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1921 Cleveland Tigers season

1921 Cleveland Tigers season
Head coachJim Thorpe
Home fieldDunn Field
Results
Record3–5 APFA
(3–5–1 overall)
League place11th APFA

The 1921 Cleveland Tigers season was their second completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA), soon to be renamed the National Football League. The team improved on their previous record of 2–4–2, winning three games.[1] They finished eleventh in the league.[2]

The 1921 team, remembered by some as the Cleveland Indians,[3] featured legendary player-coach Jim Thorpe at halfback and two other Native-American football stars in the backfield — [Joe Guyon|"Indian Joe" Guyon and fullback Pete Calac, both of whom played with Thorpe on the 1920 Canton Bulldogs.[4] In all, six members of the 1921 Cleveland Tigers team played on the Canton Bulldogs the previous season.[4]

The 34-year old Thorpe — ancient in football years — used himself sparingly but was still effective enough that the Cleveland Plain Dealer could write good-naturedly of his season-opening performance against the Columbus Panhandles:

"Poor Jim Thorpe. He has become so old and decrepit that the best he could do yesterday was run eighty yards for a touchdown, shaking off half a dozen tacklers and dodging three or four others. His arm has become so weak he cannot throw the football more than forty or fifty yards in executing forward passes. Poor Jim. The first thing we know he will have to quit the game in ten years or so."[5]

Schedule

Tiny display advertisement promoting the first Cleveland Tigers game of the 1921 season.
Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources
1 October 16 Columbus Panhandles W 35–9 1–0 Dunn Field "several thousand" Recap [6][5]
2 October 23 Cincinnati Celts W 28–0 2–0 Dunn Field Recap [7][8][9]
3 October 30 at Dayton Triangles L 2–3 2–1 Triangle Park 4,000 Recap [10]
4 November 6 at Buffalo All-Americans L 6–10 2–2 Canisius Villa 7,000 Recap [11][12]
5 November 13 Canton Bulldogs L 0–7 2–3 Dunn Field < 3,500 Recap [13][14]
6 November 20 at Chicago Staleys L 7–22 2–4 Cubs Park 10,000 Recap [4][15][16][17][18]
7 December 3 at New York Brickley Giants W 17–0 3–4 Polo Grounds 3,000 Recap
– December 10 at Richmond Athletic Club T 0–0 —
8 December 11 at Washington Senators L 0–7 3–5 American League Park 5,000 Recap
Note: Games in italics indicate a non-league opponent.

Standings

Cleveland fullback Pete Calac gains ground through the Columbus line in the October 16 season-opener.
APFA standings
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Chicago Staleys 9 1 1 .900 128 53 T1
Buffalo All-Americans 9 1 2 .900 211 29 L1
Akron Pros 8 3 1 .727 148 31 W1
Canton Bulldogs 5 2 3 .714 106 55 W1
Rock Island Independents 4 2 1 .667 65 30 L1
Evansville Crimson Giants 3 2 0 .600 89 46 W1
Green Bay Packers 3 2 1 .600 70 55 L1
Dayton Triangles 4 4 1 .500 96 67 L1
Chicago Cardinals 3 3 2 .500 54 53 T1
Rochester Jeffersons 2 3 0 .400 85 76 W2
Cleveland Tigers 3 5 0 .375 95 58 L1
Washington Senators 1 2 0 .334 21 43 L1
Cincinnati Celts 1 3 0 .250 14 117 L2
Hammond Pros 1 3 1 .250 17 45 L2
Minneapolis Marines 1 3 0 .250 37 41 L1
Detroit Tigers 1 5 1 .167 19 109 L5
Columbus Panhandles 1 8 0 .111 47 222 W1
Tonawanda Kardex 0 1 0 .000 0 45 L1
Muncie Flyers 0 2 0 .000 0 28 L2
Louisville Brecks 0 2 0 .000 0 27 L2
New York Brickley Giants 0 2 0 .000 0 72 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

  1. ^ 1921 Cleveland Indians
  2. ^ 1921 Cleveland Tigers (APFA)
  3. ^ Listed as such by Pro Football Reference, although papers of the day almost universally used the "Tigers" moniker.
  4. ^ a b c "Trio of Indian Grid Stars Face Staleys," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 20, 1921, p. 27.
  5. ^ a b Henry P. Edwards, "Cleveland Tiger Eleven Trims Columbus Panhandles by 35 to 9 Score: Thorpe's Famous Backfield Gives Great Exhibition," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 17, 1921, p. 16.
  6. ^ "Thorpe's Pro Grid Outfit Will Open Its Season Today: Tackles Columbus Panhandles, with Famous Nessers, at Dunn Field," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 16, 1921, p. 16.
  7. ^ "Thorpe's Pros in Fine Fettle for Cincinnati Celts: Expect Victory Over Outfit Made Up of Marietta, Miami, Heidelberg and Other College Stars at Dunn Field This Afternoon," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 23, 1921, p. 22.
  8. ^ "Cleveland Tigers Dispose of Cincinnati Celts by Count of 28 to 0: Jim Thorpe Hurt When Tackled As He Catches Pass," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 24, 1921, p. 16.
  9. ^ "Thorpe's Team Beats Celts: Cleveland Tigers Trim Cincinnati Eleven — Score 28 to 0," Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct. 24, 1921, p. 9.
  10. ^ "Triangles Get Heavy End of 3 to 2 Count: Dropkick Brings a One Point Margin Over Jim Thorpe's Cleveland Tigers," Rock island Argus, Oct. 31, 1921, p. 17.
  11. ^ "All-Americans Defeat Cleveland After Being Scored Upon: Jim Thorpe's Cleveland Tigers Drew First Blood But Lose 10 to 6," Buffalo Times, Nov. 7, 1921, p. 16.
  12. ^ "All-Americans Beat Cleveland in Hard Game: Thorpe's Tigers Gave Buffalo Merry Battle — Touchdown by Visitors Not Allowed," Buffalo Enquirer, Nov. 7, 1921, p. 6.
  13. ^ Francis J. Powers, "Cleveland Tigers Fail to Score as They Lose to Canton Bulldog Warriors," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 14, 1921, p. 14.
  14. ^ "Canton Downs Cleveland in Stubborn Game: Carroll Scores Lone Touchdown, Thorpe Gets In," Pittsburgh Post, Nov. 14, 1921, p. 6.
  15. ^ "Staleys Thump Pros of Cleveland, 22–7," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 21, 1921, p. 16.
  16. ^ "Record Crowd Sees Staleys Humble Cleveland, 22–7: Stinchcomb Runs 80 Yards Through Tiger Team for First Score," Decatur Herald, Nov. 21, 1921, p. 4.
  17. ^ "Staley Eleven Puts Tigers to Rout, Score 22–7: Stinchcomb Stars as Decatur Team Wallops Clevelanders," Davenport Democrat and Leader, Nov. 21, 1921, p. 7.
  18. ^ "Thorpe's Tigers Prove Easy for Decatur Staleys: Pete Stinchcomb Races Over Field for Two Touchdowns and is Factor in Scoring of Third; Jim Thorpe Fails to Play," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 21, 1921, p. 17.
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_Cleveland_Tigers_season