Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of the Cleveland Rams), the Bulldogs were the first team on the major league level to play its home games on the American West Coast (the NFL's Los Angeles Buccaneers and the first AFL's Wildcats of 1926 were actually traveling teams based in Chicago).

[1] The 1937 Bulldogs are one of three pro football teams that have gone undefeated and untied during a season, joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17–0–0, NFL), and the 1948 Cleveland Browns (15–0–0, AAFC).

With the establishment of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL and Los Angeles Dons in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, the popularity of the Bulldogs diminished to the point of moving their home games from Gilmore Stadium to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach in 1948, and when the attendance dropped below 1,000 people per game, the Bulldogs – and the PCPFL – folded.

Myers' first hire was Gus Henderson as the team's first head coach; both started to sign players with NFL experience (lineman Ray Richards (formerly of the Chicago Bears) and end Ike Frankian of the New York Giants) and University of Tulsa alumni Roy Berry, Hal Wickersham, Frank Greene, and Homer Reynolds, all of whom played for Henderson.

Gil Lefebvre had already established himself as a punt return threat, and both Berry and Ed Stark electrified crowds with their long runs.

Six of the contests involved NFL teams – the Bulldogs beat the Chicago Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Eagles and tied the Brooklyn Dodgers before being shut out by the Chicago Bears and NFL champion Green Bay Packers to conclude a 6–3–1 inaugural campaign by the Bulldogs.

While Myers had a “probationary franchise” and an implied promise that the team would join the league, the NFL owners chose Homer Marshman's Cleveland Rams, second-place finishers in the second AFL in 1936.

Home games are in CAPITAL letters; AFL games are in bold print The scheduling plan adopted by the AFL and the Bulldogs as a cost containment measure helped the league inch toward its demise as the Bulldogs overwhelmed the rest of the league in the first half of the season and completed its perfect season at home in the second half.

With the collapse of the second American Football League, playing games against NFL teams became an option for the Bulldogs again for 1938 as they returned to independent status.

As the season progressed, their offense strengthened as they beat the Dayton Bombers 65–0 on Thanksgiving weekend and the St. Louis Gunners 56–14 in mid-December.

From the beginning, the PCPFL became a showcase for the Bulldogs and Schissler’s (newly renamed) Hollywood Bears as the league did something that the NFL did not do at the time: employ African American players.

The availability of Washington to the Bears determined the league championship in 1940 and 1941 as he was injured for a Bruins-Bulldogs game that resulted in Los Angeles winning the championship with a 7–2–1 record; a healthy Washington powered Hollywood’s undefeated romp through the schedule the following year (including three defeats of the Bulldogs as LA finished in second place with a 4–4 record).

Schissler’s Bears, handicapped by the absence of their owner-coach and the unavailability of Kenny Washington, went winless in league play under interim player-coach Kink Richards.

As a result, Corcoran was able to sign most of the Bears (including Kink Richards), and the Bulldogs had the manpower to participate in the 1943 PCPFL season.

The Bulldogs finished in third place, behind a resuscitated Hollywood Bears team (8–2–1) and the Oakland Giants (7–2) led by league MVP Mel Reid, another victim of the NFL color line.

While the Bulldogs have one more league championship in the post-World War II years, the anticipated arrival of the Cleveland Rams into Los Angeles heralded seismic changes in the professional football landscape in California.

[5] The 1946 Bulldogs had 11 players on its roster who had NFL experience.,[5] including former Detroit Lions halfback Joe Margucci, lineman Forrest McPherson, and wingback Elvin Hutchison.

The San Francisco Clippers apparently defeated Los Angeles by a score of 24–19 and claimed the top spot in the North.

It was the last game of the Indians’ existence,[5] and an indication of the decline of the Bulldogs as a box office draw in Los Angeles.

After LA’s 35–34 victory over the Warriors put the two teams in a virtual tie for first place, the Hawaiians won the rematch (and the league championship) 7–6 later in the week.