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NFL Cleveland Indians

Frank Fleming
Author: 
Frank Fleming
5 mins
October 31st, 2023
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  • First Game Played October 10, 1920

  • Last Game Played December 11, 1921

Historical Moments

1916-1919:Cleveland Indians football team was formed in 1916 when Peggy Parratt along with several members of the Akron Indians and Massillon Tigers formed a team in Cleveland sharing the name of the city’s baseball team, with whom they would also show a ballpark. Despite a loaded team, the Indians failed to win the Ohio League, losing twice to the Canton Bulldogs. The team was reorganized in 1919 and became the Cleveland Tigers under the leadership of Jimmy O’Donnell.

1920:The Cleveland Tigers were one of 14 charter members of the American Professional Football Association that was founded after a meeting in Canton at Bulldogs Owner Ralph Hay’s Hupmobile showroom. The Tigers first game would come on October 10th against the Dayton Triangles, ending in a scoreless tie. The Tigers would drop their next two games against the Canton Bulldogs and Akron Pros by twin scores of 7-0. The Tigers were forced to start the season on the road, as the Baseball Cleveland Indians were winning their first World Series, finally getting a home game the Tigers got on the scoreboard and got a win, beating the Columbus Panhandles 7-0 on a score by Charlie Brickley. However a week later they were blanked again by the Canton Bulldogs, losing 18-0. The Tigers would score against the Akron Pros, playing the eventual champions to a 7-7 tie. Following a 14-7 win over the Toledo Maroons, the Tigers finished the season with a 7-0 loss to the Buffalo All-Americans, finishing the season with a record of 2-4-2, playing one of the toughest schedules in the first year of the APFA, with just one non-league game.

1921:The Cleveland Tigers would once again become the Cleveland Indians thanks to the signings of Jim Thorpe and Joe Guyton. Led by Thorpe the Indians showed improvement right away, winning their first two games, a 35-9 win over the Columbus Panhandles and a 28-0 blanking of the Cincinnati Celts. However, in the win over Cincinnati, Jim Thorpe injured his ribs, and was sidelined more than a month. While Thorpe was out of action, the Indians struggled losing four straight. Jim Thorpe would return for a 17-0 win over the New York Brickley Giants, but the Indians would suffer a loss and a tie in their final two games, failing to score in each as they finished the season with a record of 3-5. After the season Owner Jimmy O’Donnell received permission to suspend operations, when he could not make a payment of $1,000 he would lose the franchise. A separate Indians team would come into existence in 1923 and merge with the Canton Bulldogs a year later. Following that team’s folding a third Indians team would play in Cleveland in1931 for one season. In 1937 Cleveland would get another team called the Rams in 1937 that team would play in Cleveland until 1945 when it moved to Los Angeles after winning a NFL Championship. A year later in a new league called the AAFC the Cleveland Browns would be born. They would win all four AAFC titles before joining the NFL in 1950.

  • First Game Played September 13, 1931

  • Last Game Played November 28, 1931

Historical Moments

1931:After the Newark Tornadoes left the NFL, the league was looking for a team to replace them. The idea was at first to bring a team back to Cleveland. The NFL was founded by the Ohio League and its early years were dominated by teams from the Buckeye State. However, 11 years later there were no teams left in Ohio. The team would be called the Cleveland Indians, borrowing from the baseball team whose stadium they shared, and it was owned and operated by the NFL while new permanent owners were sought. It was the third NFL team in Cleveland each at one time used the name Indians. The first team went by the name Tigers in its first season than became the Indians in its final season in 1921. The next team was the Indians in 1923 and then became the Bulldogs after a merger with Canton in 1924. This was Cleveland’s third try and the NFL. Since there was no owner the Indians would play all but two games on the road, becoming a traveling team, opening the season on September 13th with a 26-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Following a 21-0 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Indians would play their first home game beating the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-0. Following a 13-0 loss to the Portsmouth Spartans the Indians got a second win, beating the Providence Steam Roller 13-6. The Indians would lose their final five games, including a 28-0 loss to the Chicago Cardinals to finish the season on November 28th. Following their 2-8 season, the NFL would let go of searching for a new owner in Cleveland, and sold the franchise rights to George Preston Marshall who would get operate his new team the Boston Braves as an expansion franchise separate from Newark and Cleveland. The Braves would go on to become the Boston Redskins, while Cleveland got another team in 1936 called the Rams who would stay in Cleveland a decade before being chased out when the Cleveland Browns and the AAFC were born.

Stadiums

Players

Charlie Brickley

1920

Joe Guyon

1921

Jim Thorpe

1921

Algy Clark

1931

Dale Waters

1931

Hoge Workman

1931

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Author

Frank Fleming
Frank Fleming founded the Sports Ecyclopedia in 2001 & is a passionate Devils fan.