National Football League team season
The
Brooklyn Lions
were a
National Football League
team that played in the
1926 NFL season
. The team was formed as the league's counter-move to the
first American Football League
, which enfranchised a team called the
Brooklyn Horsemen
, a
professional football
team that competed in the
1926 AFL season
.
In the months before the regular season began, both leagues battled with each other for fan support and the right to play at
Ebbets Field
. The NFL emerged as the winner, as the Lions signed the lease to use the stadium on July 20.
[1]
On November 12, 1926, the Horsemen withdrew from the AFL and merged with Lions. The new team created by the merger was initially called the Brooklyn Lions and competed in the NFL from November 22, 1926. For the last three games of the 1926, the team used the Horsemen name to finish the season. After three consecutive losses by shutout, the merged team winked out of existence.
[1]
Brooklyn Lions (NFL)
[
edit
]
Coached by
Punk Berryman
, the Lions featured
Rex Thomas
and
Herm Bagby
, two members of the
backfield
who could play either
tailback
or
wingback
. On defense, Thomas also snared four
interceptions
. Unfortunately, the team was only slightly more consistent in its play than the Horsemen, and after the November 7 game against the
Kansas City Cowboys
(a 10?9 loss at Ebbets Field), the Lions merged with the Horsemen. At the time of the merger, the Lions had compiled a 2?5 win?loss record.
[1]
NOTE:
Final NFL standings: official franchise won–lost record combines the wins and losses of the Lions with the results of the games played by the merged team, originally named the Brooklyn Lions and later the Brooklyn Horsemen.
Brooklyn Horsemen (AFL)
[
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]
The Horsemen of the first AFL were owned by
boxing promoter
Humbert Fugazy
and played their home games in
Brooklyn
's
Commercial Field
.
[2]
Coached by Eddie McNeely, the Horsemen got the team name after McNeely's signing of
Elmer Layden
and
Harry Stuhldreher
, two of
Notre Dame
's
Four Horsemen
. While the team's first game was decided by a 60-yard touchdown pass from Stuldreher to Ed Harrison, the team had trouble maintaining a steady offense (and, ultimately maintaining a fan base). After losses to the
Los Angeles Wildcats
and
Boston Bulldogs
in front of decreasing crowds, a scheduled game at
Ebbets Field
against league leader (and eventual champion)
Philadelphia Quakers
was cancelled due to inclement weather. On November 7, 1926, the Horsemen played their last AFL game, a 21?13 loss to the
New York Yankees
, and then merged with their NFL cousins, the Brooklyn Lions, to complete the season in the NFL.
Year
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
Finish
|
Coach
|
1926
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
8th
|
Eddie McNeely
|
"Horse-Lions": The Brooklyn Horsemen (NFL)
[
edit
]
The result of the merger was derisively dubbed the
Horse-Lions
by the local media, but initially (November 14, 1926) the merged team played under the Brooklyn Lions banner. The new team, with eight members of the now-defunct AFL team, trounced the
Canton Bulldogs
19?0 in front of a small crowd in Ebbets Field. In a last-ditch effort to attract paying fans, the Lions then adopted the Horsemen nickname of the old AFL team and lost the last three games of their existence by shutout.
Horsemen who were also Lions
[
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]
Eight men played for both the Horsemen in the AFL and the Lions/Horsemen in the NFL:
In addition, guard
Hec Garvey
was on the rosters of no fewer than four teams in the AFL or NFL in 1926: the
Hartford Blues
(NFL), the Horsemen (AFL), the Lions (NFL), and the
New York Yankees
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
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),
ISBN
0-312-11435-4
- ^
"A.F.L. Fields Nine Teams",
The New York Times
, July 17, 1926
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The Franchise
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Stadia
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Owner
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Head coaches
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Seasons
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Charter
teams
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1920s
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1930s?50s
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Early era
(1920?1969)
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Modern era
(1970?present)
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Italics
indicate future seasons
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