Staten Island Stapletons
The Staten Island Stapletons were an American football team that was part of the National Football League (NFL).
Before the NFL
The Stapletons were founded as a local team in 1915 and were based in New York City . The team only played against regional ones from the New York area. The team was not organized in a league. The players were amateurs whose salary rarely exceeds 10 US dollars lay per game. The viewer income was not enough for better salaries. In 1918 the Stapletons had to stop playing for a year because their founder Dan Blaine had to do his military service in the US Army . Immediately after the end of the First World War , the Stapletons resumed their gaming operations. Blaine, played as a halfback for the team and had made his fortune by running several restaurants that also served alcohol during Prohibition .
In 1924, the Stapletons proclaimed themselves champions of the New York area. They had beaten several non-league teams. In 1925 the New York Giants were founded. An ongoing rivalry developed between the Giants' NFL club and the Stapletons. In the same year, the Giants beat their rivals 7-0. In 1926, the American Football League (AFL) was founded by Red Grange and the Stapletons lost 33-0 to the Newark Bears AFL team. The Bears stayed ahead of the game, but didn't have the financial means to end the AFL season. Blaine recruited numerous players immediately after the game, who from then on played for the Stapletons. In 1927 the Stapletons competed twice against the Giants, who had numerous top players such as Steve Owen , Joe Alexander , Pete Henry and Cal Hubbard in their ranks. The Giants clearly won both games 19-0 and 18-0 and also took the NFL title this year. With a 7: 6 victory over the Duluth Eskimos , led by Ernie Nevers , the Stapletons were able to draw attention to themselves.
In 1928, Blaine upgraded his team significantly. He brought Doug Wycoff , who had already played briefly for the Stapletons in 1926, back to the team as player-coach and hired six young players from the University of New York . Success was not long in coming. The team won 10 of 12 games and won three of four games against NFL teams - including a 7-0 win over arch-rivals New York Giants.
NFL
As early as 1928, the owners of the NFL teams were thinking about expanding the league. That year ten teams played in the NFL, some of which had financial problems and were eliminated from the NFL. New teams were added and the league was increased to twelve teams. The Stapletons also received a franchise , found their way into the NFL and intervened in league events in 1929. Wycoff remained the team's coach. With Ken Strong , Blaine was able to sign a top player, who paid dearly for this. To keep him from signing a contract with the Giants, Blaine offered him an annual salary of $ 5,000 and a rent-free apartment. Strong signed with the Staten Island team . Kenneth Strong was an exceptionally fast player who ran for the Stapletons as a halfback , but also played in other positions in the later years.
The game year 1929 began with a win for the Stapletons. Economically, the team was in good shape and had between 7,000 and 10,000 spectators in the home games. The annual pass was $ 18, and the team's 18 players, with the exception of Strong, earned between $ 100 and $ 150 per game. The season ended the team in sixth place in the table. The economic success was offset by poor sporting success. The sixth place in the table was also reached in 1930, it remained the best placement of the team. Like many teams, the Stapletons were hit by the Great Depression and the attendance figures dropped significantly. The Stapletons ran into financial problems, and finally, after the 1932 season, Blaine had to ask the league to take his team out of play for a year. The request was complied with, and the team continued to exist in 1933 and 1934 as an independent team. There was no return to the NFL. The team finally stopped playing in 1935.