| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1902 |
| First season | 1902 |
| Ceased | 1919 |
| Claim to fame | Predecessor to theNational Football League (NFL) |
| No. of teams | 23 |
| Country | United States |
| Venues | Armory Park Idora Park Indianola Park League Field League Park Luna Bowl Swayne Field Tank Stadium Triangle Park |
| Last champion | Canton Bulldogs |
| Most titles | Massillon Tigers (5) |
| Related competitions | New York Pro Football League (NYPFL) Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit Chicago League |
TheOhio League was an informal and loose association ofAmerican football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for theOhio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based inOhio. It is the direct predecessor to the modernNational Football League (NFL).
A proposal to add teams from outside Ohio, such as theLatrobe Athletic Association, to form a formal league known as the "Football Association" fell through prior to the 1904 season.
Though achampion was declared by the group throughout its existence, a formal league was not founded until 1920, when several Ohio League teams added clubs from other states to form theAmerican Professional Football Association. In 1922, the APFA became the National Football League.
All but one of the remaining Ohio League teams left the NFL after the1926 season, with the sole remaining team, theDayton Triangles, surviving until 1929, before moving to Brooklyn, playing as the Dodgers. That team merged with the Boston Yanks in 1945. The merger ended after the end of 1945 season. The league cancelled the Brooklyn franchise.
| Year | Champion | W | L | T | Deciding game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | Akron East Ends | ||||
| 1903 | Massillon Tigers | 8 | 1 | 0 | def. Akron East Ends, 11-0 |
| 1904 | Massillon Tigers | 7 | 0 | 0 | def. Akron East Ends, 6-5 |
| 1905 | Massillon Tigers | 10 | 0 | 0 | def.Canton Bulldogs, 10-0 |
| 1906 | Massillon Tigers | 10 | 1 | 0 | def. Canton Bulldogs, 13-6 |
| 1907 | Massillon Tigers | 7 | 0 | 1 | [1] |
| 1908 | Akron Indians | 8 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1909 | Akron Indians | 9 | 0 | 0 | def.Shelby Blues, 12-9 |
| 1910 | Shelby Blues andShelby Tigers[2] | 14 | 0 | 1 | def. Akron Indians, 8-5 |
| 1911 | Shelby Blues | 10 | 0 | 0 | def. Canton Bulldogs, 1-0 (forfeit) |
| 1912 | Elyria Athletics | 8 | 0 | 0 | def. Akron Indians |
| 1913 | Akron Indians | 8 | 1 | 2 | def. Shelby Blues, 20-0[3] |
| 1914 | Akron Parratt's Indians | 8 | 2 | 1 | def. Canton Bulldogs, 21-0 |
| 1915 | Disputed | [4] | |||
| 1916 | Canton Bulldogs | 9 | 0 | 1 | def. Massillon Tigers, 24-0 |
| 1917 | Canton Bulldogs | 9 | 1 | 0 | def.Detroit Heralds, 7-0 |
| 1918 | Dayton Triangles | 8 | 0 | 0 | def. Detroit Heralds |
| 1919 | Canton Bulldogs | 9 | 0 | 1 |
Completed
Further, theDetroit Heralds, though based in Michigan, played many of its games against Ohio teams.
Some of the better teams of the 1920s, who did not join theNFL existed in theOhio Valley,[5] and would form an unofficial but recognized circuit -The Ohio Valley League - which resembled the old Ohio League.[6] The "league" collapsed at the beginning of theGreat Depression.[7]
The two stronger teams in the league were thePortsmouth Spartans and theIronton Tanks,[8] that in the year after the circuit died (1930) beat theNew York Giants andChicago Bears,[9] while the Spartans would join the NFL and would later become theDetroit Lions. Two other noteworthy teams were theArmco Corporation employees teams - Ashland Armco Yellowjackets (Kentucky) and Middletown Armco Blues (Ohio),[10] who featured many former college All-Americans, includingRed Roberts.[11]
1925 Ironton Tanks (9-1-2)[12]
1926 Ironton Tanks (11-1-1)[13]
1927 Ashland Armco Yellowjackets (7-1-3)[14]
1928 Ironton Tanks (7-1-3)[15]
1929 Portsmouth Spartans (12-2-1)[16]
In 1941, there was a resurgence in pro football in Ohio, as local teams tried to form a new professional league calledThe Ohio Professional Football League (also known asOhio Valley League).[17] Six teams came together in an attempt to restore the region's former old glory: The Dayton Dakotas, Dayton Merchants, Cincinnati Pepsi-Colas, Columbus Avondales, Middletown Merchants, and anotherCanadian team the Thomas Athletic Club fromWindsor, Ontario,[18] but they withdrew from the league before the season started.
The circuit operated on a much smaller scale from previous leagues, and did not return for a second season.
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Pepsi-Colas[19] | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Dayton Dakotas[20] | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 |
| Middletown Merchants[21] | 3 | 3 | 1 | .500 |
| Columbus Avondales[22] | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 |
| Dayton Merchants[23] | 0 | 7 | 1 | .063 |
