled with each other for fan support and the right to play at Ebbets Field
. The NFL emerged as the winner, as the Lions signed the lease to use the stadium on July 20.
Coached by Punk Berryman
, the Lions featured Rex Thomas
and Herm Bagby, two members of the backfield
who could play either tailback
or wingback
. On defense, Thomas also snared four interceptions. Unfortunately, the team was only slightly more consistent in its play than the Horsemen, and after the November 7 game against the Kansas City Cowboys
(a 10-9 loss at Ebbets Field), the Lions merged with the Horsemen. At the time of the merger, the Lions had compiled a 2-5 won-loss record.
NOTE: Final NFL standings: official franchise won-lost record combines the wins and losses of the Lions with the results of the games played by the merged Brooklyn Horsemen
19-0 in front of a small crowd in Ebbets Field. In a last-ditch effort to attract paying fans, the Lions then adopted the Horsemen nickname of the old AFL team... and lost the last three games of their existence by shutout.
Fullback Earl Britton
End Ted Drews
End Ed Harrison
Guard Red Howard
Center Ted Plumridge
Tailback Harry Stuhldreher
Guard Tarzan Taylor
In addition, guard Hec Garvey was on the rosters of no fewer than four teams in the AFL or NFL in 1926: the Hartford Blues
(NFL), the Horsemen (AFL), the Lions (NFL), and the New York Yankees
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team that competed in the American Football League
American Football League (1926)
The first American Football League , sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League. Founded by C. C...
during the 1926 season
1926 American Football League season
The 1926 American Football League season is the only season of the existence of the first American Football League. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, Ohio, but by the end of the season , only four teams were still in...
.
On November 12, 1926, the team withdrew from the AFL and merged with Brooklyn Lions of 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 new team created by the merger was initially called the Brooklyn Lions and competed in the NFL from November 22, 1926. For the last three games of the 1926, the merged team competed as the Brooklyn Horsemen. After three consecutive losses by shutout, the merged team winked out of existence.
Brooklyn Horsemen (AFL)
The Horsemen of the first AFL were owned by boxing promoter Humbert FugazyHumbert Fugazy
Humbert J. Fugazy was a New York boxing promoter around the 1930s. The Fugazy Bowl is named after him in his honour. He was also the owner of the Brooklyn Horsemen of the first American Football League in 1926.-External links:*...
and played their home games in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
's Commercial Field
Commercial Field
Commercial Field is a 2,112-acre athletic field located in the Wingate neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was home to the Commercial High School soccer, football, and baseball teams from around 1906. Other schools, such as Boys High, also called Commercial Field their home from time to time, as did...
. Coached by Eddie McNeely, the Horsemen got the team name after McNeely's signing of Elmer Layden
Elmer Layden
Elmer Francis Layden was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame where he starred at fullback as a member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield...
and Harry Stuhldreher
Harry Stuhldreher
Harry Augustus Stuhldreher was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played quarterback at University of Notre Dame from 1922 to 1924, where he was a three-time All-American and member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield...
, two of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
's Four Horsemen
Four Horsemen (football)
The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame comprised a winning group of American football players at the University of Notre Dame under coach Knute Rockne. They were the backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team...
. While the team's first game was decided by a 60-yard touchdown pass from Stuldreher to Ed Harrison, the team had trouble maintaining a steady offense (and, ultimately maintaining a fan base). After losses to the Los Angeles Wildcats
Los Angeles Wildcats
The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois...
and Boston Bulldogs
Boston Bulldogs (AFL)
The Boston Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Robert McKirby, the Bulldogs lasted only six games into the AFL season, playing one home game in Braves Field and one in Fenway Park...
in front of decreasing crowds, a scheduled game at Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
against league leader (and eventual champion) Philadelphia Quakers
Philadelphia Quakers (AFL)
Not to be confused with the defunct Philadelphia Quakers team of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia Quakers baseball team who became the Philadelphia Phillies in 1890 or the University of Pennsylvania athletics teams, the Pennsylvania Quakers....
was cancelled due to inclement weather. On November 7, 1926, the Horsemen played their last AFL game, a 21-13 loss to the New York Yankees
New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
, and then merged with their NFL cousins, the Brooklyn Lions, to complete the season in the NFL as the Brooklyn Horsemen.
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8th | Eddie McNeely |
Brooklyn Lions (NFL)
The Brooklyn Lions were a National Football LeagueNational 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...
team that played in 1926. The team was formed as the league's countermove to the first American Football League, which enfranchised a team called the Brooklyn Horsemen. In the months before the regular season began, both leagues battled with each other for fan support and the right to play at Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
. The NFL emerged as the winner, as the Lions signed the lease to use the stadium on July 20.
Coached by Punk Berryman
Punk Berryman
Robert Norman "Punk" Berryman was a professional American football coach. He played as a halfback at Pennsylvania State University and was elected All-American in his senior year . He went on to coach at Lafayette College, the University of Iowa, then at Dickinson College. In 1922 and 1923 he was...
, the Lions featured Rex Thomas
Rex Thomas
Rex Thomas is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for five seasons for the Brooklyn Lions, Cleveland Bulldogs, Detrot Wolverines, and Brooklyn Dodgers.-References:...
and Herm Bagby, two members of the backfield
Backfield
The backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The backfield or offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the quarterback, running back, and/or fullback.-Play...
who could play either tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
or wingback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
. On defense, Thomas also snared four interceptions. Unfortunately, the team was only slightly more consistent in its play than the Horsemen, and after the November 7 game against the Kansas City Cowboys
Kansas City (NFL)
Kansas City, Missouri had a National Football League team prior to the Chiefs that operated under two different names: The Blues in 1924 and the Cowboys from 1925-1926. The Blues competed as a traveling team, playing all of their NFL games in other cities' stadia in their only year under that name...
(a 10-9 loss at Ebbets Field), the Lions merged with the Horsemen. At the time of the merger, the Lions had compiled a 2-5 won-loss record.
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 14th | Punk Berryman Punk Berryman Robert Norman "Punk" Berryman was a professional American football coach. He played as a halfback at Pennsylvania State University and was elected All-American in his senior year . He went on to coach at Lafayette College, the University of Iowa, then at Dickinson College. In 1922 and 1923 he was... |
NOTE: Final NFL standings: official franchise won-lost record combines the wins and losses of the Lions with the results of the games played by the merged Brooklyn Horsemen
"Horse-Lions": The Brooklyn Horsemen (NFL)
The result of the merger was derisively dubbed the Horse-Lions by the local media, but initially (November 14, 1926) the merged team played under the Brooklyn Lions banner. The new team, with eight members of the now-defunct AFL team, trounced the Canton BulldogsCanton 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...
19-0 in front of a small crowd in Ebbets Field. In a last-ditch effort to attract paying fans, the Lions then adopted the Horsemen nickname of the old AFL team... and lost the last three games of their existence by shutout.
Horsemen who were also Lions
Eight men played for both the Horsemen in the AFL and the Lions/Horsemen in the NFL:Fullback Earl Britton
Earl Britton
Earl Tanner Britton was a professional American football fullback who played in the National Football League and the American Football League...
End Ted Drews
Ted Drews
Ted Drews is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for two seasons for the Chicago Bears and Brooklyn Lions.-References:...
End Ed Harrison
Guard Red Howard
Center Ted Plumridge
Tailback Harry Stuhldreher
Harry Stuhldreher
Harry Augustus Stuhldreher was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played quarterback at University of Notre Dame from 1922 to 1924, where he was a three-time All-American and member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield...
Guard Tarzan Taylor
Tarzan Taylor
John Lachlan Taylor was a professional football player who played in the National Football League with the Chicago Staleys, Canton Bulldogs, Brooklyn Lions and the Brooklyn Horsemen. Taylor won an American Professional Football Association championship in 1921, with the Staleys, the forerunners of...
In addition, guard Hec Garvey was on the rosters of no fewer than four teams in the AFL or NFL in 1926: the Hartford Blues
Hartford Blues
The Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season, with a record of 3-7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the East Hartford Velodrome.-Origins:...
(NFL), the Horsemen (AFL), the Lions (NFL), and the New York Yankees
New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
.