The Steam Rollers were established in 1916 by members of the Providence Journal; sports-editor Charles Coppen and part-time sports-writer Pearce Johnson.

The Steam Rollers posted a 3–2–1 record against those teams, defeating the Rochester Jeffersons (3–0), Minneapolis Marines (49–0) and Dayton Triangles (10–7).

The team's success that season was enough to make Steam Rollers management and fans start thinking about playing in the NFL.

[2] The Steam Rollers played mediocre football in their first two NFL seasons, but posted a strong 8–5–1 record in 1927 with Jim Conzelman as the team's head coach.

However, the team soon rebounded with a four-game winning streak over the Dayton Triangles (28–0), Yankees (12–6), Pottsville Maroons (13–6) and Detroit Wolverines (7–0).

The Steam Rollers faced the Yellow Jackets again at Frankford Stadium on November 17, which resulted in a scoreless tie.

The team would then post wins over the New York Giants (16–0) and Pottsville (7–0), before ending its season with a 7–7 tie, against the Green Bay Packers.

The marathon string began against the Staten Island Stapletons, the Chicago Cardinals and concluded with a two-game series against the Frankford Yellow Jackets.

The teams had originally been scheduled to play on Sunday, November 3, but heavy rains made the Cycledrome field unplayable.

On January 4, 1929, Sonnenberg defeated Strangler Lewis in two straight falls to capture the world heavyweight championship in professional wrestling.

Rehnquist missed the first half of the season due to illness, and Wildcat Wilson became complacent and turned into an ordinary back.

[6] The lack of interest, coupled with the Great Depression in 1930, caused Dooley, Coppen and Laudati to suspend operations after the 1931 season.

[7] During halftime against a game between the Steam Rollers and the Providence Pros, Charles Coppen, who was getting a hot dog, heard a remark that the opposing team was "getting steam-rolled".

The assets of the ACFL Steam Roller were bought and taken to the Continental Football League as the Rhode Island Indians, where the team played one last season in 1965.

A rare home movie showing the Providence Steamrollers playing the Framingham Lion Tamers was recently discovered and preserved by Northeast Historic Film, a regional moving image archive in New England.