All Topics  
Rochester Jeffersons

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Rochester Jeffersons



 
 
The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, New York State, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area....
 played in the National Football League
National Football League

The National Football League is the Major North American professional sports leagues American football Sports league in the United States. It is an unincorporated 501#501.28c.29.286.29 association controlled by its members....
 from 1920 to 1925. Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century, the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing field on Jefferson Avenue. Around 1908 a teenager by the name of Leo Lyons joined with the club as a player, and within two years began to manage, finance, and promote the team on a full-time basis.

For their first decade of their existence the "Jeffs" played other amateur and semi-pro teams from the upstate New York area such as the Rochester Scalpers and the Oxfords.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Rochester Jeffersons'
Start a new discussion about 'Rochester Jeffersons'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, New York State, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area....
 played in the National Football League
National Football League

The National Football League is the Major North American professional sports leagues American football Sports league in the United States. It is an unincorporated 501#501.28c.29.286.29 association controlled by its members....
 from 1920 to 1925. Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century, the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing field on Jefferson Avenue. Around 1908 a teenager by the name of Leo Lyons joined with the club as a player, and within two years began to manage, finance, and promote the team on a full-time basis.

For their first decade of their existence the "Jeffs" played other amateur and semi-pro teams from the upstate New York area such as the Rochester Scalpers and the Oxfords. By the fall of 1917, the Jeffs had started to look past state borders not only for big-name opponents, but for big-name talent as well.

At the end of October, 1917 Lyons managed to secure a match against the country's greatest team, the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were the first professional American football team based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and in the National Football League from 1920 to 1923 and 1925 to 1926....
, who had the legendary Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe

Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe was an United States athlete. Considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports, he won Olympic Games gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, played American football at the collegiate and professional levels, and also played professional baseball and basketball....
 as their star attraction. Thorpe's squad crushed the Jeffs 41-0, but the audacity of challenging such a superior team to a match won Lyons and his club a bit of notoriety, and three years later they were fortunate to be included as an inaugural member of the newly formed American Professional Football Association, which would be known in two years as the National Football League
National Football League

The National Football League is the Major North American professional sports leagues American football Sports league in the United States. It is an unincorporated 501#501.28c.29.286.29 association controlled by its members....
.

The team folded after the 1925 NFL season
1925 NFL season

The 1925 NFL season was the 6th regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team....
; by this point, the team had not won a game in four years and had been a traveling team
Traveling team

In professional team sports, a traveling team is a member of a professional league that never or rarely competes in its home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorm in that the latter does not compete within a league framework....
 for two seasons (1920 and 1925).

Season-by-season


Year W L T FinishCoach
1920 6 3 2 7th Jack Forsyth
1921 2 3 0 10th Jack Forsyth
1922 0 4 1 15th Doc Alexander
1923 0 4 0 19th Leo Lyons
1924 0 7 0 16th Jerry Noonan
1925 0 6 1 16th Tex Grigg
Totals 8 27 4 


External links