1920 Chicago Tigers season
National Football League team season
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The 1920 Chicago Tigers season was their sole season in the National Football League. The team finished 2â5â1,[1] tying them for eleventh in the league.
| 1920 Chicago Tigers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rube Cook |
| Head coach | Guil Falcon |
| Home stadium | Cubs Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 1â5â1 APFA (2â5â1 overall) |
| League place | T-11th APFA |
Offseason
The Chicago Tigers were formed in 1920.[2] After the 1919 season, representatives of four Ohio League, a loose organization of professional football teams, teamsâthe Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, and the Akron Prosâcalled a meeting on August 20, 1920, to discuss the formation of a new league. At the meeting, they tentatively agreed on a salary cap and pledged not to sign college players or players already under contract with other teams. They also agreed on a name for the circuit: the American Professional Football Conference.[3][4] They then invited other professional teams to a second meeting on September 17.
At that meeting, held at Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay's Hupmobile showroom in Canton, representatives of the Rock Island Independents, the Muncie Flyers, the Decatur Staleys, the Racine Cardinals, the Massillon Tigers, the Chicago Cardinals, and the Hammond Pros agreed to join the league. Representatives of the Buffalo All-Americans and Rochester Jeffersons could not attend the meeting but sent letters to Hay asking to be included in the league.[5] Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president.[5][6][7] Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed, so there were no minimum or maximum number of games needed to be played.[8][9] Also, representatives of each team voted to determine the winner of the APFA trophy.[10]
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 10 | Chicago Cardinals | T 0â0 | 0â0â1 | Cubs Park | 7,500+ | Recap | [11] | |
| 2 | October 17 | Detroit Heralds | W 12â0 | 1â0â1 | Cubs Park | 5,000 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 24 | Decatur Staleys | L 0â10 | 1â1â1 | Cubs Park | 5,000 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 31 | at Rock Island Independents | L 7â20 | 1â2â1 | Douglas Park | Recap | |||
| 5 | November 7 | Chicago Cardinals | L 3â6 | 1â3â1 | Cubs Park | 7,000 | Recap | ||
| 6 | November 14 | at Canton Bulldogs | L 0â21 | 1â4â1 | Lakeside Park | 8,000 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 25 | Decatur Staleys | L 0â6 | 1â5â1 | Cubs Park | 8,000 | Recap | [12] | |
| â | November 28 | Chicago Thorn-Tornadoes | W 27â0 | â | Cubs Park | Recap | â | ||
| Note: Non-APFA teams in italics. Thanksgiving Day: November 25. | |||||||||
Game summaries
Game 4: at Rock Island Independents
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Independents | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
October 31, 1920, at Douglas Park, Rock Island, Illinois
On Halloween, the Tigers played the Rock Island Independents. The Independents out-gained the Tigers in first downs, 14 to 3.[13] The first score of the game was a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Independents' Fred Chicken; however, the extra point was missed, so the score was only 6â0.[citation needed] The Tigers took the lead in the second quarter after Annan had a 2-yard rushing touchdown.[citation needed] Chicken ended up having two rushing touchdowns, and Wyman had another rushing touchdown, as the Independents beat the Tigers 20â7.[13]
Game 6: at Canton Bulldogs
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
November 14, 1920, at Lakeside Park, Canton Ohio
The Tigers' next matchup was against the Canton Bulldogs. Hay cancelled his game against the Hammond Pros and decided to challenge the Tigers instead because he believed the Tigers were a better team.[14] The first scoring came in the second quarter, when the Bulldogs' Bob Higgins recovered a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown.[citation needed] In the same quarter, Henry caught an interception and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown.[citation needed] Calac then ran for a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter to seal the 21â0 win.[citation needed]
Standings
| 1920 APFA standings[15] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | DPCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Akron Prosâ | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 6â0â3 | 1.000 | 151 | 7 | T2 |
| Decatur Staleys | 10 | 1 | 2 | .909 | 5â1â2 | .833 | 164 | 21 | T1 |
| Buffalo All-Americans | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | 4â1â1 | .800 | 258 | 32 | T1 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 6 | 2 | 2 | .750 | 3â2â1 | .600 | 101 | 29 | T1 |
| Rock Island Independents | 6 | 2 | 2 | .750 | 4â2â1 | .667 | 201 | 49 | W1 |
| Dayton Triangles | 5 | 2 | 2 | .714 | 4â2â2 | .667 | 150 | 54 | L1 |
| Rochester Jeffersons | 6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 0â1â0 | .000 | 156 | 57 | T1 |
| Canton Bulldogs | 7 | 4 | 2 | .636 | 4â3â1 | .571 | 208 | 57 | W1 |
| Detroit Heralds | 2 | 3 | 3 | .400 | 1â3â0 | .250 | 53 | 82 | T2 |
| Cleveland Tigers | 2 | 4 | 2 | .333 | 1â4â2 | .200 | 28 | 46 | L1 |
| Chicago Tigers | 2 | 5 | 1 | .286 | 1â5â1 | .167 | 49 | 63 | W1 |
| Hammond Pros | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 0â3â0 | .000 | 41 | 154 | L3 |
| Columbus Panhandles | 2 | 6 | 2 | .250 | 0â5â0 | .000 | 41 | 121 | W1 |
| Muncie Flyers | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0â1â0 | .000 | 0 | 45 | L1 |
â Awarded the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup and named APFA Champions
by vote of league owners. Staleys claimed a co-title.
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
Special teams (ST)
|
Practice squad
Reserve
Rookies in italics 23 active, 0 reserve, 0 practice squad |