 | |
| Founded | 1887 |
|---|---|
| Suspended | 1942–1957 |
| Folded | 1970 |
| Based in | Orange, New Jersey Newark, New Jersey Orlando, Florida (1966–1969) |
| League | Independent (1887, 1904–1928, 1931–1935) American Football Union (AFU) (1888–1895) National Football League (1929–1930) American Association (1936–1948) Atlantic Coast Football League (1963–1964, 1970–1971) Continental Football League (1965–1969) |
| Team history | Orange Athletic Club (1887–1928) Orange Tornadoes (1929, 1931–1936) Newark Tornadoes (1930, 1937–1938) Newark Bears (1939–1941, 1963–1965) Orlando Panthers (1966–1969) |
| Team colors | Navy, orange, white |
| Head coaches | Jack Depler (1929) Jack Fish,Al McGall,Andy Salata (1930) |
| Owner(s) | Edwin Simandl (1929–1938) George Halas (1939–1941) Sol Rosen (1963–1964) Tom Granatell (1966–1969) Paul Massey (1970) |
| Home field(s) | Grove Street Grounds (1889),East Orange Oval (1890–???) East Orange Stadium (???–1925) Knights of Columbus Stadium (1926–1929, 1931–1936) Newark Schools Stadium (1930, 1937–65) Newark Velodrome (1930) Citrus Bowl (1966–1969) |
TheOrange Tornadoes andNewark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, theNational Football League from 1929 to 1930, theAmerican Association from 1936 to 1941, theAtlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and theContinental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history inOrange, New Jersey, with many of its later years inNewark. Its last five seasons of existence were as theOrlando Panthers, when the team was based inOrlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL –Jack Depler in Orange, andJack Fish,Al McGall andAndy Salata in Newark.
The Orange Tornadoes can trace their roots back to theOrange Athletic Club. The Orange A.C. was originally an amateur football team that began play in 1887. The team's first ever game was a 36–0 loss to theSeton Hall University football team. By the 1890s the Orange became asemi-pro team. In 1892, the team practiced under electric lights at night to prepare for an October 8 game againstRutgers College. The Orange A. C. would go on to win that game 22–10. In 1893, the team won theAmerican Football Union Championship, after posting an 8–2 record. In 1902, the Orange A. C. played againstPhiladelphia Phillies and thePhiladelphia Athletics of thefirst National Football League. The team also played inWorld Series of Football in that year, atMadison Square Garden. In 1902, Orange lost toAll-Syracuse, 36–0. However, the team returned to the World Series of Football in 1903, when they played theWatertown Red & Black and the eventual champion, theFranklin Athletic Club. Orange lost to Watertown, 11–0, and to Franklin, 12–0. However, it did manage to defeat theOreo Athletic Club of Asbury Park, 22–0.
The Orange team became an established independent pro team from 1919 until 1928, under the nickname theOrange AC Golden Tornadoes. During this time, Orange defeated theNew York Brickley Giants of the NFL. They also played pre-NFL versions of theFrankford Yellow Jackets and theStaten Island Stapletons. They also played against theAtlantic City Roses and theMillville Big Blue, two of the top independent teams of the 1920s. By 1928, Orange held theNew York Giants and Frankford Yellow Jackets to close scores. On September 16, 1928, Orange held the 1927 NFL Champion New York Giants to just a 7–0 victory. A week earlier the NFL's previous champions, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, were held to a 12–0 victory. Orange showed that their team could compete in the NFL.
While the Golden Tornadoes played in Orange, a separateNewark Bears played in the originalAmerican Football League in the 1926 season in Newark, unrelated to the Tornadoes team that would later take on that identity. That Newark Bears club was later absorbed into theStaten Island Stapletons.
In 1929Ole Haugsrud, the owner ofDuluth Eskimos, sold his NFL franchise rights for the Eskimos toPiggy Simandl, a wholesale meat salesman and sports promoter from Orange, who named his franchise the Orange Tornadoes. The Tornadoes played their home games atKnights of Columbus Stadium. The first game for the new team was a scoreless tie against theNew York Giants on September 29, 1929. A week later the team recorded its first NFL win by defeating theBoston Bulldogs 7–0. The victory came off a shortGeorge Pease pass toPaul Longua, who ran 60 yards for atouchdown. However, the following week, Orange experienced its first NFL loss in a 7–0 defeat to the 1928 NFL Champions, theProvidence Steamroller. The team regrouped on October 19, 1929, and the Tornandoes held the Frankford Yellow Jackets to a 6–6 tie atFrankford Stadium. A week later the team rallied from a 13–0 deficit to defeat the Boston Bulldogs, 19–13.
On October 29, 1929, the Bulldogs and Tornadoes met again to play, inPottsville, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1929, the Bulldogs played as thePottsville Maroons and the teams played for their still loyal fans at the Maroons'Minersville Park. This time however, the Tornadoes lost 6–0 by way of a 4-yard touchdown run from Boston'sTony Latone. On October 3, the Tornadoes held theStaten Island Stapletons to a scoreless tie atThompson Stadium. During that game the Stapletons were within scoring distance three times, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Tornadoes only penetrated the Staten Island 20-yard line once.
The Orange then lost a rematch against the New York Giants, 22–0, a week later. But after a scoreless tie against Frankford, the Orange defeated the Staten Island Stapletons 3–0, due to aFelix McCormickfield goal. However, the next game, against theChicago Cardinals, resulted in a 26–0 Tornadoes loss. The Cardinals, led byErnie Nevers, put up 20 points in the second quarter of the game. The Tornadoes then ended their 1929 season with a 10–0 loss to Frankford. They finished with a 3–5–4 record, scoring 35 points, while giving up 80.
The team's fortune in the NFL changed for the worse after it moved to Newark in 1930. During the team's time in Newark, it played its home games atNewark Schools Stadium. Head coachJack Depler defected to buy theDayton Triangles, moving that team toBrooklyn and transforming that team into theBrooklyn Dodgers. He took most of the members of the 1929 Tornadoes with him. Meanwhile, the Tornadoes went through three coaches during the 1930 season, and the team's only victory during the1930 season was against the Frankford Yellow Jackets.
The last game for the Newark Tornadoes was against the New York Giants, a 34–7 loss on October 29, 1930. The franchise ended league play after the 1930 season and was sold back to the NFL. The league ordered the franchise sold to the highest bidder prior to the 1931 season, but there were no takers, and a league-ownedCleveland Indians assumed the Tornadoes' place in the NFL for that season.
In 1932, aBoston-based group headed byGeorge Preston Marshall won a new NFL franchise. The new team would be named the Boston Braves, now theWashington Commanders. Strong circumstantial evidence indicates that Marshall's group was awarded the remains of the failed Newark organization. The NFL's decision to auction off the Tornadoes to the highest bidder indicated its intent to replace the franchise, and Marshall's group was the next to receive a franchise (though the league had temporarily added a league-owned franchise, theCleveland Indians, to fill the Tornadoes' position in 1931). Additionally, Eskimos owner Haugsrud recalled in 1974 letter toGeorge Halas that the Eskimos franchise was transferred to New Jersey before being transferred to Boston.[1] However, the NFL considers the Commanders to be a 1932 expansion team and not a continuation of the Tornadoes, just as it does not consider the Tornadoes to be a continuation of the Eskimos. Likewise, the Commanders do not claim the Tornadoes or Eskimos (nor the Indians) as part of their own legacy.
Though the NFL franchise had moved to Newark, owner Edwin Simandl had kept a barebones organization back in Orange, just in case the NFL Tornadoes failed. When they did, he moved as many players as he could from the Newark squad back to Orange. The minor league Tornadoes played in various leagues, including theAmerican Association, of which it was a charter member. The Orange Tornadoes moved back to Newark in 1937 and were eventually bought by theChicago Bears. Playing under the nameNewark Bears (a name previously used by theNewark Bears of the1926 American Football League), the team played in the AA through 1941.
The team did not return after World War II; instead,George Halas took what was left of the team and split it into theNewark Bombers and theAkron Bears. TheBloomfield Cardinals replaced both teams in 1947. The NFL severed ties with all minor league teams in 1948.
In 1929, Orange experimented with using letters instead of numbers on player jerseys;Heinie Benkert, for example, wore the letter "C" on his uniform.[2]
| Name | League | Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Tornadoes | NFL | 1929 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6th | Jack Depler |
| Newark Tornadoes | 1930 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 11th | Jack Fish,Al McGall,Andy Salata | |
| Orange Tornadoes | AA | 1936 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5th | |
| Newark Tornadoes | 1937 | 6 | 1 | 3 | T-1st | ||
| Newark Tornadoes | 1938 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | ||
| Newark Bears | 1939 | 6 | 2 | 1 | Champions | ||
| 1940 | 5 | 5 | 1 | T-4th | |||
| 1941 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5th |
