Owned by the Buffalo American Legion, the Indians were managed by Earl "Red" Seick, who was also player-coach for the team for the first five games in 1940 (he was replaced by Orlando Nesmith for the rest of the season).
[1][2] The changes yielded the same results once league play resumed that fall, Buffalo finishing with a 2-6 record and fourth place in the five team loop[1] before the AFL suspended operations after the Pearl Harbor attack and the U.S. entry into World War II.
[6] The Indians were originally owned by the Buffalo American Legion, which "Red" Seick acting in the triple role of player, coach, and business manager.
[1] Within two weeks of the league's organizational meeting (held in Buffalo's Hotel Lafayette, August 4–5, 1940), Seick proceeded to sign up local college talent and players who had been out of pro football for one or two years.
New starting tackle Ed Karp was another former Steeler who helped Byron White's rushing game decades before he became a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
When the time for kickoff approached, it became apparent that the field would not be in playable condition for the game; so the officiating crew declared a forfeit in favor of the visiting New York Yankees.
A reorganization resulted in a new owner (coal magnate Fiore Cesare), a new coach (Paul Engebretsen), and a new team name (the Buffalo Tigers).
Engebretsen signed former Milwaukee Chief end Sherm Barnes and back Andy Karpus, who had started for four teams in two American Football Leagues.
[1] While Tiny Engebretsen's upgrades in the team's offense were taking hold (the Tigers scored touchdowns in each remaining game except one), they were still losing with regularity, matching the two wins they had in 1940.
With the induction of college and professional players into the U.S. military, it became increasingly apparent to the AFL owners that the global conflict would put the continued success of the league into question.