The Syracuse Braves 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 second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Coached by Don Irwin and

Red Badgro Morris Hiram "Red" Badgro (December 1, 1902 – July 13, 1998) was an American football player and football coach who also played professional baseball. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. A native of Orillia, Washingto ...

, the Braves played in Municipal Stadium, which had a capacity of only about 10,000 people. The team was not a strong draw as it lost its first five games, prompting a search for a new home, including

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, before settling upon a move to Rochester. On October 25, 1936, a 16–7 victory over the Boston Shamrocks in

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...

provided the franchise its first win in its last game as the Syracuse Braves. The following week would see the newly renamed Rochester Braves face the Shamrocks in a rematch in Silver Stadium. The second half was delayed 40 minutes by Braves players demanding back pay. The game was finished; the Braves lost, 13–0; the franchise folded immediately afterward. Coach Don Irwin joined the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

, while co-coach Red Badgro returned to the NFL's

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

to finish the season.NFL Competitors 1926–1975
– Stephen Hensley, Professional Football Researchers Association (1981) Two weeks later, another AFL team made the trek to Silver Stadium to call it home: the Brooklyn Tigers, having spent most of the 1936 season as a traveling team, became Rochester's third professional football team and continued as the Rochester Tigers in 1937.

References

American Football League (1936) teams Braves Sports in Rochester, New York American football teams established in 1936 American football teams disestablished in 1937 1936 establishments in New York (state) 1937 disestablishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-sport-team-stub