The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...

, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the

Orlando Panthers The Orlando Panthers were a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1958 as the Franklin Miners, the team spent its first four years in the Eastern Football Conference, then three further years in the Atlantic Co ...

, when the team was based in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and

Andy Salata Andrew J. Salata (July 11, 1900 – July 1983) was a professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualif ...

in Newark.

History

Early years

The Orange Tornadoes can trace their roots back to the Orange Athletic Club. The Orange A.C. was originally an amateur football team that began play in 1887. The team's first ever game was a 36–0 loss to the

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

football team. By the 1890s the Orange became a

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

team. In 1892, the team practiced under electric lights at night to prepare for an October 8 game against

Rutgers College Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

. The Orange A. C. would go on to win that game 22–10. In 1893, the team won the

American Football Union The American Football Union (AFU) was a coalition of amateur, semi-professional, and collegiate club football teams that operated from 1886 to 1895 in the New York metropolitan area. Although the minor league was practically inconsequential and ob ...

Championship, after posting an 8–2 record. In 1902, the Orange A. C. played against

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

of the first National Football League. The team also played in World Series of Football in that year, at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. In 1902, Orange lost to All-Syracuse, 36–0. However, the team returned to the World Series of Football in 1903, when they played the

Watertown Red & Black The Watertown Red & Black is a semi-professional American football team based in Watertown, New York. The team is the oldest active semi-pro football team in the United States, and can trace its history to 1896, although the Professional Footba ...

and the eventual champion, the

Franklin Athletic Club The Franklin Athletic Club was an early professional football team based in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It was considered the top team in professional football in 1903, by becoming the US Football Champions and winning the 1903 World Series of Fo ...

. Orange lost to Watertown, 11–0, and to Franklin, 12–0. However, it did manage to defeat the Oreo Athletic Club of Asbury Park, 22–0.

Pre-NFL

The Orange team became an established independent pro team from 1919 until 1928, under the nickname the Orange AC Golden Tornadoes. During this time, Orange defeated the

New York Brickley Giants The New York Giants (informally known as Brickley's Giants and Brickley's New York Giants) were a professional American football team with the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League) whose only season played ...

of the NFL. They also played pre-NFL versions of the

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets wo ...

and the

Staten Island Stapletons The Staten Island Stapletons, also known as the Staten Island Stapes, were a professional American football team. Founded in 1915, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1929 in sports, 1929 to 1932 in sports, 1932. The team was ...

. They also played against the

Atlantic City Roses The Melrose Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey from 1921 until around 1927. The club which was also known as the Atlantic City Shore Roses and the Atlantic City Atlantics was arguably the most popul ...

and the

Millville Big Blue Millville Football & Athletic Club also known as the Millville Big Blue was a professional football team based in Millville, New Jersey from 1921 until around 1928. The team won the mythical "Pro Football Championship of New Jersey" in 1923 and ag ...

, two of the top independent teams of the 1920s. By 1928, Orange held the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and Frankford Yellow Jackets to close scores. On September 16, 1928, Orange held the 1927 NFL Champion New York Giants to just a 7–0 victory. A week earlier the NFL's previous champions, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, were held to a 12–0 victory. Orange showed that their team could compete in the NFL. While the Golden Tornadoes played in Orange, a separate

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

played in the original

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

in the 1926 season in Newark, unrelated to the Tornadoes team that would later take on that identity. That Newark Bears club was later absorbed into the

1929 season

In 1929

Ole Haugsrud Oluf Roy Haugsrud (May 13, 1899 – March 13, 1976) was an American sports executive. Haugsrud was born in Superior, Wisconsin. Haugsrud was owner of the Duluth Eskimos of the National Football League (NFL) in the late-1920s. His signing of Ern ...

, the owner of

Duluth Eskimos The Duluth Eskimos were a professional football team from Duluth, Minnesota in the National Football League (NFL). After spending most of their time as a traveling team, they withdrew from the league after the 1927 season. A distinction of the ...

, sold his NFL franchise rights for the Eskimos to Piggy Simandl, a wholesale meat salesman and sports promoter from Orange, who named his franchise the Orange Tornadoes. The Tornadoes played their home games at Knights of Columbus Stadium. The first game for the new team was a scoreless tie against the

on September 29, 1929. A week later the team recorded its first NFL win by defeating the Boston Bulldogs 7–0. The victory came off a short George Pease pass to Paul Longua, who ran 60 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. However, the following week, Orange experienced its first NFL loss in a 7–0 defeat to the 1928 NFL Champions, the Providence Steamroller. The team regrouped on October 19, 1929, and the Tornandoes held the Frankford Yellow Jackets to a 6–6 tie at

Frankford Stadium Frankford Stadium, also known as Yellow Jacket Field, was a football field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was the home of the Frankford Yellow Jackets football team of the National Football League, which predated the Philadelphia Eagles. T ...

. A week later the team rallied from a 13–0 deficit to defeat the Boston Bulldogs, 19–13. On October 29, 1929, the Bulldogs and Tornadoes met again to play, in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is a city and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the wes ...

. Prior to 1929, the Bulldogs played as the

Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Bost ...

and the teams played for their still loyal fans at the Maroons'

Minersville Park Minersville Park was an American football stadium in Minersville, Pennsylvania, near Pottsville. History and notable features This field was located where the current Kings Village Plaza is located on Route 901 in Minersville. It is most notabl ...

. This time however, the Tornadoes lost 6–0 by way of a 4-yard touchdown run from Boston's Tony Latone. On October 3, the Tornadoes held the

to a scoreless tie at Thompson Stadium. During that game the Stapletons were within scoring distance three times, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Tornadoes only penetrated the Staten Island 20-yard line once. The Orange then lost a rematch against the New York Giants, 22–0, a week later. But after a scoreless tie against Frankford, the Orange defeated the Staten Island Stapletons 3–0, due to a Felix McCormick

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

. However, the next game, against 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 ...

, resulted in a 26–0 Tornadoes loss. The Cardinals, led by

Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), nicknamed "Big Dog", was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th century, ...

, put up 20 points in the second quarter of the game. The Tornadoes then ended their 1929 season with a 10–0 loss to Frankford. They finished with a 3–5–4 record, scoring 35 points, while giving up 80.

1930

The team's fortune in the NFL changed for the worse after it moved to Newark in 1930. During the team's time in Newark, it played its home games at

Newark Schools Stadium Newark Schools Stadium (originally named City Field, nicknamed "The Old Lady of Bloomfield Avenue") is the name of two stadiums that were both located on Bloomfield Avenue between Abington and Roseville Avenues in the Roseville section of Newark, ...

. Head coach Jack Depler defected to buy 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, Trian ...

, moving that team to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and transforming that team into the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

. He took most of the members of the 1929 Tornadoes with him. Meanwhile, the Tornadoes went through three coaches during the 1930 season, and the team's only victory during the 1930 season was against the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The last game for the Newark Tornadoes was against the New York Giants, a 34–7 loss on October 29, 1930. The franchise ended league play after the 1930 season and was sold back to the NFL. The league ordered the franchise sold to the highest bidder prior to the 1931 season, but there were no takers, and a league-owned

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

assumed the Tornadoes' place in the NFL for that season. In 1932, a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based group headed by

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American professional American football, football executive who founded the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Commanders. The team began play as the Boston Braves in ...

won a new NFL franchise. The new team would be named the Boston Braves, now the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

. Strong circumstantial evidence indicates that Marshall's group was awarded the remains of the failed Newark organization. The NFL's decision to auction off the Tornadoes to the highest bidder indicated its intent to replace the franchise, and Marshall's group was the next to receive a franchise (though the league had temporarily added a league-owned franchise, the

, to fill the Tornadoes' position in 1931). Additionally, Eskimos owner Haugsrud recalled in 1974 letter to

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

that the Eskimos franchise was transferred to New Jersey before being transferred to Boston. However, the NFL considers the Commanders to be a 1932 expansion team and not a continuation of the Tornadoes, just as it does not consider the Tornadoes to be a continuation of the Eskimos. Likewise, the Commanders do not claim the Tornadoes or Eskimos (nor the Indians) as part of their own legacy.

Tornadoes and Bears in the American Association

Though the NFL franchise had moved to Newark, owner Edwin Simandl had kept a barebones organization back in Orange, just in case the NFL Tornadoes failed. When they did, he moved as many players as he could from the Newark squad back to Orange. The minor league Tornadoes played in various leagues, including the American Association, of which it was a charter member. The Orange Tornadoes moved back to Newark in 1937 and were eventually bought by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. Playing under the name Newark Bears (a name previously used by the

of the 1926 American Football League), the team played in the AA through 1941. The team did not return after World War II; instead,

took what was left of the team and split it into the Newark Bombers and the Akron Bears. The Bloomfield Cardinals replaced both teams in 1947. The NFL severed ties with all minor league teams in 1948.

Uniforms

In 1929, Orange experimented with using letters instead of numbers on player jerseys;

Heinie Benkert Henry Marvin "Heinie" Benkert (June 30, 1901 – July 15, 1972) was an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, where he won the unofficial collegiate scoring crown as a senior, an ...

, for example, wore the letter "C" on his uniform.Daly, Dan
''The National Forgotten League: Entertaining Stories and Observations from Pro Football's First Fifty Years''
p. 38.

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...

, 2012. . Accessed January 17, 2018. "Case in point: the 1929 Orange Tornadoes. The Tornadoes didn't wear numbers on their jerseys, they wore letters. Here's their lineup for the first of two games against the Frankford Yellow Jackets:... C - Heinie Benkert, B, Rutgers"

Season-by-season

*A complete game-by-game record to 1937 can be foun
here

References

Sources

HickokSports.com1929 NFL season
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20101127050929/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/10-04-342.pdf In the Same Leaguebr>Uniform Numbers of the NFLDiscussion of Newark and Orlando in the Continental Football League
from the

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orange Newark Tornadoes American football teams established in 1929 American football teams disestablished in 1969 Defunct NFL teams Sports in Newark, New Jersey Continental Football League teams World Series of Football (1902–03) Orange, New Jersey 1929 establishments in New Jersey 1969 disestablishments in Florida American Association (American football) teams