The 1926 season had been a financial bloodbath and only the strongest clubs survived. There had been 31 "top" pro teams in 1926, with 22 in the bloated AFA and 9 more in the upstart FAA. The FAA had disappeared, and most of the players who had jumped ship had been brought back into the fold (if their former teams found them necessary) or simply been blackballed - then, as now, talent would supersede most personal faults. Sanity - at least in terms of the number of pro teams - returned after several years of oversaturation which brought with it extremely uneven play. Though the carousel of teams coming & going wasn't quite stopped just yet, it had slowed down a bit.
The AFA cut down to 10 teams, then added two more. One came from the enemy camp, as the New York Gothams were accepted over the objection of the New York Stars. And the former Toledo Tigers returned in a new place, as they signed on some former Pittsburgh Pros and moved the team to the Steel City as the Pittsburgh Bulldogs. Most of the small city teams were now gone, with Dayton being the last holdout of the old core of smaller cities that had been the basis for the AFA's founding back in 1920. The other cities were Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York (twice) and Philadelphia. All the teams - except Buffalo, Dayton and Milwaukee - were now playing in the large, relatively modern ballparks of the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues with single-use stadia being a far-off dream for gridiron owners.
On the field, the Detroit Maroons were the class of the league, going 10-0-0 and allowing a meager 42 points behind the league's best defense. The big cities dominated as the "little brothers" in Dayton, Buffalo and Milwaukee were firmly ensconced in the basement, with Buffalo playing just five games before pulling the plug on their season while Milwaukee posted an 0-9-0 mark and Dayton went just 1-6-1. The Maroons' dominance meant that for once there was no controversy over the AFA championship, though the voices clamoring for some kind of playoff or championship continued to rise.
The 1927 AFA All-Pro Team
Ends
- John Danner, Detroit Maroons
- Max Rendell, Pittsburgh Bulldogs
Tackles
- Charlie Clements, New York Stars
- Freeman Bender, Philadelphia Hornets
Guards
- Gus Ziegler, New York Gothams
- Rufus Gil, Chicago Wildcats
Center
- Jake Parkman, Chicago Wildcats
Quarterback
- Garland Goddard, Pittsburgh Bulldogs
Halfbacks
- Harry Alexander, Chicago Wildcats
- John Scotten, Detroit/NY Gothams
Fullback
- Doug Sadlier, New York Stars
FINAL STANDINGS
Team | W | L | T | PF | PA |
Detroit Maroons | 10 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 42 |
Boston Minutemen | 10 | 3 | 1 | 170 | 85 |
Chicago Wildcats | 9 | 4 | 1 | 147 | 102 |
New York Stars | 8 | 4 | 1 | 215 | 76 |
Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 7 | 5 | 1 | 186 | 112 |
New York Gothams | 7 | 7 | 2 | 150 | 201 |
Philadelphia Hornets | 7 | 10 | 1 | 157 | 196 |
Baltimore Browns | 5 | 8 | 0 | 107 | 154 |
Cleveland Finches | 4 | 7 | 0 | 57 | 131 |
Dayton Dusters | 1 | 6 | 1 | 39 | 68 |
Buffalo Nickels | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 91 |
Milwaukee Hawks | 0 | 9 | 0 | 46 | 181 |
WEEKLY RESULTS
Date | Visitor | Home | ||
18-Sep | Dayton Dusters | 0 | Detroit Maroons | 3 |
24-Sep | Dayton Dusters | 10 | Philadelphia Hornets | 10 |
25-Sep | Chicago Wildcats | 7 | Cleveland Finches | 0 |
25-Sep | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 7 | Detroit Maroons | 17 |
25-Sep | Buffalo Nickels | 9 | Baltimore Browns | 20 |
25-Sep | New York Stars | 27 | Boston Minutemen | 6 |
2-Oct | Baltimore Browns | 0 | Cleveland Finches | 3 |
2-Oct | New York Stars | 17 | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 17 |
2-Oct | New York Gothams | 6 | Dayton Dusters | 7 |
2-Oct | Chicago Wildcats | 3 | Detroit Maroons | 7 |
2-Oct | Buffalo Nickels | 0 | Boston Minutemen | 13 |
8-Oct | Dayton Dusters | 6 | Philadelphia Hornets | 12 |
9-Oct | Dayton Dusters | 10 | Cleveland Finches | 14 |
9-Oct | New York Gothams | 0 | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 17 |
9-Oct | Milwaukee Hawks | 0 | Detroit Maroons | 24 |
9-Oct | New York Stars | 17 | Baltimore Browns | 7 |
12-Oct | New York Gothams | 24 | Buffalo Nickels | 0 |
15-Oct | Buffalo Nickels | 3 | Philadelphia Hornets | 17 |
16-Oct | Philadelphia Hornets | 17 | Buffalo Nickels | 0 |
16-Oct | New York Gothams | 6 | Chicago Wildcats | 10 |
16-Oct | Cleveland Finches | 0 | Detroit Maroons | 24 |
16-Oct | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 3 | New York Stars | 17 |
16-Oct | Baltimore Browns | 0 | Boston Minutemen | 17 |
22-Oct | New York Stars | 21 | Philadelphia Hornets | 0 |
23-Oct | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 13 | Chicago Wildcats | 10 |
23-Oct | New York Gothams | 3 | Detroit Maroons | 14 |
23-Oct | Philadelphia Hornets | 0 | New York Stars | 14 |
23-Oct | Milwaukee Hawks | 15 | Baltimore Browns | 21 |
23-Oct | Dayton Dusters | 0 | Boston Minutemen | 10 |
29-Oct | Boston Minutemen | 10 | Philadelphia Hornets | 7 |
30-Oct | Dayton Dusters | 3 | Chicago Wildcats | 7 |
30-Oct | New York Gothams | 17 | Cleveland Finches | 3 |
30-Oct | Milwaukee Hawks | 6 | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 10 |
30-Oct | Baltimore Browns | 0 | New York Stars | 17 |
30-Oct | Philadelphia Hornets | 0 | Boston Minutemen | 9 |
5-Nov | Baltimore Browns | 16 | Philadelphia Hornets | 7 |
6-Nov | Boston Minutemen | 6 | Chicago Wildcats | 0 |
6-Nov | Detroit Maroons | 17 | Cleveland Finches | 0 |
6-Nov | New York Gothams | 0 | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 38 |
6-Nov | Milwaukee Hawks | 0 | New York Stars | 28 |
6-Nov | Philadelphia Hornets | 13 | Baltimore Browns | 0 |
8-Nov | Boston Minutemen | 14 | New York Stars | 10 |
8-Nov | Chicago Wildcats | 10 | New York Gothams | 10 |
11-Nov | New York Gothams | 0 | Baltimore Browns | 15 |
12-Nov | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 28 | Philadelphia Hornets | 3 |
13-Nov | Baltimore Browns | 7 | Chicago Wildcats | 21 |
13-Nov | Philadelphia Hornets | 10 | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 7 |
13-Nov | Dayton Dusters | 3 | Detroit Maroons | 6 |
13-Nov | Cleveland Finches | 7 | New York Gothams | 10 |
13-Nov | Milwaukee Hawks | 0 | Boston Minutemen | 27 |
19-Nov | Cleveland Finches | 3 | Philadelphia Hornets | 17 |
20-Nov | Detroit Maroons | 21 | Chicago Wildcats | 17 |
20-Nov | Cleveland Finches | 10 | New York Stars | 6 |
20-Nov | Milwaukee Hawks | 7 | Baltimore Browns | 21 |
20-Nov | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 10 | Boston Minutemen | 7 |
24-Nov | Cleveland Finches | 7 | Chicago Wildcats | 17 |
24-Nov | Detroit Maroons | 20 | Philadelphia Hornets | 9 |
24-Nov | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 10 | New York Gothams | 13 |
24-Nov | Boston Minutemen | 7 | Baltimore Browns | 0 |
26-Nov | Milwaukee Hawks | 7 | Philadelphia Hornets | 16 |
27-Nov | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 6 | Cleveland Finches | 10 |
27-Nov | Chicago Wildcats | 10 | New York Stars | 7 |
27-Nov | New York Gothams | 17 | Boston Minutemen | 17 |
3-Dec | Milwaukee Hawks | 2 | Pittsburgh Bulldogs | 20 |
3-Dec | Chicago Wildcats | 7 | Philadelphia Hornets | 6 |
3-Dec | Boston Minutemen | 6 | New York Gothams | 14 |
4-Dec | Philadelphia Hornets | 0 | Chicago Wildcats | 14 |
4-Dec | New York Gothams | 0 | New York Stars | 27 |
4-Dec | Baltimore Browns | 0 | Boston Minutemen | 21 |
10-Dec | New York Gothams | 21 | Philadelphia Hornets | 13 |
11-Dec | Milwaukee Hawks | 9 | Chicago Wildcats | 14 |
11-Dec | New York Stars | 7 | New York Gothams | 9 |