The 1920 Akron Pros season was the franchise's inaugural season with the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and twelfth total season as a team. The Pros entered the season coming off a 5–5 record in 1919 as the Akron Indians in the Ohio League. The Indians were sold to Art Ranney and Frank Nied, two businessmen, to help achieve a better record and crowd. Several representatives from the Ohio League wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created.
Returning to the team for the 1920 season would be most of last year's team, including quarterback Fritz Pollard. The Pros also added end Bob Nash, who previously played for the Tigers, Al Garrett, and end Al Nesser of the famous Nesser brothers. They opened their regular season with a win over the Wheeling Stogies, en route to an 8–0–3 record. In week 11, the Pros traded Bob Nash, in the first trade in APFA history. A meeting was held by the APFA to determine a winner, and the Pros' season concluded with the team winning the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup for finishing first place in the APFA. The Decatur Staleys and the Buffalo All-Americans laid claim to the title because of the number of wins each team had.
Rip King and Fritz Pollard were named first-team all APFA and Alf Cobb was named second-team all APFA by the Rock Island Argus. The Pros only allowed seven points all season, which was the lowest among all APFA teams. The 1920 Akron Pros were the first team in the history of the APFA to have an undefeated record, in that they were never defeated in a game.
Tied games were not counted in the standings until 1972: the Pros' 8-0-3 record would have been counted as an .864 percentage under current rules. In 2005, Pollard became the only player from the 1920 Akron Pros to be elected into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Offseason
The Akron Pros, who were named the Akron Indians, finished 5–5 in their 1919 season in the Ohio League. The Indians lost money because of the constant poor performance; the team did not win an Ohio League Championship since 1914. The Indians was sold to Art Ranney and Frank Nied. The two changed the team name to the Akron Pros, as they hoped to achieve a better record and crowd.
Representatives of four Ohio League teams—the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, and Ranney and Reid for the Pros—called 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. They then contacted other major professional teams and invited them to a meeting for 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, 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.PFRA Research (1980), p. 4 Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president. Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed, and representatives of each team voted to determine the winner of the APFA trophy. Ranney wrote all the information from these meetings on stationery and thus was promoted to secretary of the league.
Regular season Returning to the team for the 1920 season would be most of last year's team including quarterback and future Hall of Famer Fritz Pollard. The Pros also added end Bob Nash, who previously played for the Tigers, Al Garrett, and end Al Nesser of the famous Nesser brothers.
The Pros played all their home games at League Park in Akron. The regular season schedule was not a fixed schedule but was created dynamically by each team as the season progressed. The first week of the season opened up on September 26, but the Pros did not have a game scheduled that week, and their season is denoted as beginning in week 2. The Pros played nine games against APFA teams and two against non-APFA teams; they played a total of six games at home. The two non-APFA teams the Pros would play in week two and four when the Pros played against the Wheeling Stogies and the Cincinnati Celts, respectively. In week seven, a game was scheduled to play at home against the Detroit Heralds, but the game was cancelled due to rain.
During the season, Pollard was treated with disrespect because of being African American. He stated, "The white players were trying to hurt me." By the end of the season, Pollard would be one of the highest paid players in the APFA. The main reasons were because of his skin color as well as being a great player.
Schedule
The table below was compiled using the information from the Pro Football Archives and The Coffin Corner, both of which used contemporary newspapers. Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 October 3 Wheeling Stogies W 43–0 1–0 League Park 4,000 Recap "Akron Has Easy Opener: Nesser Stars in 43 to 0 Verdict Over Wheeling Pros," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 4, 1920, p. 18. 2 October 10 Columbus Panhandles W 37–0 2–0 League Park 1,500 Recap 3 October 17 Cincinnati Celts W 13–0 3–0 League Park 3,000 Recap 4 October 24 Cleveland Tigers W 7–0 4–0 League Park 5,000+ Recap "Akron Pros Win Sensational Football Game From Cleveland Tigers, 7–0: Nash Grabs Blocked Punt and Makes Only Touchdown in Game," Akron Beacon Journal, Oct. 25, 1920, p. 13. 5 October 31 at Canton Bulldogs W 10–0 5–0 Lakeside Park 6,000Pro Football Reference has this crowd as 10,000. Recap Tod Maher and Bob Gill (eds.), The Pro Football Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan USA, 1997; p. 99. — November 7 Detroit Heralds Canceled due to rain. 6 November 14 at Cleveland Tigers T 7–7 5–0–1 Dunn Field 8,000 Recap F.J. Powers, "Cleveland Tigers Hold Akron Indians, Leaders in Race for Pro Title, to 7–7 Tie: Put Up Year's Best Battle Before 8,000," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 15, 1920, p. 16. 7 November 21 Dayton Triangles W 13–0 6–0–1 League Park 3,700 Recap 8 November 25 Canton Bulldogs W 7–0 7–0–1 League Park 6,500 Recap Cleveland Plain Dealer News Bureau, [Akron Forces Thorpians to Yield Laurel: Rubber City Team Becomes World's Pro Football Champ by Second Defeat of Bulldogs,"] Rock Island [IL] Argus, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 27. 9 November 28 at Dayton Triangles W 14–0 8–0–1 Triangle Park 5,000 Recap 10 December 5 at Buffalo All-Americans T 0–0 8–0–2 Buffalo Baseball Park 3,000 Recap 11 December 12 at Decatur Staleys T 0–0 8–0–3 Cubs Park 12,000 Recap Bill Penhallegon, "Staleys Battle Akron to Scoreless Tie in Grid Scrap: Decatur Team Loses Chance to Score When Sternaman Kicks Wide," Decatur Herald, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 4."Staleys and Akron Battle to Scoreless Draw in Championship Tilt: Pro Teams Play Before 12,000 in Title Game," [Davenport, IA] Quad City Times, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 7."Decatur Holds Akron to a Scoreless Tie: Akron Comes Near Losing Title Honors to Staley's Outfit," Akron Evening Times, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 10."Staleys in 0–0 Tie with Akron," Hammond [IN] Times, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 6."Akron and Staleys Play Scoreless Tie: East and West Fail to Settle Pro Grid Title," Moline Dispatch, Dec. 13, 1920, p. 14. Note: Non-APFA teams are in italics. Thanksgiving Day: November 25.
Game summaries
Game 1: vs Wheeling Stogies
October 3, 1920, at League Park
The Pros made their AFPA debut against the Wheeling Stogies. Playing in front of 4,000 fans, the Pros' defense started the game off with a safety in the first quarter. Throughout the game, Nesser scored three touchdowns—two fumble recoveries and one blocked field goal. Pollard also scored two rushing touchdowns to help lead Akron to a 43–0 victory over the Stogies. Blocking back Harry Harris also contributed by adding one rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Game 2: vs Columbus Panhandles
October 10, 1920, at League Park
The Pros' next game was against the Columbus Panhandles. Running back Frank McCormick rushed for two touchdowns to give Akron a 14–0 lead in the second quarter. Bob Nash later recovered a fumble in the end zone. Harris and fullback Fred Sweetland also contributed, scoring one rushing touchdown each. Sweetland was hired by coach Elgie Tobin to be a backup, but the coach decided to play Sweetland this game. The defense added another safety in the fourth quarter to give the Akron Pros a 37–0 victory.
Game 3: vs Cincinnati Celts
October 17, 1920, at League Park
In week four, the Pros played against the Cincinnati Celts. The Celts were not directly affiliated with the APFA and would not join the league until the following year. Fullback Rip King scored the first touchdown by a five-yard rush in the first quarter. Pollard also scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter en route to a 13–0 Akron victory. The Pro's kicker for that game, Charlie Copley, made one extra point and missed the other. The Pros' defense was so dominant that the Celts did not get a single first down all game long.
Game 4: vs Cleveland Tigers
October 24, 1920, at League Park
The Cleveland Tigers were the Pros next opponent. Playing in front of 6,000 fans, the game was called a "punting duel" by the Youngstown Vindicator. The only score came from a punt block by Bob Nash in the first quarter. Nash grabbed the ball from the Tigers' punter, Stan Cofall on the 8-yard line and ran in for the score. With an extra point from Charlie Copley, the Pros defeated the Tigers 7–0 to keep their undefeated season alive. During the game, injuries for both teams occurred. Pollard dislocated his right shoulder, and Tuffy Conn for the Tigers injured his right leg in the fourth quarter.
Game 5: at Canton Bulldogs
October 31, 1920, at Lakeside Park, Canton, Ohio
"With four games under their belt", the Pros were starting to gain attention around the league. Their next game was against the Bulldogs. This game, according to the Youngstown Vindicator, was the first of a two-game series for the "national professional football championship". Playing under a crowd of 10,000, the Pros defeated the Bulldogs 10 to 0. In the first quarter, after an exchange in punts and a long pass which resulted in 13-yards, Charlie Copley of the Pros kicked a 38-yard field goal. On a Bulldog possession at midfield, Gilroy attempted to pass the ball, but it was tipped by the Pros' Copley and Bob Nash. Pike Johnson caught the ball before it landed and ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown. The Youngstown Vindicator called it the "most sensational play of the contest". In the third quarter, Jim Thorpe came into the game, but could not help the Bulldogs score.
Game 6: at Cleveland Tigers
November 14, 1920, at Dunn Park, Cleveland, Ohio
In week eight, the Pros played against the Tigers. Playing in front of 8,000 fans, the Pros allowed their first and only points of the year from a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mark Devlin to Tuffy Conn and an extra point by Al Pierotti in the third quarter. Pollard had a 20-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and Copley made an extra point to tie the game at 7–7, making the first tie for the Pros of the season.
Game 7: vs Dayton Triangles
November 21, 1920, at League Park