Ohio League
Encyclopedia
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football
clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio
. It is the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League
(NFL).
A proposal to add teams from outside Ohio, such as the Latrobe Athletic Association
, to form a formal league known as the "Football Association" fell through prior to the 1904 season.
Though a champion
was declared by the group throughout its existence, a formal league was not founded until 1920, when several Ohio League teams added clubs from other states to form the American Professional Football Association. In 1922 the APFA became the National Football League.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. It is the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL).
A proposal to add teams from outside Ohio, such as the Latrobe Athletic Association
Latrobe Athletic Association
The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. The team is best known for being the first football club to play a full season while composed entirely of professional players...
, to form a formal league known as the "Football Association" fell through prior to the 1904 season.
Though a champion
Professional American football championship games
Below is a list of professional football championship games in the United States, involving:* the informal Pittsburgh circuit of professional football teams ;...
was declared by the group throughout its existence, a formal league was not founded until 1920, when several Ohio League teams added clubs from other states to form the American Professional Football Association. In 1922 the APFA became the National Football League.
Championships
| Year | Champion | W | L | T | Deciding game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | Akron East Ends Akron East Ends The Akron East Ends are a defunct amateur American Football team that played in the Ohio League, a forerunner to the National Football League. They played in Akron, Ohio, from 1894 until at least 1904. Its primary rivals were the amateur Canton Athletic Association , the Shelby Blues, and later the... |
||||
| 1903 | Massillon Tigers Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become... |
8 | 1 | 0 | def. Akron East Ends, 11-0 |
| 1904 | Massillon Tigers | 7 | 0 | 0 | def. Akron East Ends, 6-5 |
| 1905 | Massillon Tigers | 10 | 0 | 0 | def. Canton Bulldogs Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918... , 10-0 |
| 1906 | Massillon Tigers | 10 | 1 | 0 | def. Canton Bulldogs, 13-6 |
| 1907 | "All-Massillons" Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become... |
7 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1908 | Akron Indians Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional football team located played in Akron, Ohio from 1908–1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, however name was changed to the Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional... |
8 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1909 | Akron Indians | 9 | 0 | 0 | def. Shelby Blues Shelby Blues The Shelby Blues were an American football team based in Shelby, Ohio. The team played in the Ohio League from 1900 to 1919. In 1920, when the Ohio League became the APFA , the Blues did not join but continued to play against APFA teams, only to later suspend operations... , 12-9 |
| 1910 | Shelby Blues and Shelby Tigers Shelby Tigers The Shelby Tigers was a professional American football team, based in Shelby, Ohio, from 1910 until 1911. The team played in the Ohio League, which was the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League.-1910 season:... |
14 | 0 | 1 | def. Akron Indians, 8-5 |
| 1911 | Shelby Blues | 10 | 0 | 0 | def. Canton Bulldogs, 1-0 (forfeit) |
| 1912 | Elyria Athletics Elyria Athletics The Elyria Athletics were an American football team based in Elyria, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League until 1919, then became an independent team... |
8 | 0 | 0 | def. Akron Indians |
| 1913 | Akron Indians | 8 | 1 | 2 | def. Shelby Blues, 20-0 |
| 1914 | Akron Parratt's Indians | 8 | 2 | 1 | def. Canton Bulldogs, 21-0 |
| 1915 | Youngstown Patricians Youngstown Patricians The Youngstown Patricians were a semi-professional football team based in Youngstown, Ohio. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the professional football championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core of the... |
8 | 0 | 1 | def. Washington Vigilants Washington Vigilants The Washington Vigilants were an early Professional Football team based in Washington, DC. During the late 1900s and early 1910s, they were considered the top team in professional football, after the dominant teams in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the early and middle 1900s had faded in prominence. The... , 13-7 |
| 1916 | Canton Bulldogs | 9 | 0 | 1 | def. Massillon Tigers, 24-0 |
| 1917 | Canton Bulldogs | 9 | 1 | 0 | def. Detroit Heralds Detroit (1920s NFL teams) Detroit, Michigan had four early teams in the National Football League before the Detroit Lions. The Heralds played in 1920, and had played as an independent as far back as 1905. The Tigers, a continuation of the Heralds, played in 1921, folding midseason and sending its players to the Buffalo... , 7-0 |
| 1918 | Dayton Triangles Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north... |
8 | 0 | 0 | def. Detroit Heralds |
| 1919 | Canton Bulldogs | 9 | 0 | 1 |
Other teams
- Akron ProsAkron ProsThe Akron Pros were a professional football team located played in Akron, Ohio from 1908–1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, however name was changed to the Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional...
- Cincinnati CeltsCincinnati CeltsThe Cincinnati Celts was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association . The Celts were a traveling team, playing all of their APFA games in other cities' stadia...
- Cleveland PanthersCleveland PanthersThe Cleveland Panthers were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by General C. X. Zimmerman , the Panthers played their home games in Luna Bowl in Luna Park...
(debuted 1919, mainly played non-Ohio teams) - Cleveland Tigers
- Coleman Athletic ClubColeman Athletic ClubThe Coleman Athletic Club of Akron was professional American football team based in Akron, Ohio. The team played in the Ohio League in 1913. The team was formed when C.P. Parker, secretary of the baseball's Akron Giants of the Interstate League formed a new Akron football team to compete with...
- Columbus Panhandles
- Franklin Athletic Club of ClevelandFranklin Athletic Club of ClevelandThe Franklin Athletic Club of Cleveland was a short-lived professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio from 1903 until around 1909. Franklin played against in "Ohio League" against the early Canton Bulldogs, Shelby Blues and Massillon Tigers...
- Ironton TanksIronton TanksThe Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio.Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians...
(consolidation of Irish Town Rags and the Lombards) - Shelby TigersShelby TigersThe Shelby Tigers was a professional American football team, based in Shelby, Ohio, from 1910 until 1911. The team played in the Ohio League, which was the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League.-1910 season:...
(merged with Shelby Blues in 1911) - Toledo MaroonsToledo MaroonsThe Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:...
- Youngstown PatriciansYoungstown PatriciansThe Youngstown Patricians were a semi-professional football team based in Youngstown, Ohio. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the professional football championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core of the...
- Zanesville Mark Greys
- The Detroit Heralds, though based in Michigan, played many of its games against Ohio teams.
See also
- Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting ScandalCanton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting ScandalThe Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs coach, Blondy Wallace, and Massillon Tigers end, Walter East, of conspiring...
- New York Pro Football LeagueNew York Pro Football LeagueThe New York Pro Football League was a professional American football league active in the 1910s and based in upstate New York, primarily Western New York. Between 1920 and 1921, the league's best teams were absorbed into the National Football League, though none survive in that league today...
, another NFL predecessor