Syracuse Pros
The Syracuse Pros were an American football team that may have played in the American Professional Football Association (APFA).
Team history
The Syracus Pros were founded in Syracuse in 1921 . The team played their first game in front of 800 spectators against the Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen , which ended in a 0-0 draw. This was followed by games against the Buffalo All-Americans and New York Brickley Giants , both of which had to be canceled. To fill the open playing time, they first played against a semi-professional team from Oakdale , which was won 19-0 in front of 1,000 spectators. For the second game they wanted to initially play against Mike Purdy's Syracuse professional team , but they decided differently, which is why the Pros instead played against Suey Welch's Akron Indians , who were defeated 47-0 in front of 1,500 spectators. Afterwards, games against the Rochester Jeffersons and Buffalo were originally planned, but these were again canceled. Instead, they played away in front of 3,500 spectators against Endicott-Johnson AA , which they defeated 20-0. A week later the pros played against the Washington Senators and were defeated by them 7:20. The game was followed by a 12-0 loss to the Jeffersons. Due to the lack of audience participation, the team ran into financial problems and had to stop playing afterwards.
APFA membership
Since the APFA or NFL is not well documented in its early days, membership of different teams is also controversial. This is also the case with the Syracuse Pros, who are not recognized as members by the NFL. This is based on the fact that there is no actual evidence that Syracuse has been awarded a franchise. In favor of membership, however, the fact that the Pros had planned seven games against APFA teams, even if only three were played. In addition, they referred to themselves as members during their existence, even though this did not bring any advantages at the time.
table
| year | victory | defeat | draw | Table position | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19th | Mike Purdy |
| Totals | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||