Cleveland Bulldogs
Encyclopedia
The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio
in the National Football League
. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922
. However after team owner Samuel Deutsch
purchased the Canton Bulldogs
in 1924, he merged the Canton team with his Indians and renamed his franchise the Cleveland Bulldogs. The Canton Bulldogs remained a part of the team until 1925, when they were sold back to Canton. The Cleveland Bulldogs played in the NFL until 1928 when they were relocated to Detroit
and became the Detroit Wolverines
. The team was later incorporated into the New York Giants
in 1929. The Cleveland Bulldogs won the 1924 NFL championship.
for $2,500. The Bulldogs were experiencing heavy financial troubles at time and were sold to Deutsch without much of a struggle. Duestch combined the Cleveland Indians with the Canton Bulldogs, creating a new team, the Cleveland Bulldogs. Only seven of the Canton players actually joined the new Bulldogs, among them was player-coach
Guy Chamberlin
. The team played all of its home games at Dunn Field although Deutch returned the team to Canton for the Thanksgiving game
that season.
and entered a virtual tie with the Chicago Bears
for first place in the standings. The Bears played more games, but also had more ties, and their one loss had come in the season opener against the Bulldogs. The Bears attempted to have an after-season exhibition game counted toward the standings, however in 1924 this was against the NFL's rules. In July 1924, NFL owners had agreed on a proposal that the 1924 NFL season
would begin on September 27 and end on November 30. Ironically, as it turned out, the proposal was made by Dutch Sternaman, co-owner of the Bears. On the official end date, Cleveland had a 7-1-1 record to Bears' 6-1-4. Ties didn't count at all in those days, so the Bulldogs were in first place with an .875 winning percentage to Chicago's .857. However on December 7, 1924 the Bulldogs went to Chicago for a challenge match. The Bears won the game, 23–0, and claimed that they deserved the NFL championship; they cited as precedent the 1921 championship decision (which the Bears had won over the Buffalo All-Americans) that declared there was no such thing as an exhibition game. However the issue wasn't settled until the owners' meeting in January, when the owners voted for Cleveland to take the title. The owners also decided at that meeting that the 1925 season would run through December 20.
In 1926 Brandt received authority from the league to suspend operations for a year. The Bulldogs then returned in 1927, bolstered by players from the folded Kansas City Cowboys
franchise. Deutsch returned as the principal owner of this new Cleveland Bulldogs club. He, along with fellow investors Max Rosenblum, Brandt, Harold Gould, and Clinton Winfrey, built the new Bulldogs around native Clevelander Benny Friedman
, a star quarterback at the University of Michigan
. The team finished fourth in the National Football League this season, with an 8-4-1 record.
, owner of the New York Giants
, purchased the entire Wolverines squad, including Benny Friedman, and absorbed the team into his New York Giants franchise. Eight former Bulldogs players, ended up playing for the Giants that season.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
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...
. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922
Cleveland Indians (NFL)
The Cleveland Indians was a professional football team in the National Football League for the 1931 season. The 1931 team was a league-sponsored club that only played games on the road. The NFL intended to locate this team permanently in Cleveland...
. However after team owner Samuel Deutsch
Samuel Deutsch
Samuel H. Deutsch was a prominent sports franchise owner and jeweler. He is best known as being the owner of the National Football League's Cleveland Indians, formerly the Cleveland Tigers, in 1923 of the as well as for moving the Canton Bulldogs to Cleveland from Canton and renaming the team the...
purchased 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 1924, he merged the Canton team with his Indians and renamed his franchise the Cleveland Bulldogs. The Canton Bulldogs remained a part of the team until 1925, when they were sold back to Canton. The Cleveland Bulldogs played in the NFL until 1928 when they were relocated to Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and became the Detroit Wolverines
Detroit (1920s NFL teams)
Detroit, Michigan had four early teams in the National Football League before the Detroit Lions. The Heralds played in 1920, and had played as an independent as far back as 1905. The Tigers, a continuation of the Heralds, played in 1921, folding midseason and sending its players to the Buffalo...
. The team was later incorporated into the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1929. The Cleveland Bulldogs won the 1924 NFL championship.
Origins
Sam Deutsch, a Cleveland jeweler and boxing promoter who also owned a minor-league baseball team, bought an NFL franchise in 1923 and named the team the Indians. They played only seven games in that first season, but they had a shot at the championship, with a 3-0-3 record going into their final game against the Canton Bulldogs, who were also undefeated. The Indians were defeated 46-0 and posted a 3-1-3 league record, finishing fifth in the league, which comprised twenty teams at the time.Purchase of the Canton Bulldogs
However in August 1924, Deutsch, bought the defending NFL champions 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...
for $2,500. The Bulldogs were experiencing heavy financial troubles at time and were sold to Deutsch without much of a struggle. Duestch combined the Cleveland Indians with the Canton Bulldogs, creating a new team, the Cleveland Bulldogs. Only seven of the Canton players actually joined the new Bulldogs, among them was player-coach
Player-coach
A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....
Guy Chamberlin
Guy Chamberlin
Berlin Guy "Champ" Chamberlin was a professional American football player and coach in the National Football League . He played at Nebraska Wesleyan University and then at the University of Nebraska, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He graduated from Nebraska in 1916...
. The team played all of its home games at Dunn Field although Deutch returned the team to Canton for the Thanksgiving game
Thanksgiving Classic
The National Football League's Thanksgiving Classic is a series of games played during the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. It has been a regular occurrence since the league's inception in 1920. Since 2006, three games are played every Thanksgiving...
that season.
1924 NFL champions and controversy
The Cleveland Bulldogs won the NFL championship that year with a 7–1–1 record. After winning their first six games, the Bulldogs lost to the Frankford Yellow JacketsFrankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
and entered a virtual tie with the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for first place in the standings. The Bears played more games, but also had more ties, and their one loss had come in the season opener against the Bulldogs. The Bears attempted to have an after-season exhibition game counted toward the standings, however in 1924 this was against the NFL's rules. In July 1924, NFL owners had agreed on a proposal that the 1924 NFL season
1924 NFL season
The 1924 NFL season was the 5th regular season of the National Football League. The league had 18 teams play during the season, including the new clubs Frankford Yellow Jackets, Kansas City Blues, and Kenosha Maroons. The Louisville Brecks, Oorang Indians, St...
would begin on September 27 and end on November 30. Ironically, as it turned out, the proposal was made by Dutch Sternaman, co-owner of the Bears. On the official end date, Cleveland had a 7-1-1 record to Bears' 6-1-4. Ties didn't count at all in those days, so the Bulldogs were in first place with an .875 winning percentage to Chicago's .857. However on December 7, 1924 the Bulldogs went to Chicago for a challenge match. The Bears won the game, 23–0, and claimed that they deserved the NFL championship; they cited as precedent the 1921 championship decision (which the Bears had won over the Buffalo All-Americans) that declared there was no such thing as an exhibition game. However the issue wasn't settled until the owners' meeting in January, when the owners voted for Cleveland to take the title. The owners also decided at that meeting that the 1925 season would run through December 20.
Decline
In 1925, several Canton businessmen purchased the rights to the old Canton Bulldogs team from Deutsch for $3,000. The Bulldogs, now known as the Canton Bulldogs, played in Canton during the 1925 and 1926 seasons. However Deutsch continued to call his Cleveland franchise the Bulldogs. He also sold his Cleveland Indians half of the club to Herb Brandt in August 1925. That season the Cleveland Bulldogs fell to a dismal 5-8-1 record. The team performed poorly on the field and at the bank. By mid-November the organization was nearly bankrupt.In 1926 Brandt received authority from the league to suspend operations for a year. The Bulldogs then returned in 1927, bolstered by players from the folded 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...
franchise. Deutsch returned as the principal owner of this new Cleveland Bulldogs club. He, along with fellow investors Max Rosenblum, Brandt, Harold Gould, and Clinton Winfrey, built the new Bulldogs around native Clevelander Benny Friedman
Benny Friedman
Benjamin "Benny" Friedman was an American football quarterback who played for the University of Michigan , Cleveland Bulldogs , Detroit Wolverines , New York Giants , and Brooklyn Dodgers .He is generally considered the first great passer in professional football...
, a star quarterback at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. The team finished fourth in the National Football League this season, with an 8-4-1 record.
Ties to the New York Giants
At the end of the season, Elliott Fisher purchased the Bulldogs and moved the team to Detroit, renaming them the Detroit Wolverines. The 1928 Wolverines team consisted of 12 former Bulldogs players. Before the 1929 season, Tim MaraTim Mara
Timothy James "Tim" Mara was the founder and administrator for the New York Giants of the National Football League. The Giants', under Mara, would win NFL championships in 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1958, 1959.-Early life:Mara was born into poverty...
, owner of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, purchased the entire Wolverines squad, including Benny Friedman, and absorbed the team into his New York Giants franchise. Eight former Bulldogs players, ended up playing for the Giants that season.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
- Guy ChamberlinGuy ChamberlinBerlin Guy "Champ" Chamberlin was a professional American football player and coach in the National Football League . He played at Nebraska Wesleyan University and then at the University of Nebraska, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He graduated from Nebraska in 1916...
- Benny FriedmanBenny FriedmanBenjamin "Benny" Friedman was an American football quarterback who played for the University of Michigan , Cleveland Bulldogs , Detroit Wolverines , New York Giants , and Brooklyn Dodgers .He is generally considered the first great passer in professional football...
- William "Link" LymanWilliam R. LymanWilliam Roy "Link" Lyman was a professional American football player. He played tackle for the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Bulldogs, the Frankford Yellow Jackets and the Chicago Bears....
- Steve OwenSteve Owen (football)Stephen Joseph Owen was an American football player and coach who earned a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as head coach of the National Football League's New York Giants from 1930 to 1953...
Season-by-season
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indians | 1923 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5th | Cap Edwards Cap Edwards Howard Eugene "Cap" Edwards was a National Football League coach and player in American football's earliest years. In the early 20th century, football in America was just beginning to catch on, with professional teams popping up in numerous cities, and at the time college football was more... |
| Bulldogs | 1924 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1st | Guy Chamberlin Guy Chamberlin Berlin Guy "Champ" Chamberlin was a professional American football player and coach in the National Football League . He played at Nebraska Wesleyan University and then at the University of Nebraska, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He graduated from Nebraska in 1916... |
| 1925 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 12th | Cap Edwards | |
| 1926 | Suspended Operations | |||||
| 1927 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4th | LeRoy Andrews LeRoy Andrews LeRoy B. Andrew, or commonly Roy Andrew, was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Pittsburg State University. In 1923, he played for the St. Louis All Stars. From 1924 to 1927, he was a player-coach for the Kansas City Blues/Cowboys and the Cleveland Bulldogs... |
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