The 1926 AFL season was the only season 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 (December 14, 1926), only four teams were still in existence: three teams owned or subsidized by league founder C. C. Pyle and star Red Grange (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Chicago Bulls) and league champion Philadelphia Quakers. The initial lineup of teams included the traveling Wildcats and a charter member of the National Football League, the Rock Island Independents, which became a second traveling team after having poor attendance in its first three games.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),
Most AFL games were defensive affairs, with only New York and the Cleveland Panthers averaging more than 10 points of offense per contest. The majority of scoring was by either placement or drop kick; Chicago's Joey Sternaman scored 52 of the team's total of 88 (60% of Chicago’s points), but that was not the largest share of team points in the AFL of 1926: Newark's Doug Wycoff had his team's entire point total for the year when he scored a touchdown and kicked the extra point in the Bears' first game.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),
While Philadelphia and New York were consistently playing in front of crowds of at least 20,000 per game, the rest of the league was not so fortunate. While crowds of more than 10,000 attended games in Fenway Park and Comiskey Park in September and October, crowds in other AFL cities were consistently much smaller: Rock Island (Moline, Illinois) struggled to draw 5000 into its home stadium; Newark did not have a total of 5000 in its three home games combined. Competing against the Brooklyn Lions of the National Football League, the Brooklyn Horsemen called it quits in November and merged with its NFL brethren. As the AFL decreased in size in October and November, so did the attendance figures in Philadelphia, the only team in the AFL reported to have made a profit.
Two weeks after clinching the AFL championship, the Philadelphia Quakers played an exhibition game with the NFL's sixth place team, the New York Giants, in a driving snowstorm at the Polo Grounds. Only 5000 hardy fans witnessed the home team's 31-0 whitewash of the AFL titlists. While the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Wildcats went on a barnstorming tour, the rest of the American Football League folded.
League standings
TeamWLTPct.PFPAHead CoachDavis 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) Philadelphia Quakers820.8009352 Bob Folwell New York Yankees1050.66721282 Ralph Scott Cleveland Panthers320.6006246 Ray Watts Los Angeles Wildcats662.50010583 Jim Clark Chicago Bulls563.4558869 Joey Sternaman Boston Bulldogs240.3332081 Herb Treat Rock Island Independents261.25021126 Johnny Armstrong Brooklyn Horsemen130.2502568 Eddie McNeeley Newark Bears032.000726 Harold Hansen
League Games
Week One
Cleveland Panthers 10, New York Yankees 0 September 26, 1926 – Luna Bowl, Cleveland, Ohio (attendance 22,000) The opening game of the league designed to showcase Red Grange and his New York Yankees resulted in complete domination by the host Cleveland Panthers, with a 10-0 score. While the visitors were kept out of the end zone, a pass from Al Michaels to Dave Noble and a field goal by Doc Elliott provided all the points for the Panthers, which used mostly players who were members of the 1925 Cleveland Bulldogs NFL team., citing The New York Times
Rock Island Independents 7, Los Angeles Wildcats 3 September 26, 1926 – Browning Field, Moline, Illinois (attendance 2500) A charter member of the National Football League opened its initial season in a new AFL as the host Rock Island Independents defeated Wildcat Wilson's traveling squad, the Los Angeles Wildcats, 7-3. An 18-yard field goal by Jim Lawson put L.A. on the board in the first quarter, but Rock Island took the lead in the second quarter with a short touchdown run by quarterback Johnny Armstrong, who had set up the play with a long pass to Wes Bradshaw., citing Rock Island Argus
Chicago Bulls 7, Newark Bears 7 September 26, 1926 – Davids' Stadium, Newark, New Jersey (attendance 2000) The Chicago Bulls and the host Newark Bears played in the AFL’s first tie game, 7-7. The visiting Bulls started the game with a dominating drive with a 40-yard run by owner/coach/quarterback Joey Sternaman, a pass to Eddie Anderson, and a five-yard touchdown run by Buck White. After a first half of frustration, Newark's Doug Wycoff gained 60 yards in a drive which resulted in a Wycoff touchdown plunge and a Wycoff extra point to tie the game. No one knew it at the time, but it proved to be the only points that the Bears would score in its short AFL history., citing New York Times
Week Two
Philadelphia Quakers 9, Chicago Bulls 3 October 2, 1926 – Sesquicentennial Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (attendance 8000) Making their debut in the AFL with the first of six consecutive Saturday home games (Pennsylvania's Blue Laws prohibited games on Sunday), the Philadelphia Quakers defeated the visiting Chicago Bulls 9-3, in which all the points in the game were scored by field goals. An interception by the Bulls' Johnny Mohardt set up Joey Sternaman's drop kick for Chicago's only points in the game, while the Quakers' Al Kreuz placekicked three field goals of his own., citing Chicago Tribune
New York Yankees 26, Rock Island Independents 0 October 3, 1926 – Douglas Park, Rock Island, Illinois (attendance 5000) Despite the Rock Island Independents' outplaying the visiting team, a muddy field and a slew of Rock Island penalties led to the New York Yankees posting a 26-0 shutout. Although Red Grange's team scored a touchdown in each quarter, the Yankees racked up a total of four first downs in the game. Grange scored two TDs (a 20-yard run and catching a 15-yard pass from George Pease), and Harry Fry (an 82-yard interception return) and Pooley Hubert (five-yard run) scored one touchdown each.
Cleveland Panthers 17, Los Angeles Wildcats 14 October 3, 1926 – Luna Park, Cleveland (no attendance report) After the traveling Los Angeles Wildcats scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to take the lead, the host Cleveland Panthers beat the visitors 17-14 on a 40-yard pass from Al Michaels to Cookie Cunningham. The winning touchdown was the duo's second touchdown of the game. After Doc Elliott dropkicked a field goal in the first quarter, Cunningham's first touchdown staked the Panthers to a 10-0 lead in the third frame. Touchdowns by Wildcat Wilson (a run) and John Vesser (a pass from Wilson) gave the Wildcats a short-lived lead., citing Canton Repository
Boston Bulldogs 3, Newark Bears 0 October 3, 1926 – Davids' Stadium, Newark, New Jersey (attendance 1000) The Boston Bulldogs became the last AFL team to play its inaugural game by beating the host Newark Bears, 3-0, on a 40-yard field goal by Erwin Gehrke in the fourth quarter. The Bears lost its sole source of offense when back Doug Wycoff was injured in the team's first game and was limited to a mere few minutes in this match. The Bulldogs' offense was just as ineffectual until Gehrke's deciding kick.
Brooklyn Horsemen 12, Chicago Bulls 7 October 3, 1926 – Commercial Field, Brooklyn, New York (attendance 10,000) One day after losing to Philadelphia, the visiting Chicago Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Horsemen, 12-7. The Bears had the first score of the game, a run by Joey Sternaman in the second quarter, before the Horsemen had touchdowns by Earl Britton (a run) and Ed Harrison (a 60-yard pass from Sternaman) in the second half to seize the lead.
Week Three
Philadelphia Quakers 3, Los Angeles Wildcats 0 October 9, 1926 – Sesquicentennial Stadium, Philadelphia (attendance 35,000) For the second straight Saturday, the Philadelphia Quakers kept the visiting team from their end zone as they prevailed over the Los Angeles Wildcats, 3-0, and for the second consecutive game, all of the Quakers' points were scored by Al Kreuz. Wildcat Wilson's running, passing, and kicking for his traveling squad dominated the game, but each time Los Angeles threatened to score, the Quakers' defense stopped the Wildcats. The deciding field goal was the culmination of a sequence of events that began with a failed 55-yard field goal attempt by Kreuz. While the kick fell short, the Quakers' Whitey Thomas downed the ball at the one-yard line. Wilson was forced to punt from his end zone; Philadelphia resumed possession of the ball on the Los Angeles side of the field, ultimately resulting in a successful 28 yard placekick by Kreuz., citing Philadelphia Public Ledger
New York Yankees 13, Boston Bulldogs 0 October 9, 1926 – Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts (attendance 12,000) Professional football makes its debut at the fabled Fenway as the host Boston Bulldogs were shut out by the visiting New York Yankees, 13-0, despite Red Grange spending most of the second half on the New York bench. Eddie Tryon had a long touchdown run in the second quarter, while Bullet Baker caught a touchdown pass from George Pease in the fourth. Boston's offense may have been weak, but its defense, led by Bulger Lowe, kept the Bulldogs in the game for most of the game., citing Boston Sunday Post
Rock Island Independents 7, Chicago Bulls 3 October 10, 1926 – Browning Park, Moline, Illinois (attendance 1700) No one knew it at the time, but an era was coming to an end as the home Rock Island Independents combined effective passing by Johnny Mohardt and rushing by Marty Norton to defeat the visiting Chicago Bulls, 7-3. Joey Sternaman put the first points on the board by a dropkicked field goal after Chicago end intercepted a Mohardt pass in the second quarter; Norton scored the game's lone touchdown in the fourth.
Citing low attendance, Independents owner Arch Bowlby announced that Rock Island would become a traveling team, and the team's future would depend upon its performance and results on the road. In addition, center Lou Kolis retired after the game to concentrate on his campaign for sheriff. Kolis had played more games for the Independents than any other player., citing Rock Island Argus
Los Angeles Wildcats 23, Brooklyn Horsemen 0 October 10, 1926 – Commercial Field, Brooklyn, New York (attendance 6000) After three weeks of futility, the team without a home field, the Los Angeles Wildcats, routed the host Brooklyn Horsemen, 23-0. Rushes by Duke Morrison and Wildcat Wilson produced touchdowns, as did a pass from Wilson to Ed Illman. The Wildcats' Ray Flaherty also had a 50-yard catch against the Horsemen's overmatched defense.
Cleveland Panthers at Newark Bears, cancelled Game scheduled for October 10, 1926, at Davids' Stadium, Newark, was cancelled due to driving rain. - Pro Football Researchers Association
Week Four
Philadelphia Quakers 9, Newark Bears 0