Ohio League

Precursor to NFL

Ohio LeagueSport| American football

|

Founded| 1902
First season| 1902
Ceased| 1919
Claim to fame| Predecessor to the National Football League (NFL)
No. of teams| 23
Country| United States
Venue(s)| Armory Park
Idora Park
Indianola Park
League Field
League Park
Luna Bowl
Swayne Field
Tank Stadium
Triangle Park
Last
champion(s)| Canton Bulldogs
Most titles| Massillon Tigers (5)
Related
competitions| New York Pro Football League (NYPFL)
Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit
Chicago League

The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly 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.

All but one of the remaining Ohio League teams left the NFL after the 1926 season, with the sole remaining team, the Dayton Triangles, surviving until 1929, before moving to Brooklyn, playing as the Dodgers. That team merged with the Boston Yanks in 1945. The merger ended after the end of 1945 season. The league cancelled the Brooklyn franchise.

## Championships

[edit]

Year  | Champion  | W  | L  | T  | Deciding game

|
|
|
|
|

1902  | Akron East Ends |  |  |  |
1903  | Massillon Tigers | 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, 10-0
1906  | Massillon Tigers  | 10  | 1  | 0  | def. Canton Bulldogs, 13-6
1907  | Massillon Tigers | 7  | 0  | 1  | [1]
1908  | Akron Indians | 8  | 0  | 1
1909  | Akron Indians  | 9  | 0  | 0  | def. Shelby Blues, 12-9
1910  | Shelby Blues and Shelby Tigers[2] | 14  | 0  | 1  | def. Akron Indians, 8-5
1911  | Shelby Blues  | 10  | 0  | 0  | def. Canton Bulldogs, 1-0 (forfeit)
1912  | Elyria Athletics | 8  | 0  | 0  | def. Akron Indians
1913  | Akron Indians  | 8  | 1  | 2  | def. Shelby Blues, 20-0[3]
1914  | Akron Parratt's Indians  | 8  | 2  | 1  | def. Canton Bulldogs, 21-0
1915  | Disputed  | [4]
1916  | Canton Bulldogs  | 9  | 0  | 1  | def. Massillon Tigers, 24-0
1917  | Canton Bulldogs  | 9  | 1  | 0  | def. Detroit Heralds, 7-0
1918  | Dayton Triangles | 8  | 0  | 0  | def. Detroit Heralds
1919  | Canton Bulldogs  | 9  | 0  | 1  |

## Other teams

[edit]

This list is complete and up to date as of November 2021.

* Akron Pros
* Cincinnati Celts
* Cleveland Panthers (debuted 1919, mainly played non-Ohio teams)
* Cleveland Tigers
* Coleman Athletic Club
* Columbus Panhandles
* Franklin Athletic Club of Cleveland
* Ironton Tanks (merger of Irish Town Rags and the Lombards)
* Lancaster Anchors
* Portsmouth Spartans (moved to Detroit in 1933, now known as the Detroit Lions)
* Shelby Tigers (merged with Shelby Blues in 1911)
* Toledo Maroons
* Washington Vigilants
* Youngstown Patricians
* Zanesville Mark Greys

Further, the Detroit Heralds, though based in Michigan, played many of its games against Ohio teams.

## Successor leagues

[edit]

### Ohio Valley League (1925-1929)

[edit]

Some of the better teams of the 1920s, who did not join the NFL existed in the Ohio Valley,[5] and would form an unofficial but recognized circuit - The Ohio Valley League \- which resembled the old Ohio League.[6] The "league" collapsed at the beginning of the Great Depression.[7]

The two stronger teams in the league were the Portsmouth Spartans and the Ironton Tanks,[8] that in the year after the circuit died (1930) beat the New York Giants and Chicago Bears,[9] while the Spartans would join the NFL and would later become the Detroit Lions. Two other noteworthy teams were the Armco Corporation employees teams - Ashland Armco Yellowjackets (Kentucky) and Middletown Armco Blues (Ohio),[10] who featured many former college All-Americans, including Red Roberts.[11]

#### Champions

[edit]

1925 Ironton Tanks (9-1-2)[12]
1926 Ironton Tanks (11-1-1)[13]
1927 Ashland Armco Yellowjackets (7-1-3)[14]
1928 Ironton Tanks (7-1-3)[15]
1929 Portsmouth Spartans (12-2-1)[16]

### Ohio Professional Football League (1941)

[edit]

In 1941, there was a resurgence in pro football in Ohio, as local teams tried to form a new professional league called The Ohio Professional Football League (also known as Ohio Valley League).[17] Six teams came together in an attempt to restore the region's former old glory: The Dayton Dakotas, Dayton Merchants, Cincinnati Pepsi-Colas, Columbus Avondales, Middletown Merchants, and another Canadian team the Thomas Athletic Club from Windsor, Ontario,[18] but they withdrew from the league before the season started.

The circuit operated on a much smaller scale from previous leagues, and did not return for a second season.

1941 League standings  Team  | W | L | T | PCT

|
|
|
|

Cincinnati Pepsi-Colas[19] | 7  | 0  | 0  | 1.000
Dayton Dakotas[20] | 5  | 2  | 0  | .714
Middletown Merchants[21] | 3  | 3  | 1  | .500
Columbus Avondales[22] | 1  | 5  | 0  | .167
Dayton Merchants[23] | 0  | 7  | 1  | .063

## See also

[edit]

* Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting Scandal
* History of the National Football League
* New York Pro Football League, another NFL predecessor
* Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit, another early pro football circuit that competed at times with various Ohio League teams.

## Notes

[edit]

* Braunwart, Bob; Carroll, Bob (1981). "The Ohio League" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 3 (7). Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-22.
* NFL.com history pages: 1869-1910 and 1911-1920
* Sye, Roy. Independent Football History (Sye is Vice-President of the Professional Football Researchers Association committee in charge of researching professional football prior to 1920.)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Massillon won by tiebreaker of common opponents. While both Massillon and the Shelby Blues went undefeated and played each other once to a scoreless tie, Shelby tied the Columbus Panhandles, while Massillon had defeated Columbus twice.
2. ^ Both teams finished undefeated, but shared so many players that it was impossible to stage a true championship game. Their records were added together and the two organizations shared the title and officially merged in 1911. The Tigers name was spun off to another team.
3. ^ While Akron is traditionally listed as champions, the Dayton Cadets won the Southern Division title with an undefeated record. Akron and Dayton never faced each other.
4. ^ The Professional Football Researchers Association lists 1915 as "no clear champion" and discounts the Youngstown Patricians, the only undefeated team that year, as having a subpar schedule. Canton and Massillon, the next two contenders, tied at 5-2-2.
5. ^ "the Ohio Valley in 1924" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2015.
6. ^ "Thorpe's Farewell Season" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 7, 2015.
7. ^ Bob Gill, with Tod Maher. Outsiders II: Minor League And Independent Football, 1951-1985, St. Johann Press, 2010. ISBN 1878282654
8. ^ "The "Famous" Ironton Tanks" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 7, 2015.
9. ^ "1930 Ironton Tanks".
10. ^ "Armco Semi-Pro Football Teams 1924-1929". 2 September 2019.
11. ^ "Armco's Semi-Pro Football Teams" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 10, 2021.
12. ^ "1925 Ironton Tanks".
13. ^ "1926 Ironton Tanks".
14. ^ "1927 Ashland Armcos".
15. ^ "1928 Ironton Tanks".
16. ^ "1929 Portsmouth Spartans".
17. ^ "Dakotas to Stand Pat On Lineup". The Journal Herald. October 10, 1941. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
18. ^ "2 Dayton Teams In New Pro Football Circuit". Dayton Daily News. September 21, 1941. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
19. ^ "1941 Cincinnati Pepsi-Colas (OVFL)".
20. ^ "1941 Dayton Dakotas (OVFL)".
21. ^ "1941 Middletown Merchants (OVFL)".
22. ^ "1941 Columbus Avondales (OVFL)".
23. ^ "1941 Dayton Merchants (OVFL)".

* v
* t
* e

Ohio League

Teams|

* Akron East Ends
* Akron Indians
* Canton Bulldogs
* Cincinnati Celts
* Cleveland Panthers
* Cleveland Tigers
* Coleman Athletic Club
* Columbus Panhandles
* Dayton Triangles
* Detroit Heralds
* Elyria Athletics
* Franklin Athletic Club of Cleveland
* Ironton Tanks
* Massillon Tigers
* Shelby Blues
* Shelby Tigers
* Toledo Maroons
* Youngstown Patricians
* Zanesville Mark Grays

Stadia|

* Armory Park
* Idora Park
* Indianola Park
* League Field
* League Park
* League Park
* Luna Bowl
* Swayne Field
* Tank Stadium
* Triangle Park

Related topics|

* Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal
* Nesser brothers

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American football in the United States

History|

| Early|

* American Football Union
* Intercollegiate Football Association
* National Football League (1902)
* New York Pro Football League
* Ohio League
* Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit
* World Series of Football (1902–03)

|

Modern|

| Major|

* All-America Football Conference
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* American Football League (1936)
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|

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Other|

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Defunct national|

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Defunct regional|

* American Football Union (1886–1895)
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* New York Pro Football League² (1908–1919)
* National Football League (1902)
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* American Football League (1934)
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* Fútbol Americano de México (2019–2022)

* ¹ Merged into the NFL. All teams still active as members of the NFL's American Football Conference.
* ² Teams moved to NFL
* ³ Official NFL minor league; see also Association of Professional Football Leagues
* * Merged into the UFL, still active as conferences within

Canadian football

| Major|

* Canadian Football League

|

Predecessors|

* Direct
* Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
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* Ontario Rugby Football Union
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Junior|

* Atlantic Football League
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Arena/Indoor football

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On hiatus|

* Fan Controlled Football

Women's football

| Outdoor|

* Women's Football Alliance (2009–present)
* United States Women's Football League (2009–present)
* Women's National Football Conference (2018–present)

|

Defunct Outdoor|

* Women's Professional Football League (1965–1973)
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Arena football|

* X League (2009–present)

*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template