1924 NFL season
Encyclopedia
The 1924 NFL season was the 5th regular season
of the National Football League
. The league had 18 teams play during the season, including the new clubs Frankford Yellow Jackets
, Kansas City Blues
, and Kenosha Maroons
. The Louisville Brecks, Oorang Indians
, St. Louis All Stars
, Toledo Maroons
, and Cleveland Indians folded.
Before the season, the owner of the now-defunct Cleveland Indians
bought the Canton Bulldogs
and "mothballed" it, taking the team's nickname and players to Cleveland for the season. The new team, the Cleveland Bulldogs
, won the 1924 NFL title with a 7–1–1 record.
, Buffalo Bisons
, Frankford Yellow Jackets
, Green Bay Packers
and Chicago Bears
were the contenders for the title in November. However, Buffalo faltered down the stretch, dropping their last three games to drop from 6–2 to 6–5, squarely in the middle of the pack. Green Bay similarly fell from 6–2 to 7–4. This left Cleveland and Chicago to contend for the title, since Frankford had two losses and the other two teams only one. Teams such as the Duluth Kelleys and the Rock Island Independents
would have been contenders for the title but their more limited schedules (6 games for Duluth and 9 for Rock Island) effectively ruled them out of title contention.
The official end of the season was designated as November 30, 1924, with Cleveland atop the league standings. After this date, Chicago challenged Cleveland to a post-season rematch and won, setting up a repeat of 1921, when the Bears (at that time still known as the Staleys) were able to take the championship from Buffalo
(at the time known as the All-Americans) using exactly the same trick. This time, however, league officials declared any game after November 30 to be effectively exhibition game
s, null and void with regard to the season standings, which allowed the Bulldogs to keep their title.
In terms of pure win-loss differential, the Frankford Yellow Jackets
would have easily won the NFL title, as they had 9 more wins than losses, compared to the +5 of both the Bulldogs and Bears. Had the current system of counting ties as half a win and half a loss been in place at the time of the 1924 season, the Duluth Kelleys (5-1, .833) would have tied the Bulldogs (7½-1½, .833) for the league title, and the tiebreaker would not have applied because the Kelleys and Bulldogs did not play each other. Frankford (11½-2½, or .821) would have finished in third place, significantly ahead of the Bears (at 8-3, or .727). However, at the time, ties were discarded when calculating win percentage until the 1970s.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The league had 18 teams play during the season, including the new clubs Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
, Kansas City Blues
Kansas City (NFL)
Kansas City, Missouri had a National Football League team prior to the Chiefs that operated under two different names: The Blues in 1924 and the Cowboys from 1925-1926. The Blues competed as a traveling team, playing all of their NFL games in other cities' stadia in their only year under that name...
, and Kenosha Maroons
Kenosha Maroons
The Kenosha Maroons were a National Football League football team in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Officially, the club only played in the league during the 1924 season, dissolving after posting no wins in five games.-Origins:...
. The Louisville Brecks, Oorang Indians
Oorang Indians
The Oorang Indians were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio . The team was named after the Oorang dog kennels. It was a novelty team put together by the kennels' owner, Walter Lingo, for marketing purposes. All of the players were Native American, with Jim Thorpe as...
, St. Louis All Stars
St. Louis All Stars
St. Louis All-Stars was a professional football team that played in the National Football League during the 1923 season. The team played at St. Louis, Missouri's Sportsman's Park...
, Toledo Maroons
Toledo Maroons
The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:...
, and Cleveland Indians folded.
Before the season, the owner of the now-defunct Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Bulldogs
The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922...
bought the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
and "mothballed" it, taking the team's nickname and players to Cleveland for the season. The new team, the Cleveland Bulldogs
Cleveland Bulldogs
The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922...
, won the 1924 NFL title with a 7–1–1 record.
Championship race
The Cleveland BulldogsCleveland Bulldogs
The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922...
, Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo (NFL)
Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...
, Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
were the contenders for the title in November. However, Buffalo faltered down the stretch, dropping their last three games to drop from 6–2 to 6–5, squarely in the middle of the pack. Green Bay similarly fell from 6–2 to 7–4. This left Cleveland and Chicago to contend for the title, since Frankford had two losses and the other two teams only one. Teams such as the Duluth Kelleys and the Rock Island Independents
Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...
would have been contenders for the title but their more limited schedules (6 games for Duluth and 9 for Rock Island) effectively ruled them out of title contention.
The official end of the season was designated as November 30, 1924, with Cleveland atop the league standings. After this date, Chicago challenged Cleveland to a post-season rematch and won, setting up a repeat of 1921, when the Bears (at that time still known as the Staleys) were able to take the championship from Buffalo
Staley Swindle
The 1921 NFL Championship controversy, known among Buffalo sports historians and fans as the Staley Swindle, is a dispute in which the Buffalo All-Americans unintentionally surrendered the 1921 APFA Championship title to the Chicago Staleys...
(at the time known as the All-Americans) using exactly the same trick. This time, however, league officials declared any game after November 30 to be effectively exhibition game
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
s, null and void with regard to the season standings, which allowed the Bulldogs to keep their title.
In terms of pure win-loss differential, the Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
would have easily won the NFL title, as they had 9 more wins than losses, compared to the +5 of both the Bulldogs and Bears. Had the current system of counting ties as half a win and half a loss been in place at the time of the 1924 season, the Duluth Kelleys (5-1, .833) would have tied the Bulldogs (7½-1½, .833) for the league title, and the tiebreaker would not have applied because the Kelleys and Bulldogs did not play each other. Frankford (11½-2½, or .821) would have finished in third place, significantly ahead of the Bears (at 8-3, or .727). However, at the time, ties were discarded when calculating win percentage until the 1970s.
Final standings
P = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning PercentageNote: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972
| Team | P | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Bulldogs 1924 Cleveland Bulldogs season The 1924 Cleveland Bulldogs season was their inaugural season in the league. The team finished 7-1-1, the best record in the league, making them 1924 NFL Champions.-Schedule:... |
9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | .875 |
| Chicago Bears 1924 Chicago Bears season The 1924 Chicago Bears season was their fifth regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 6-1-4 league record under head coach George Halas earning them a second place finish in the team standings, the fourth time in the last five years... |
11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | .857 |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets season The 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets season was their inaugural season in the National Football League. The team finished 11-2-1 in league play and 17-3-1 overall, enough to finish in third in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 |
| Duluth Kelleys 1924 Duluth Kelleys season The 1924 Duluth Kelleys season was their second in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 4-3, winning five games. They finished fourth in the league standings.-Schedule:* Games in italics are non-league games-Standings:... |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 |
| Rock Island Independents 1924 Rock Island Independents season The 1924 Rock Island Independents season was their fifth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 2-3-3, winning five games. They finished fifth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | .714 |
| Green Bay Packers 1924 Green Bay Packers season The 1924 Green Bay Packers season was their fourth season in the National Football League. The club posted a 7-4 league record under player/coach Curly Lambeau earning them a sixth place finish in the standings.-Schedule:... |
11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 |
| Racine Legion 1924 Racine Legion season The 1924 Racine Legion season was their third in the league and last season as the Legion. The team improved on their previous output of 4-4-2, losing only three games. They finished seventh in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | .571 |
| Chicago Cardinals 1924 Chicago Cardinals season The 1924 Chicago Cardinals season was their fifth in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 8-4, winning only five games. They finished eighth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 |
| Buffalo Bisons 1924 Buffalo Bisons (NFL) season The 1924 Buffalo Bisons season was their fifth in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5-4-3, losing five games. They finished ninth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 |
| Columbus Tigers 1924 Columbus Tigers season The 1924 Columbus Tigers season was their fifth in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5-4-1, winning only four games. They finished tenth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 |
| Hammond Pros 1924 Hammond Pros season The 1924 Hammond Pros season was their fifth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 1-5-1, winning two games. They finished tenth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 |
| Milwaukee Badgers 1924 Milwaukee Badgers season The 1924 Milwaukee Badgers season was their third in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 7-2-3, winning only five games. They finished twelfth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 |
| Akron Pros 1924 Akron Pros season The 1924 Akron Pros season was their fifth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 1-6, winning two games. They tied for thirteenth place in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 |
| Dayton Triangles 1924 Dayton Triangles season The 1924 Dayton Triangles season was their fifth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 1-6-1. They finished thirteenth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 |
| Kansas City Blues 1924 Kansas City Blues season The 1924 Kansas City Blues season was their inaugural season in the National Football League. The team finished 2-7, and finished fifteenth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 |
| Kenosha Maroons 1924 Kenosha Maroons season The 1924 Kenosha Maroons season was their sole season in the league. The team finished 0-4-1, and tied for sixteenth place in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | .000 |
| Minneapolis Marines 1924 Minneapolis Marines season The 1924 Minneapolis Marines season was their fourth in the league and final as the Marines. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 2-5-2, losing six games. They tied for sixteenth place in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 |
| Rochester Jeffersons 1924 Rochester Jeffersons season The 1924 Rochester Jeffersons season was their fifth in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 0-4, losing seven games. They tied for sixteenth place in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 |