Philadelphia Quakers (AFL)
Encyclopedia
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.
The Philadelphia Quakers were a professional American football
team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926
and won the league’s only championship. Owned by L. S. Conway, the Quakers played their home games in Sesquicentennial Stadium on Saturdays because of Pennsylvania
’s Blue law
s prohibiting work or business on Sundays. Coached by Bob Folwell
, the majority of the team played their college football in Pennsylvania
. The Quakers had nine players (including Century Milstead
, Charlie Way, Butch Spagna
, and Bull Behman
) who had previously played for various National Football League
teams. The combined experience gave the team an edge in line play, particularly on defense (the Quakers yielded only five points per game for the 1926 season). The addition of All-American Glenn Killinger
merely added to the defensive riches: he intercepted four passes in his league debut (November 4, 1926, in a 24-0 victory over the Rock Island Independents
).
Unlike half of their league opponents, the Quakers had no financial connection with league founders C. C. Pyle
and Red Grange
. In addition to having a championship team, the Quakers drew well in the stadium in the midst of the Sesquicentennial Exposition
. When the fair ended (early November), the audience in the soon-to-be renamed Municipal Stadium diminished, but still drew well when the Quakers defeated the New York Yankees
13-7 on a Bob Dinsmore punt return that decided the game - and the league championship (November 27, 1926).
At the time of the championship-clinching game, the AFL had only four active teams (the Quakers, the Yankees, the Los Angeles Wildcats
, and the Chicago Bulls
), three of which were being subsidized by C. C. Pyle and Red Grange. The latter three teams played games in the last two weeks of the season while the Quakers started challenging National Football League
teams for a “pro football championship game.” The NFL champions Frankford Yellow Jackets
were the first to refuse, claiming that their postseason schedule had been already set. Additional challenges by the Quakers were unanswered until Tim Mara
, owner of the seventh place New York Giants
, accepted the challenge, scheduling a game for December 12, 1926, at the Polo Grounds
.
As the Yankees and the Bulls were playing the AFL’s last official game (a 7-3 Yankees victory in Comiskey Park
), the Quakers and the Giants were battling in front of 5000 fans in the middle of a driving snowstorm. While the score was only 3-0 at halftime, Quaker errors led to the Giants winning the game 31-0. Both the Quakers and the AFL were no more.
At the end of the season, Wilfred Smith of the Chicago Tribune
presented a combined NFL-AFL All Pro
team in his column. Three Quakers were named to the second team: George Tully, Bull Behman
, and Al Kreuz
.
7-3 victory over the Chicago Bulls
in Comiskey Park
on December 12, 1926, the first AFL was officially dead. The simultaneous 31-0 drubbing of the Quakers by the New York Giants
in the Polo Grounds
left the AFL champions in a similar state.
It was, however, not the end of the professional football career for five Philadelphia Quakers. The following men were on rosters of NFL teams in the 1927 season
:
Bob Beattie
– 1927 New York Yankees, 1929 Orange Tornadoes, 1930 Newark Tornadoes
Bull Behman
– 1927-31 Frankford Yellow Jackets
(player-coach
1930-31)
Adrian Ford
– 1927 Pottsville Maroons
, 1927 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Century Milstead
– 1927-28 New York Giants
George Tully – 1927 Frankford Yellow Jackets
On the other hand, the pro football careers of several former NFL players ended with the 1926 Quakers:
Charlie Cartin – 1925 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Saville Crowther – 1925 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Doc Elliott
– 1922-23 Canton Bulldogs
, 1924-25 Cleveland Bulldogs
Glenn Killinger
– 1921 Canton Bulldogs, 1926 New York Giants
Johnny Schott – 1920-23 Buffalo All-Americans
Butch Spagna
– 1920 Cleveland Tigers, 1920-21 Buffalo All-Americans, 1924-25 Frankford Yellow Jackets
George Sullivan – 1924-25 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Whitey Thomas
– 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Charlie Way – 1921 Canton Bulldogs, 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets
NOTE: Doc Elliott came out of retirement in 1931 to play for the Cleveland Indians
.
, who were operated by the Union Athletic Association
of Phoenixville
and played one season under Conway's ownership in 1921. The Quakers of that year, who had a perfect season
and claimed the mythical national championship
under the "Union AA" name in 1920, took advantage of the Saturday game schedule required by Pennsylvania's blue laws
and would often "moonlight" the next day as members of the Buffalo All-Americans
. The National Football League caught wind of this scheme and forced the moonlighting players to choose one team or the other. That team was poised to join the National Football League
in 1922, but for reasons unexplained remained independent and instead merged into the Frankford Yellow Jackets
that year.
Philadelphia Quakers (NHL)
The Philadelphia Quakers were an American professional ice hockey team that played only one full season in the National Hockey League , 1930–31, at the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
team of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, the Philadelphia Quakers baseball team who became the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in 1890 or the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
athletics teams, the Pennsylvania Quakers.
The Philadelphia Quakers were a professional American football
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 first American Football League in 1926
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...
and won the league’s only championship. Owned by L. S. Conway, the Quakers played their home games in Sesquicentennial Stadium on Saturdays because of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
’s Blue law
Blue law
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and, formerly, in Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping...
s prohibiting work or business on Sundays. Coached by Bob Folwell
Bob Folwell
Robert Cook "Bob" Folwell, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College , Washington & Jefferson College , the University of Pennsylvania , and the United States Naval Academy , compiling a career college football record of...
, the majority of the team played their college football in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The Quakers had nine players (including Century Milstead
Century Milstead
Century Allen "Wally" Milstead was a collegiate and professional American football player. He played college football at Wabash College and at Yale University, where his play earned him All-America recognition....
, Charlie Way, Butch Spagna
Butch Spagna
Joseph "Butch" Spagna was a professional football player during the 1920s.-NFL and AFL experience:He played in the early National Football League for the Buffalo All-Americans, Cleveland Tigers and the Frankford Yellow Jackets...
, and Bull Behman
Bull Behman
Russell K. "Bull" Behman was a professional football player and coach in the early National Football League. He played at Dickinson College in 1922 and 1923, captaining the team in the latter year....
) who had previously played for various 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...
teams. The combined experience gave the team an edge in line play, particularly on defense (the Quakers yielded only five points per game for the 1926 season). The addition of All-American Glenn Killinger
Glenn Killinger
William Glenn Killinger was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He letter in three sports at Pennsylvania State University, where he was an All-American in football in 1921...
merely added to the defensive riches: he intercepted four passes in his league debut (November 4, 1926, in a 24-0 victory over the Rock Island Independents
Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...
).
Unlike half of their league opponents, the Quakers had no financial connection with league founders C. C. Pyle
C. C. Pyle
Charles C. "C. C." Pyle , often called Cash and Carry Pyle, was a Champaign, Illinois theater owner and sports agent who represented American football star Red Grange and French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen...
and Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
. In addition to having a championship team, the Quakers drew well in the stadium in the midst of the Sesquicentennial Exposition
Sesquicentennial Exposition
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition-History:The honor of hosting...
. When the fair ended (early November), the audience in the soon-to-be renamed Municipal Stadium diminished, but still drew well when the Quakers defeated 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...
13-7 on a Bob Dinsmore punt return that decided the game - and the league championship (November 27, 1926).
At the time of the championship-clinching game, the AFL had only four active teams (the Quakers, the Yankees, 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 the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls (AFL)
The Chicago Bulls were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Joey Sternaman , the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle and Red Grange as shareholders...
), three of which were being subsidized by C. C. Pyle and Red Grange. The latter three teams played games in the last two weeks of the season while the Quakers started challenging 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...
teams for a “pro football championship game.” The NFL champions Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford 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...
were the first to refuse, claiming that their postseason schedule had been already set. Additional challenges by the Quakers were unanswered until Tim Mara
Tim 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 seventh place 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...
, accepted the challenge, scheduling a game for December 12, 1926, at the 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...
.
As the Yankees and the Bulls were playing the AFL’s last official game (a 7-3 Yankees victory in Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
), the Quakers and the Giants were battling in front of 5000 fans in the middle of a driving snowstorm. While the score was only 3-0 at halftime, Quaker errors led to the Giants winning the game 31-0. Both the Quakers and the AFL were no more.
At the end of the season, Wilfred Smith of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
presented a combined NFL-AFL All Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
team in his column. Three Quakers were named to the second team: George Tully, Bull Behman
Bull Behman
Russell K. "Bull" Behman was a professional football player and coach in the early National Football League. He played at Dickinson College in 1922 and 1923, captaining the team in the latter year....
, and Al Kreuz
Al Kreuz
Albert F. Kreuz was an American football fullback. He played on the Philadelphia Quakers' 1926 American Football League team, which won the league's only championship....
.
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st | Bob Folwell Bob Folwell Robert Cook "Bob" Folwell, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College , Washington & Jefferson College , the University of Pennsylvania , and the United States Naval Academy , compiling a career college football record of... |
After the first AFL
Upon the completion of a New York YankeesNew 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...
7-3 victory over the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls (AFL)
The Chicago Bulls were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Joey Sternaman , the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle and Red Grange as shareholders...
in Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
on December 12, 1926, the first AFL was officially dead. The simultaneous 31-0 drubbing of the Quakers by 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 the 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...
left the AFL champions in a similar state.
It was, however, not the end of the professional football career for five Philadelphia Quakers. The following men were on rosters of NFL teams in the 1927 season
1927 NFL season
The 1927 NFL season was the 8th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, the league decided to eliminate the financially weaker teams. As a result, the league dropped from 22 to 12 teams, and a majority of the remaining teams were centered around the East Coast instead...
:
Bob Beattie
Bob Beattie
Robert Wetherson "Bob" Beattie was a professional American football player who played offensive tackle/defensive tackle in the American Football League and the National Football League . He played for the AFL's Philadelphia Quakers and the NFL's New York Yankees and Orange/Newark Tornadoes ....
– 1927 New York Yankees, 1929 Orange Tornadoes, 1930 Newark Tornadoes
Bull Behman
Bull Behman
Russell K. "Bull" Behman was a professional football player and coach in the early National Football League. He played at Dickinson College in 1922 and 1923, captaining the team in the latter year....
– 1927-31 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford 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...
(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....
1930-31)
Adrian Ford
Adrian Ford
Adrian Grainger Ford was a professional football player from Youngstown, Ohio. After going attending high school in Niles, Ohio; Ford attended and played college football for Lafayette College. He made his professional debut in the first American Football League, formed by Red Grange, in 1926 with...
– 1927 Pottsville Maroons
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...
, 1927 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Century Milstead
Century Milstead
Century Allen "Wally" Milstead was a collegiate and professional American football player. He played college football at Wabash College and at Yale University, where his play earned him All-America recognition....
– 1927-28 New York Giants
George Tully – 1927 Frankford Yellow Jackets
On the other hand, the pro football careers of several former NFL players ended with the 1926 Quakers:
Charlie Cartin – 1925 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Saville Crowther – 1925 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Doc Elliott
Doc Elliott
Wallace John "Doc" Elliott was an American football running back. He played five seasons in the National Football League for the Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs and the Cleveland Indians. During that time he won NFL Championships with Canton in 1922 and 1923, as well as a third with the...
– 1922-23 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...
, 1924-25 Cleveland Bulldogs
Cleveland Bulldogs
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...
Glenn Killinger
Glenn Killinger
William Glenn Killinger was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He letter in three sports at Pennsylvania State University, where he was an All-American in football in 1921...
– 1921 Canton Bulldogs, 1926 New York Giants
Johnny Schott – 1920-23 Buffalo All-Americans
Butch Spagna
Butch Spagna
Joseph "Butch" Spagna was a professional football player during the 1920s.-NFL and AFL experience:He played in the early National Football League for the Buffalo All-Americans, Cleveland Tigers and the Frankford Yellow Jackets...
– 1920 Cleveland Tigers, 1920-21 Buffalo All-Americans, 1924-25 Frankford Yellow Jackets
George Sullivan – 1924-25 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Whitey Thomas
Whitey Thomas
William C. "Whitey" Thomas was an American football end. At 5'10", 180 pounds, he played for the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1924 in the National Football League at the age of 29 and for the Philadelphia Quakers in 1926 in the first American Football League at the age of 31...
– 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets
Charlie Way – 1921 Canton Bulldogs, 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets
NOTE: Doc Elliott came out of retirement in 1931 to play for the Cleveland Indians
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...
.
Other Philadelphia Quakers teams
The Quakers name and history traces back to the Philadelphia QuakersUnion Quakers of Philadelphia
The Union Quakers of Philadelphia were a professional independent football team, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921. The team evolved from a number of pro players who played with the Union Club of Phoenixville during their 1920 season. During their only season of operation, the club won...
, who were operated by the Union Athletic Association
Union Club of Phoenixville
The Union Club of Phoenixville was a professional football team based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The team was the result of a 1919 merger between the Phoenixville Union Club and the upstart Phoenix Athletic Club. From 1907 until 1919, the Union Club was considered one of the best football teams...
of Phoenixville
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Philadelphia, at the junction of French Creek with the Schuylkill River. The population is 16,440 as of the 2010 Census.- History :...
and played one season under Conway's ownership in 1921. The Quakers of that year, who had a perfect season
Perfect Season
A perfect season is any sports season, excluding the playoff portion of a season, in which a team remains undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the collegiate level in the United States.A perfect season may...
and claimed the mythical national championship
Mythical National Championship
A mythical national championship is a colloquial term used to question the validity of national championship recognition that is not explicitly competitive...
under the "Union AA" name in 1920, took advantage of the Saturday game schedule required by Pennsylvania's blue laws
Blue Laws
The Blue Laws of the Colony of Connecticut, as distinct from the generic term "blue law" that refers to any laws regulating activities on Sunday, were the initial statutes set up by the Gov. Theophilus Eaton with the assistance of the Rev. John Cotton in 1655 for the Colony of New Haven, now part...
and would often "moonlight" the next day as members of the 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...
. The National Football League caught wind of this scheme and forced the moonlighting players to choose one team or the other. That team was poised to join 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...
in 1922, but for reasons unexplained remained independent and instead merged into the Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford 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...
that year.