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