1920 Buffalo All-Americans season
The All-Americans entered 1920 coming off a 9–1–1 record in 1919 as the Buffalo Prospects in the New York Pro Football League (NYPFL).
The All-Americans opened the season with a 32–6 victory over the local semi-pro team West Buffalo, en route to a 9-win, 1–loss, 1-tie (9–1–1) record.
The All-Americans stated their cases; they believed they should deserve the championship trophy because they had the most wins and were undefeated against the Akron Pros and the Decatur Staleys.
[6][7] They then invited other professional teams to a second meeting on September 17, held at Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay's Hupmobile showroom in Canton.
Representatives of the All-Americans and Rochester Jeffersons could not attend the meeting, but sent letters to Hay asking to be included in the league.
[8] Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president.
[8][9][10] Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed, so there were no minimum or maximum number of games needed to be played.
October 3, 1920, at Canisius Field To open the season, the All-Americans defeated the local, semi-pro team West Buffalo.
[31] October 10, 1920, at Canisius Field For their second game of the season, the All-Americans played against another local team, the Buffalo All-Buffalo.
In the second quarter, Hughitt threw a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Heinie Miller to bring the All-Americans' lead to 14–0 going into halftime.
[35] The All-Americans answered when offensive lineman Lou Little blocked a field goal and ran it back for a touchdown.
[39] October 31, 1920, at Canisius Field In week six, the All-Americans played their first game against an APFA team, challenging the Rochester Jeffersons.
[40] The All-Americans' final score of the game came from a blocked punt, with defensive guard Bill Brace recovering it in the end zone.
[41] November 7, 1920, at Canisius Field The All-Americans next game was against the All-Tonawanda Lumberjacks, who would join the APFA the following year.
[44] November 14, 1920, at Canisius Field With 9,000 fans in attendance, the All-Americans played an APFA opponent, the Columbus Panhandles.
[47] November 21, 1920, at Buffalo Baseball Park In their eighth contest of the season, the All-Americans played the Bulldogs.
Jim Thorpe, who was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, started the game for the Bulldogs, but he came out at halftime because he believed it would end in a tie.
[48] November 28, 1920, at Buffalo Baseball Park Following their first loss of the season, the All-Americans challenged the Cleveland Tigers.
[52] The Bulldogs did not get a first down or complete a pass during the game,[53] but Thorpe kicked a field goal in the third quarter after a fumble recovery for the team's only score.
[52] In the fourth quarter, All-Americans tackle Youngstrom blocked a Thorpe punt and returned it for a touchdown.
[53] The Sunday Chronicle named Thorpe, Henry and Lowe as the Bulldogs' stars, while Anderson, Youngstrom, and Miller were the standouts for the All-Americans.
[54] Before the start of the game, Bob Nash of Akron was sold to the All-Americans for $300 and 5% of the Akron-Buffalo gate, making the first deal in APFA history.
[54] The reason for the trade was because rain was responsible for a low turnout of fans, and the game would not have been profitable for the Pros.
