1926: Following the debut of Red Grange, and his follow up barnstorming tour professional football was about to hit a growth spurt with a new league staring Grange called the American Football League. The NFL looked to lock up new cities to keep the AFL from taking a foothold. Both leagues looked to put a team in Los Angeles, with the Wildcats playing in the AFL and the Los Angeles Buccaneers playing in the NFL. The Buccaneers initially wanted to play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the Coliseum commission refused to allow professional teams. However, use of the Coliseum would be a non-factor as the cost of transcontinental travel made it impossible for a team to play their games during the regular season in Los Angeles, leading the Buccaneers to set up shop in Chicago and operate as a traveling team. Coached by both Tut Imlay and Brick Muller the Buccaneers started the season on September 26th with a 15-0 loss to the Chicago Cardinals. The Bucs would bounce back to win their next two games against the Milwaukee Badgers and Canton Bulldogs. Following a scoreless tie against the Buffalo Rangers, the Los Angeles Buccaneers slipped past the Providence Steam Roller to improve to 3-1-1. Despite a 10-0 loss to the Pottsville Maroons, the Buccaneers would have a strong trip through the Eastern most cities in the NFL, shutting out the New York Giants and Brooklyn “HorseLions” in consecutive weeks. The Los Angeles Buccaneers would split their final two games, beating the Detroit Panthers and losing to the Kansas City Cowboys, as they posted a respectable record of 6-3-1. Following the season the Buccaneers would head home to Los Angeles and play a series of exhibition games, including a pair against Red Grange’s New York Yankees, and the AFL’s Los Angeles Wildcats. The AFL would fold after just one season, as the NFL decided to eliminate several underperforming teams no longer needing to compete with the new league. Despite their 6-3-1 record the Los Angeles Buccaneers were one of a dozen teams that were contracted by the NFL, as the league just was not ready to commit to teams on the West Coast due to the travel expenses. Among the notable players on the Buccaneers was Don Newmeyer, the father of actress Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman on Batman. In 1946 the NFL would return to Los Angeles when the Cleveland Rams moved into the LA Memorial Coliseum.