The 1920 Canton Bulldogs season was the franchise's sixteenth and its first in the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which became the National Football League two years later. Jim Thorpe, the APFA's president, was Canton's coach and a back who played on the team. The Bulldogs entered the season coming off a 9–0–1 performance as Ohio League champions in 1919. The team opened the season with a 48–0 victory over the Pitcairn Quakers, and finished with a 7–4–2 record, taking eighth place in the 14-team APFA. A then-record crowd of 17,000 fans watched Canton's week 12 game against Union AA of Phoenixville.
The 1920 season was Thorpe's last with the Bulldogs. Thorpe, who was of mixed American Indian ancestry, left after the season to organize and play for an all-Native American team in LaRue, Ohio. Cap Edwards replaced Thorpe as the team's coach, and Wilbur Henry, Cub Buck, Harrie Dadmun, Joe Guyon, and Pete Calac were named to the All-Pro list. Three 1920 Bulldogs players—Thorpe, Guyon and Pete Henry—were later elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Offseason Representatives of four Ohio League teams—the Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, and the Akron Pros—called a meeting on August 20, 1920, to discuss the formation of a new league. At the meeting, they tentatively agreed on a salary cap and pledged not to sign college players or players already under contract with other teams. They also agreed on a name for the circuit: the American Professional Football Conference.PFRA Research (1980), pp. 3–4Siwoff, Zimmber & Marini (2010), pp. 352–353 They then invited other professional teams to a second meeting on September 17. At that meeting, held at Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay's Hupmobile showroom in Canton, representatives of the Rock Island Independents, the Muncie Flyers, the Decatur Staleys, the Racine Cardinals, the Massillon Tigers, the Chicago Cardinals, and the Hammond Pros agreed to join the league. Representatives of the Buffalo All-Americans and Rochester Jeffersons could not attend the meeting, but sent letters to Hay asking to be included in the league.PFRA Research (1980), p. 4 Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president. Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed,Peterson (1997), p. 74Davis (2005), p. 59 and representatives of each team voted to determine the winner of the APFA trophy.
Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 October 3 Pitcairn Quakers W 48–0 1–0 Lakeside Park Recap "Canton Bulldogs Open Auspiciously: Roll Up 48 to 0 Tally Against Pitcairn (PA) Quakers, Guyon Starring," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 4, 1920, p. 18. 2 October 10 Toledo Maroons W 42–0 2–0 Lakeside Park Recap 3 October 17 Cleveland Tigers W 7–0 3–0 Lakeside Park 7,000 Recap 4 October 24 at Dayton Triangles T 20–20 3–0–1 Triangle Park 5,000 Recap Barney, "News and Views," Dayton Herald, Oct. 25, 1920, p. 14. 5 October 31 Akron Pros L 0–10 3–1–1 Lakeside Park 6,000Pro Football Reference has this crowd as 10,000. Recap Tod Maher and Bob Gill (eds.), The Pro Football Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan USA, 1997; p. 99. 6 November 7 at Cleveland Tigers W 18–0 4–1–1 Dunn Field 8,000 Recap 7 November 14 Chicago Tigers W 21–0 5–1–1 Lakeside Park 8,000It is possible that this figure is grossly inflated. According to a Rock Island, Illinois sportswriter, Gil Falcon of the Chicago Tigers told Walter Flanagan of the Rock Island Independents that the actual attendance for this game was 1,575. See: Bruce Copeland, "Collegians Superior to Bulldogs: Washington and Jefferson Combination with Three 1920 Collegiate Captains in Lineup, Adjudged Better Than Cantonians," Rock Island [IL] Argus, Nov. 20, 1920, p. 13. Recap 8 November 21 at Buffalo All-Americans W 3–0 6–1–1 Buffalo Baseball Park 9,000 Recap 9 November 25 at Akron Pros L 0–7 6–2–1 League Field 6,500 Recap Cleveland Plain Dealer News Bureau, [Akron Forces Thorpians to Yield Laurel: Rubber City Team Becomes World's Pro Football Champ by Second Defeat of Bulldogs,"] Rock Island [IL] Argus, Nov. 26, 1920, p. 27. — November 28 at Rock Island IndependentscanceledGame originally scheduled for November 21 postponed by Rock Island to November 28 due to player injuries, then canceled by Canton for financial reasons. "Canton Bulldogs Play Here Nov. 28: Jim Thorpe Allows Time for Crippled Locals to Regain Condition; No Game Sunday," Rock Island Argus, Nov. 16, 1920, p. 15.Bruce Copeland, "Canton Game is Off, Thorpe Says: Turns Down $4,000 Guarantee on Pretext of Losing Money; Sinister Motives are Feared," Rock Island Argus, Nov. 19, 1920, p. 32. 10 December 4 at Buffalo All-Americans L 3–7 6–3–1 Polo Grounds 10,000Brooklyn Daily Times has the crowd at 7,000, Maher and Gill (eds.), Pro Football Encyclopedia, p. 99 indicates 12,000. Recap "Buffalo Pros Beat the Canton Bulldogs: Frank McNeil's Champions Score Notable Victory Over Jim Thorpe's Eleven at the Polo Grounds," Buffalo News, Dec. 5, 1920, p. 57."Youngstrum's Touchdown Wins for Buffalo All-Americans: Jim Thorpe's Goal Only Score of Canton Bulldogs," Brooklyn Daily Times, Dec. 5, 1920, p. 13. 11 December 5 at Washington Glee Club T 0–0 6–3–2 New Haven, Connecticut 3,000 Recap 12 December 11 at Union AA of Phoenixville L 7–13 6–4–2 Phillies Park 17,000 Recap 13 December 18 at Richmond AC W 39–0 7–4–2 Boulevard Field Recap Note: Non-APFA teams appear in italics. Thanksgiving Day: November 25.
Standings
Game summaries Game 1: vs. Pitcairn Quakers
October 3, 1920, at Lakeside Park
The Bulldogs opened the 1920 season against the Pitcairn Quakers. The team got out to a quick lead and was never in danger, scoring 34 points in the first quarter as back Joe Guyon rushed for three touchdowns, tackle Pete Henry caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from back Tex Grigg, and back Johnny Hendren returned an interception for a touchdown. The Bulldogs were only forced to punt once in the game, and did not attempt to score in the second and third quarters because of the large lead. In the fourth quarter, however, end Bunny Corcoran caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Guyon, and back Ike Martin ran for a one-yard touchdown. The final score was 48–0, and Guyon was the offensive star.
Game 2: vs. Toledo Maroons
October 10, 1920, at Lakeside Park
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play their second game against the Rochester Jeffersons, but faced the Toledo Maroons after that match was cancelled. For the second game in a row the Bulldogs scored over 40 points in a shutout as Martin and Guyon dominated on offense. Martin scored the first touchdown of the game with a run in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Hendren scored a rushing touchdown, and end Tom Whelan caught a touchdown pass from Grigg. In the third quarter, Martin caught a touchdown pass from Grigg, and Grigg rushed for another. The Bulldogs' final score was a rushing touchdown from back Pete Calac in the fourth quarter. The final score was 48–0. The Maroons never got close to scoring and did not make a single a first down.
Game 3: vs. Cleveland Tigers
October 17, 1920, at Lakeside Park
The Bulldogs next faced the Cleveland Tigers, their first APFA opponent, and won 7–0 before a crowd of 7,000 people. Despite the Bulldogs' 15 first downs, the only score of the game came on Martin's 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Thorpe made his season debut in the game, coming in as a substitute in the fourth quarter.
Game 4: at Dayton Triangles
October 24, 1920, at Triangle Park
Bulldogs battled the Dayton Triangles in week five. The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the first quarter on a two-yard rushing touchdown by Pete Calac. But the Triangles came back in the second quarter, scoring twice: back Frank Bacon had a four-yard rushing touchdown, and end Dave Reese had a 50-yard receiving touchdown. Guyon scored a 22-yard rushing touchdown during the corner, but the extra point sailed wide. In the third quarter, the Triangles responded with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by back Lou Partlow, but Dayton missed the extra point to make the score 20–14. Thorpe then came into the game, and kicked a 45-yard field goal to bring his team within three points. In the final minutes, Thorpe kicked another 35-yard field goal to tie it. The Triangles were the first team to score on the Bulldogs since the opening game of the previous year.
Game 5: vs. Akron Pros
October 31, 1920, at Lakeside Park
The Bulldogs' next opponent was the Akron Pros, who were undefeated at the time and were gaining attention around the league.Carroll (1982), p. 2 The game was the first of a two-game series between the Bulldogs and Pros, considered to be two of the best teams in the country. In the first quarter, after an exchange of punts, Pros tackle Charlie Copley kicked a 38-yard field goal. On a Bulldog possession at midfield, a Gilroy pass was tipped by the Pros' Copley and Bob Nash. Pros tackle Pike Johnson caught the ball before it landed and ran 55 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Jim Thorpe came into the game but could not get the Bulldogs back into the game.
Game 6: at Cleveland Tigers
November 7, 1920, at Dunn Field
Coming off their first loss, the Bulldogs faced the Cleveland Tigers in week seven. Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs ran for two touchdowns in the second. Calac and Grigg had 6- and 15-yard rushing touchdowns. The Bulldogs' defense forced two safeties—one in the third and one in the fourth quarter—to win the game 18–0.
Game 7: vs. Chicago Tigers
November 14, 1920, at Lakeside Park
The Bulldogs' next matchup was against the Chicago Tigers. The first scoring came in the second quarter, when Higgins recovered a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown. In the same quarter, Henry caught an interception and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown. Calac then ran for a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter to seal the 21–0 win.
Game 8: at Buffalo All-Americans
November 21, 1920, at Buffalo Baseball Park
In week nine, the Bulldogs played the Buffalo All-Americans, who were undefeated at the time. Thorpe started the game but came out at halftime because he believed it would end in a tie. Both teams were slowed by a muddy field, and the football became soggy after three quarters. The lone score of the game came with under four minutes to play: a field goal from the Bulldogs' Feeney. The game was the only loss of the season for the All-Americans.
Game 9: at Akron Pros
November 25, 1920, at League Park
In week ten, the Bulldogs played the Pros for the second time in the season. In the first quarter, a fumbled punt by the Bulldogs gave the Pros the ball at their 32-yard line. On the ensuing drive, the Pros passed for the game's lone score, a touchdown from King to Nash. The Bulldogs lost 7–0 in the first professional game played on Thanksgiving Day, which launched a yearly tradition.
Game 10: at Buffalo All-Americans
December 4, 1920, at Polo Grounds
The following week, the Bulldogs played their second game against the All-Americans, losing 7–3. The Bulldogs did not get a first down or complete a pass during the game, but Thorpe kicked a field goal in the third quarter after a fumble recovery for the team's only score. In the fourth quarter, All-Americans tackle Youngstrom blocked a Thorpe punt and returned it for a touchdown. The Sunday Chronicle named Thorpe, Henry and Lowe as the Bulldogs' stars, while Anderson, Youngstrom, and Miller were the standouts for the All-Americans.
Game 11: at Washington Glee Club
December 5, 1920, in Weiss Park