The Newark Bears were a professional

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 wi ...

team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926 AFL season. Owned by the New Jersey Athletic Association (headed by NJAA president William Coughlin), the Bears played their home games in Davids' Stadium. Coached by

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Hal Hansen Harlan C. Hansen (September 3, 1892 – September 8, 1977) was an American football player who played with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to playing professionally, Hansen played college football at the Unive ...

, the majority of the team played their college football in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Tailback

Doug Wycoff Stephen Douglas Wycoff (September 16, 1903 – October 27, 1981) was an American football running back for the New York Giants, Staten Island Stapletons, and Boston Redskins in the National Football League (NFL), the Newark Bears in the fi ...

scored the club’s only points in its existence, having a touchdown run and kicking the

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

to tie the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

in both teams’ opening game of the season. While the Bears’ defense was respectable (yielding only five points per game), the lack of offensive production resulted in a record of no wins, three losses, and two ties. While the Bears played in front of (an announced total of) 40,000 spectators in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

(a 9-0 loss to the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

on October 16), the total attendance for three home games in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

was less than 5000. After only 400 fans attended a scoreless game (with the Rock Island Independents) in Davids’ Stadium on October 24, 1926, the Bears withdrew from the AFL… the first team to call it quits in the American Football League. The exodus from the league continued through the month of November, until there were only four teams left, dooming the league. For the team's last league game, the name of the team was changed to the Newark Demons.

Takeover by the Staten Island Stapletons

After its withdrawal from the AFL, the Bears became an independent team. During a November 14, 1926 game against the

Staten Island Stapletons The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1932. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten ...

, the Bears defeated the Stapes, 33-0. Unhappy with the defeat of his Staten Island team, owner Dan Blaine promptly hired most of the Newark players, including star rookie Doug Wycoff, who were still owed money because of Newark's financial problems. As a result, the Bears went out of business while the Stapletons benefited from Newark's folding. In 1928, Blaine further upgraded the team by signing some players from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. The Stapletons had a 10-1-1 record that season and were 3-1 against NFL teams. The Stapletons then joined the NFL in 1929 and would play there until 1932.

After the first AFL

After the dissolution of the Newark Bears on October 24, 1926, guard Art McManus returned to his hometown Boston to play with the Boston for the remainder of the season. While his major league football career ended with the folding of the Bulldogs three weeks later, the career of the only person to score points for the Bears,

extended beyond the end of the AFL, joining the New York Giants for the 1927 season.David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, ''The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football, From 1892 to the Present'' (St. Martin’s Press 1994), Wycoff later played for the 1927 New York Giants, 1929–30 Staten Island Stapletons, 1931 New York Giants, 1932 Staten Island Stapletons, and the 1934

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won fi ...

of the National Football League. He came out of retirement in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

to play for the Boston Shamrocks in the second American Football League. While Wycoff was the only member of the 1926 Newark Bears playing in the NFL in 1927, four of his Newark teammates eventually joined NFL rosters: Orin Rice – 1929 New York Giants
Sammy Stein – 1929-30

, 1931 New York Giants, and 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers

Cy Williams Frederick "Cy" Williams (December 21, 1887 – April 23, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs (1912–17) and Philadelphia Phillies (1918–30). As Major L ...

– 1929-30 Staten Island Stapletons, 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers

Ike Williams Isiah "Ike" Williams (August 2, 1923 – September 5, 1994) was a lightweight world boxing champion. He took the World Lightweight Championship in April 1945 and made eight successful defenses of the title against six different fighters prior to ...

– 1929 Staten Island Stapletons

References

{{Staten Island Stapletons American Football League (1926) teams American football teams established in 1926 American football teams disestablished in 1926 Sports in Newark, New Jersey Staten Island Stapletons Defunct American football teams in New Jersey 1926 establishments in New Jersey 1926 disestablishments in New Jersey

Takeover by the Staten Island Stapletons

After the first AFL

See also

References