Akron Pros
The Akron Pros were an American football team from the city of Akron , Ohio, in the early 20th century . In 1920 you were among the 14 founding members of the American Professional Football Association, which renamed itself the National Football League in 1922. In the APFA's debut season, they won undefeated (with three draws) the championship that is now considered the first NFL championship .
At the beginning of the 20th century there was already a successful semi-professional team in Akron, the Indians. The Akron Indians won the unofficial amateur championship in 1908, 1909, 1913 and 1914 before a player sell-off in 1915 meant the end. In the same year the Pros were founded as Akron Burkhardts by the Burkhardt brewery family as a semi-professional team, in 1917 the team was bought by Vernon McGinnis and Stephen Welch, renamed Pros and reinforced by numerous foreign players. After no team was provided in 1918 due to the shortage of players caused by the First World War, they returned to the football stage in 1919 in memory of the successful past days as Indians. That year, Fritz Pollard also moved to Akron, who was one of the few black players in the first NFL years and who became the first black head coach in NFL history in Akron.
The Indians were disbanded after a season, whereupon Frank Neid and Art Ranney organized a new team (this time again under the name Pros) and joined the newly founded APFA. After the championship in 1920, third place could be achieved in 1921, as a result, the team fell into the sporting offside. In 1925 the Pros finished fifth again. When the sporting problems also came financial, the team was dissolved after the 1926 season after the team had previously been renamed Akron Indians. The team's license expired in 1928.
Players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The only player in the Akron Pros is Fritz Pollard , 1919-21 and 1925-26 as a player; 1921 and 1925/26 as a trainer, started in 2005
