1936 American Football League season
The 1936 American Football League season is the first season of the second American Football League, the formation of which was announced by Harry March, former personnel director of the NFL's New York Giants, on December 15, 1935. Fifteen cities bid for charter franchises; on April 11, 1936, franchises were awarded to eight cities: Boston, Cleveland, Jersey City, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, and Syracuse.[1] By mid-summer, Jersey City, Philadelphia, and Providence withdrew; soon afterwards, Rochester was given a franchise, only to have it relocated to Brooklyn, despite the lack of availability of a home stadium at the time.[1]
The league began its existence by raiding NFL rosters for its players,[2] with a new New York Yankees team signing members of the New York Giants, the Cleveland Rams taking Chicago Bears star Damon Wetzel as their coach, and the Pittsburgh Americans snaring members of the crosstown Pirates. On the other hand, eventual AFL champions Boston Shamrocks pretty much ignored the roster of the crosstown Boston Redskins, while the Brooklyn Tigers and Syracuse Braves opted for "home grown" talent.[2]
The race to the 1936 AFL championship quickly narrowed down to three teams (Boston, Cleveland, and New York) as the Syracuse team was moved to Rochester after a deafening lack of fan support while it lost almost every game. The former Syracuse Braves became the Rochester Braves in early October 1936 — and folded after their game on November 1. Two weeks later, the Brooklyn Tigers moved to Rochester and became the Rochester Tigers.[3] The two Rochester teams finished in the bottom of the league standings.
In contrast to the following year, the majority of the AFL had winning records in 1936 (the two Rochester teams had one win combined). The Pittsburgh Americans finished with a 3-2-1 record despite averaging only 2500 fans in the Forbes Field stands; the Boston Shamrocks (8-3-0) won the title by defeating both the Cleveland Rams (5-2-2) and the New York Yankees (5-3-2) in the season's final weeks.
Final standings
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Shamrocks | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 133 | 97 | George Kenneally |
| Cleveland Rams | 5 | 2 | 2 | .714 | 123 | 77 | Damon Wetzel |
| New York Yankees | 5 | 3 | 2 | .625 | 75 | 74 | Jack McBride |
| Pittsburgh Americans | 3 | 2 | 1 | .600 | 78 | 65 | Rudy Comstock |
| Syracuse/Rochester Braves | 1 | 6 | 0 | .147 | 41 | 113 | Don Irwin, Red Badgro |
| Brooklyn/Rochester Tigers | 0 | 6 | 1 | .000 | 58 | 82 | Mike Palm |
| Results of AFL games - 1936 season[4] |
|---|
|
PRESEASON September 13, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse, New York: Syracuse Braves 14, Watertown Red & Black 7 WEEK ONE September 20, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse, New York: Boston Shamrocks 14, Syracuse Braves 3 WEEK TWO September 27, Triborough Stadium, New York, New York: New York Yankees 13, Syracuse Braves 6 WEEK THREE October 4, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse: Pittsburgh Americans 27, Syracuse Braves 16 WEEK FOUR October 11, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Rams 26, Syracuse Braves 0 WEEK FIVE October 18, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse: New York Yankees 13, Syracuse Braves 0[5] WEEK SIX October 25, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: Cleveland Rams 27, New York Yankees 0 WEEK SEVEN November 1, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: Pittsburgh Americans 0, Cleveland Rams 0 (tie) WEEK EIGHT November 8, Forbes Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Americans 14, Boston Shamrocks 6 WEEK NINE November 15, Yankee Stadium, New York: Boston Shamrocks 12, New York Yankees 7 WEEK TEN November 22, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: New York Yankees 15, Cleveland Rams 7 |
See also
References
- 1 2 Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (HarperCollins 1999) ISBN 0-06-039232-0
- 1 2 George Gipe, The Great American Sports Book (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ↑ History of Football in Western New York
- ↑ Enciclopedia del football italiano - 1936 AFL season
- ↑ Braves Lose Again, May Move to Rochester or Providence for Games - Oswego Palladium-Times, October 19, 1936