The Cleveland Indians was a professional football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 team in 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...

 for the 1931 season

1931 NFL season

The 1931 NFL season was the 12th regular season of the National Football League. The league decreased to 10 teams due to financial hardships caused by the Great Depression. While the Cleveland Indians joined as an expansion team, the league lost the Minneapolis Red Jackets and the Newark Tornadoes...

. The 1931 team was a league-sponsored club that only played games on the road. The NFL intended to locate this team permanently in Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. However no suitable owner was found, so the franchise folded after just one season.

The "Indians" name was used previously for two other Cleveland-based NFL teams. They first use of the Indians name came in 1921, when the Cleveland Tigers became the "Cleveland Indians" before folding after the 1921 season

1921 NFL season

The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....

. A second "Indians" NFL team arose in 1923. That team played as the "Indians" for the 1923 season

1923 NFL season

The 1923 NFL season was the 4th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time, all of the clubs that were considered to be part of the NFL fielded teams. The new teams that entered the league included the Duluth Kelleys, the St. Louis All Stars , and a new Cleveland Indians team...

 before changing their name to 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...

 in 1924. These three Cleveland teams are viewed as three totally different franchises by the NFL.

Season-by-season

Year	W	L	T	Finish	Coaches
1931	2	8	0	8th	Al Cornsweet Al Cornsweet Albert Charles Cornsweet was a professional football player-coach for the Cleveland Indians of the National Football League in 1931. Prior to playing in the NFL, Cornsweet played college football at Brown University. While at Brown he was a member of the school's famed "Iron Men" team of... , Hoge Workman Hoge Workman Harry Hallworth "Hoge" Workman was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and a player-coach in the National Football League. Listed at 5' 11", 170 lb., Workman batted and threw right-handed...