The 1920 Cleveland Tigers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the

American Professional Football Association The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

(APFA) and fifth total as an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team. The Tigers entered the season coming off a 5-win, 2-loss, 2-tie (5–2–2) record in 1919. After the 1919 season, several representatives from the Ohio League, a loose organization of professional football teams, wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created. The Tigers opened the season with a 0–0

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * Ti ...

against the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

, en route to a 2–4–2 record, which placed the team 10th in the final standings. In week 8, the Tigers scored 7 points against the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...

, which was the only points Akron allowed all season. The sportswriter Bruce Copeland compiled the 1920 All-Pro list, but no players from the Tigers were on it. As of 2012, no player from the 1920 Tigers roster has been enshrined in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

Offseason

The Cleveland Tigers finished 5–2–2 in their 1919 season in the Ohio League. After the 1919 season, representatives of four Ohio League teams—the

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 the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

, the Tigers, the

, and the

—called a meeting on August 20, 1920, to discuss the formation of a new league. At the meeting, they tentatively agreed on a salary cap and pledged not to sign college players or players already under contract with other teams. They also agreed on a name for the circuit: the American Professional Football Conference. They then invited other professional teams to a second meeting on September 17. At the second meeting, held at Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay's Hupmobile showroom in Canton, representatives of the

Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...

, the

Muncie Flyers The Muncie Flyers, known as the Congerville Flyers for most of their existence, were a professional American football team from Muncie, Indiana, that played from 1905 to 1926. The Flyers were an independent squad for most of their existence, but ...

, the

Decatur Staleys Decatur may refer to a number of places, streets, military establishments, schools, and others mostly named after Stephen Decatur: Places in the United States * Decatur, Alabama, county seat of Morgan County ** Decatur metropolitan area, Alabam ...

, the Racine Cardinals, the Massillon Tigers, the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

, and the

Hammond Pros The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team. History The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. Young, a boxing promoter and owner of ...

agreed to join the league. Representatives of the

Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from ...

and Rochester Jeffersons could not attend the meeting, but sent letters to Hay asking to be included in the league. Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president. Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed, so there were no minimum or maximum number of games needed to be played. Also, representatives of each team voted to determine the winner of the APFA trophy.

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 3: at Dayton Triangles

''October 10, 1920, at Triangle Park'' In their opening game of the 1920 season, the Tigers played the Dayton Triangles. The Triangles were coming off a historic game; it was the first match between two APFA teams. No team scored in this game, and it ended in a 0–0 tie.

Week 4: at Canton Bulldogs

''October 17, 1920, at Lakeside Park'' The Tigers next faced the Canton Bulldogs, which would be the Bulldogs' first APFA opponent. The Tigers lost 7–0 before a crowd of 7,000 people. The Bulldogs' offense had 15 first downs, and the only score of the game came when the Bulldogs'

Ike Martin Isaac Roy Martin (July 15, 1887 – July 20, 1979) was a professional American football player and coach of football and basketball. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Canton Bulldogs in 1920. Martin served as ...

had a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

of the Bulldogs, who would later be enshrined in the

, made his season debut in the game, coming in as a substitute in the fourth quarter.

Week 5: at Akron Pros

''October 24, 1920, at League Park'' The Akron Pros were the Tigers' next opponent. Playing in front of 6,000 fans, the game was called a "punting duel" by the '' Youngstown Vindicator''. The only score came from a

punt block In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final d ...

by Akron's Bob Nash in the first quarter. Nash grabbed the ball from the Tigers' punter, Stan Cofall, on the 8-yard line and ran in for the score. With an extra point from Charlie Copley, the Pros defeated the Tigers 7–0 to keep their undefeated season alive. During the game, injuries for both teams occurred. Pollard of the Pros dislocated his right shoulder, and Toughey Conn for the Tigers injured his right leg in the fourth quarter.

Week 6: vs. Columbus Panhandles

''October 31, 1920, at League Park'' In week 6, the Tigers played against the Columbus Panhandles. In front of 5,000 fans, the Tigers won 7–0. The lone score came from a rushing touchdown in the second quarter from Charlie Brickley. This was the eighth straight loss for the Panhandles, dating back to 1919, and the seventh straight without scoring. According to football historian Chris Willis, this loss for the Panhandles crushed the city of Columbus and made the Panhandles challenge lesser teams for the rest of the season.

Week 7: vs. Canton Bulldogs

''November 7, 1920, at Dunn Field'' Tigers' next game was played against the Canton Bulldogs, who were coming off their first loss of the season. Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs ran for two touchdowns in the second. Calac and Grigg had 6- and 15-yard rushing touchdowns. The Bulldogs' defense forced two safeties—one in the third and one in the fourth quarter—to win the game 18–0.

Week 8: vs. Akron Pros

''November 14, 1920, at Dunn Park,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

'' In week eight, the Tigers had a rematch with the Pros. Playing in front of 8,000 fans, the Pros allowed their first and only points of the year from a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mark Devlin to

Tuffy Conn George Washington "Tuffy" Conn (February 22, 1892 – August 2, 1973) was a professional American football player who played in 1920 for the Cleveland Tigers and the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association (renamed the Natio ...

and an extra point by

Al Pierotti Albert Felix Pierotti (October 24, 1895 – February 12, 1964) was a professional American football center and Major League Baseball pitcher. Football career Pierotti played in the American Professional Football League with the Akron Pros, Clev ...

in the third quarter. Pollard had a 20-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and Copley made an extra point to tie the game at 7–7, making it the second tie of the season for the Tigers.

Week 9: vs. Toledo Maroons

''November 21, 1920, at Dunn Field, Cleveland, Ohio'' The

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. History Or ...

were the Tigers' next opponent. The Maroons were an independent team but joined the APFA in 1922. Prior to this game, the Maroons did not score a point against an APFA tem all season, and that streak continued into this game. In the first quarter, Baston blocked a kick and ran it for a touchdown. He would later score the game's final points in the fourth as he caught a receiving touchdown from Pierotti. The final score of the game was a 14–0 victory for the Tigers.

Week 10: at Buffalo All-Americans

''November 28, 1920, at Buffalo Baseball Park'' In their final game of the 1920 season, the Tigers played against the Buffalo All-Americans, who were coming off their first loss of the season. The '' Public Ledger'' called the game "scrappy"; most forward passes were blocked, and neither team's offense was productive. A total of 5,000 fans showed up to the game. The All-Americans had possession on the 5-yard line and the 1-foot line, but the Tigers' defense stopped them. The only score of the game came in the third quarter. Anderson scored an 8-yard rushing touchdown.

Post-season

Due to several losses, the Tigers did not contend for the APFA trophy in 1920. The Tigers' performance of 2–4–2 would be the team's best before folding in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

. Sportswriter Bruce Copeland compiled the 1920 All Pro team, but no players made the list. As of 2012, no players from the 1920 Dayton Triangles were enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Roster

Bert Baston Albert Preston Baston (December 3, 1894 – November 16, 1979) was an American football player for the University of Minnesota, where he was an All-American and one of the first great catchers of the forward pass. He was awarded the Navy Cross fo ...

LOE-DE *

Harry Baujan Harry Clifford "Blond Beast" Baujan (May 24, 1894 – December 30, 1976) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Dayton fro ...

ROE-DE *

George Brickley George Vincent Brickley (July 19, 1894 – February 23, 1947) was professional athlete that competed in baseball and American football. In baseball, he played as an outfielder in the majors for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1913. He later play ...

TB-DB * Jim Bryant BB-DB * Stan Cofall TB-DB * George Conn TB-DB *

Earl Cramer Earl Edward Cramer (December 2, 1896 – June 1, 1962) was a professional football player with the Akron Pros (renamed the Akron Indians in 1926) and the Cleveland Tigers of the National Football League. In 1923, he served as a player-coach for ...

FB-LB * Mark Devlin BB-DB *

Dinger Doane Erling Eugene "Dinger" Doane (October 14, 1893 – June, 1948) was an American football player. He excelled at football at Somerville High School from 1912 to 1914 before being a standout at Tufts University where he scored a touchdown in Tufts ...

FB-LB * Moon Ducote WB-DB *

Johnny Gilroy John Roland Gilroy (March 5, 1896 – July 20, 1952), also known as "the Great Gilroy", was an All-American football halfback for Georgetown University and a professional football player for the Canton Bulldogs (1920), Cleveland Tigers (1920), ...

BB-DB * Tom Gormley LOG-DG *

John Haggerty John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

ROG-DG * Charlie Hastings WB-DB * Pat Herron E * George Kerr LOT-DT * Phil Marshall ROE-DE * Joey Mattern TB-DB * Jack O'Hearn ROT-DT * Irving Pearlman ROT-DT * Leo Petree TB-DB *

C-MG * Frank Rydzewski C-MG * Herb Sies ROT-DT *

Joe Spagna Joseph "Butch" Spagna (May 15, 1897 – December 11, 1948) was a professional football player during the 1920s. NFL and AFL experience He played in the early National Football League (called the American Professional Football Association unti ...

LOT-DT * Ed Stahl ROG-DG * Claude Thornhill LOT-DT *

Ray Trowbridge Raymond Gerard Trowbridge (August 27, 1896 – October 3, 1962)
was a professional

ROE-DE *

Al Wesbecher Aloysius Augustus Wesbecher (November 3, 1892 – March 27, 1966) was a professional American football player for the Cleveland Tigers (NFL), Cleveland Tigers of the American Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football ...

C-MG "1920 Cleveland Tigers (APFA)"
The Pro Football Archives. Maher Sports Media. Retrieved December 7, 2012

Standings

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1920 Cleveland Tigers (Nfl) Season Cleveland Indians (NFL) seasons Cleveland Tigers Cleveland Tig