[6] Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president.

[6][7][8] 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.

A crowd estimated at 1,500 saw former Illinois star halfback Dutch Sternaman score all three touchdowns for Decatur, capped by two extra points from Hugh Blacklock.

[14] According to contemporary news reports, the margin might have been larger but the Staleys pulled their starting lineup to avoid running up the score and to conserve their stars for future encounters.

[14][15] October 17, 1920, at Douglas Park After two games against non-APFA teams, the Staleys played against the APFA Rock Island Independents in front of a record crowd.

[18] October 24, 1920, at Cubs Park In a matchup regarded by some as the game of the year, the Starchworkers and approximately 200 of their faithful traveled about 180 miles to the Windy City to take on the vaunted Chicago Tigers.

[21] Then in the second quarter, with the Staleys taking over after a punt near midfield, diminutive quarterback Pard Pearce broke free around left end, scrambling 55 yards for a touchdown.

[21] November 7, 1920, at Douglas Park On a five-game winning streak, the Starchworkers met the Independents again, this time with a less salutatory result — a 0–0 tie.

[37] Sid Nichols, Fred Chicken, and Oke Smith injured their knees on different plays, while Harry Gunderson was hit late by George Trafton and needed thirteen stitches on his face and repair of a broken hand.

[25] December 12, 1920, at Cubs Park The stage was set for a de facto championship game pitting the Staleys against the Akron Pros (also known as the Indians in some press accounts).

Prior to the game, Halas moved their home field to the much larger Cubs Park in Chicago and hired Paddy Driscoll from the Cardinals to play on his team in order to help defeat the Pros, which was against league rules at the time.

[40][41] Twelve thousand fans, the largest recorded crowd of the season,[42] showed up to watch the game,[43] about 2,000 of whom were from Akron African-American star Fritz Pollard's hometown.