1923 Cleveland Indians (NFL) season
National Football League team season
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The 1923 Cleveland Indians season was their first in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished with a record of 3–1–3, fifth in the league by winning percentage.[1]
| 1923 Cleveland Bulldogs season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Sam H. Deutsch |
| Head coach | Cap Edwards |
| Home stadium | Dunn Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–1–3 |
| League place | 5th NFL |
The team also canceled one home game with the Toledo Maroons due to poor attendance, with just 400 fans paying admission.[2] Team owner Sam H. Deutsch declaring that if he had allowed the two squads to take the field, he would have lost $7,500 due to salaries, guarantees to the visiting team, park rental fees, and other incidentals.[2] Cleveland was not forced to absorb a forfeit for their failure to play, despite the fact that both teams were present and ready to take the field.[2] Deutsch asserted that he still lost $2,500 on the day despite having stopped the contest.[2]
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 7 | at Rock Island Independents | T 0–0 | 0–0–1 | Douglas Park | 3,500 [3] | Recap | [4][5][6] | |
| — | October 14 | Toledo Maroons | canceled by Cleveland owner to avert financial loss | [2] | |||||
| 2 | October 21 | St. Louis All-Stars | W 6–0 | 1–0–1 | Dunn Field | 7,000 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 28 | Oorang Indians | W 27–0 | 2–0–1 | Dunn Field | "modest crowd" [7] | Recap | [8][9][10] | |
| 4 | November 4 | at Buffalo All-Americans | T 0–0 | 2–0–2 | Buffalo Baseball Park | 3,000 | Recap | [11][12] | |
| 5 | November 11 | Dayton Triangles | T 0–0 | 2–0–3 | Dunn Field | 11,000 | Recap | ||
| 6 | November 18 | Columbus Tigers | W 9–3 | 3–0–3 | Dunn Field | 6,000 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 25 | Canton Bulldogs | L 10–46 | 3–1–3 | Dunn Field | 17,000 | Recap | ||
Standings
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Canton Bulldogs | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 246 | 19 | W5 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | 123 | 35 | W1 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | 85 | 34 | W5 | ||
| Milwaukee Badgers | 7 | 2 | 3 | .778 | 100 | 49 | W1 | ||
| Cleveland Indians | 3 | 1 | 3 | .750 | 52 | 49 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 161 | 56 | L1 | ||
| Duluth Kelleys | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 35 | 33 | L3 | ||
| Buffalo All-Americans | 5 | 4 | 3 | .556 | 94 | 43 | L1 | ||
| Columbus Tigers | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 119 | 35 | L1 | ||
| Toledo Maroons | 3 | 3 | 2 | .500 | 35 | 66 | L1 | ||
| Racine Legion | 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 86 | 76 | W1 | ||
| Rock Island Independents | 2 | 3 | 3 | .400 | 84 | 62 | L1 | ||
| Minneapolis Marines | 2 | 5 | 2 | .286 | 48 | 81 | L1 | ||
| St. Louis All-Stars | 1 | 4 | 2 | .200 | 25 | 74 | L1 | ||
| Hammond Pros | 1 | 5 | 1 | .167 | 14 | 59 | L4 | ||
| Akron Pros | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 25 | 74 | W1 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 1 | 6 | 1 | .143 | 16 | 95 | L2 | ||
| Oorang Indians | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 50 | 257 | W1 | ||
| Louisville Brecks | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 90 | L3 | ||
| Rochester Jeffersons | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 141 | L4 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.