| Founded | 1919 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1933 |
| Based in | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| League | American Football League (1926) |
| Team history | Cleveland Panthers |
| Team colors | Brown, Gold, White |
| Head coaches | Ray E. Watts |
| Owner(s) | Gen. Charles X. Zimmerman |
| Home field(s) | Luna Bowl |
TheCleveland Panthers were a professionalAmerican football team. They were an independent team founded in 1919 from the remains of theYoungstown Patricians.[1] The Panthers played, with various degrees of success, continuously from 1919 and eventually, as fewer opponents played them each year after 1926, sputtered to a quiet folding in 1933.[2]
The Panthers competed in thefirst American Football League (AFL), founded byCharles "Cash and Carry" Pyle (1882–1939), in1926. The Panthers, owned by GeneralCharles X. Zimmerman (1865–1926) (the vice president of the AFL),[3] played their home games in oldLuna Bowl inLuna Park. Coached byRay E. Watts, the team drew its players fromOhio colleges and universities and raided the rosters of earlyNational Football League (NFL) teams based in Ohio[4]
The veteran squad led bytailbackAl Michaels was one of only two AFL franchises (the other was theNew York Yankees) to average more than 12 points per game. Other formerCleveland BulldogsDave Noble andDoc Elliott helped provide offensive firepower, while two-sport starCookie Cunningham excelled atend, scoring twice on long passes in an October 3, 1926, game against theLos Angeles Wildcats.[5]
In terms of fan support, the Panthers appeared to have had a good start, defeating the Yankees in their first game, at Luna Bowl in front of a reported 22,000 people, but after a second home victory (17-13, against the Wildcats) in which the attendance figures were apparently not reported, and a third straight home win (this time 23–7 against theRock Island Independents) in front of only 7,000 people, it was becoming evident that the Panthers were in trouble despite being in first place with an undefeated record. A 19–12 defeat in front of only 3,000 spectators inChicago's baseballComiskey Park (the stadium of theChicago White Sox), foreshadowed the inevitable as the similarly troubledNewark Bears withdrew from the league on October 24, 1926.[5]
The next week, the Panthers returned home to oldLuna Park for a rematch with theLos Angeles Wildcats, a hard-fought game dominated by defense, with Cleveland guardAl Nesser dictating much of the game until a fourth quarter fumble by Al Michaels led to the only score of the game in a 6-0 Wildcats win. While the game was stellar, the attendance was not: only 1,000 fans saw it.[5] The following week Stearns Advertising Co. sued the team for $1,000, and the court placed it in receivership. The players were stranded on the road in Philadelphia. The team was disfranchised by the league and disbanded.[6]
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | Ray E. Watts |
Four Panthers subsequently found roster spots on AFL and NFL teams to complete the1926 season, while six who had played in the NFL had their professional football careers end with the demise of the Cleveland Panthers.[4]
The exodus from the AFL continued through November 1926, and after the last official game was played (December 12, 1926), the league itself went out of business.
The following people played for the Panthers for at least one game in the1926 AFL regular season, the only one of the league's existence:[4]
| Name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Norty "Mope" Behm | End1 | Iowa State |
| Cookie Cunningham | End | Ohio State |
| Doc Elliott | Fullback | Lafayette |
| Myles Evans | Tackle | Ohio Wesleyan |
| Billy Gribben | Tailback | Case Western Reserve |
| Eddie "Red" Kregenow | End | Akron |
| Al Michaels | Tailback | Heidelberg, Ohio State |
| Al Nesser2 | Guard3 | none |
| Dave Noble | Back4 | Nebraska |
| John Otterbacher | Guard | Ohio State |
| Guy Roberts | Back4 | Iowa State |
| Red Roberts | Tackle | Centre |
| Jack Sack | Guard | Pittsburgh |
| Bob Spiers | Tackle5 | Ohio State |
| Al Thornburg | Center | Iowa State |
| Ralph Vince | Guard | Washington & Jefferson |
| Leo Virant | Guard | Iowa State |
| Red Weaver | Center | Centre |
| Jay Winters | Blocking back6 | Ohio Wesleyan |
| Dick Wolf | Blocking back | Miami (Ohio) |
1 Also playedfullback
2 Started1926 season as coach ofAkron Indians, then left to play for Panthers
3 Also playedtackle
4 Playedwingback andfullback
5 Also playedguard
6 Position currently known asquarterback
Immediately after the sudden dissolution of the Panthers, four of the team's members managed to join other rosters in either the NFL or the AFL. Doc Elliot found a spot in the eventual AFL championPhiladelphia Quakers, while Al Nesser returned to the NFL, this time playing for theNew York Giants. Guy Roberts and Jack Sack both found a new "home" with theCanton Bulldogs. While Sack finished his career in1926 and Elliott was out of professional football until1931, the other two former members continued their careers after the end of the first AFL.[4]
They were not the only 1926 Panthers to go on to play for theNFL afterwards:
Cookie Cunningham – 1927Cleveland Bulldogs, 1929Chicago Bears, 1931Staten Island Stapletons
Doc Elliott – 1931Cleveland Indians
Al Nesser – 1926-28 New York Giants, 1931 Cleveland Indians
Guy Roberts – 1926 Canton Bulldogs, 1927Pottsville Maroons
Jack Sack – 1926 Canton Bulldogs
Dick Wolf – 1927 Cleveland Bulldogs
Cunningham also played in theAmerican Basketball League 1926-1931 and was aplayer-coach in theNational Basketball League in 1937 and 1938.
On the other hand, six formerNFL players had their professional football careers end with the folding of the Panthers:
Al Michaels – 1923-24Akron Pros, 1925 Cleveland Bulldogs
Dave Noble – 1924-25 Cleveland Bulldogs, 1926 Cleveland Panthers
Red Roberts – 1922Toledo Maroons, 1923 Akron Pros
Bob Spiers – 1922 Akron Pros, 1925 Cleveland Bulldogs
Ralph Vince – 1923 and 1925 Cleveland Bulldogs
Red Weaver – 1923-25Columbus Tigers (coach 1924–25)
The Panthers returned in 1927 but as an independent semi-professional team managed by George T. Jones, who been the secretary for the team under owner Zimmerman (who died in 1926).[6] The team folded in 1933.
After Cleveland received a franchise to play in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1944, the team's head coach,Paul Brown (1908-1991), was reluctant to use his own name, while the Panthers name still had popular support in a newspaper contest.
However, Jones still held the rights to the "Panthers" name, and he demanded several thousand dollars from team ownerArthur B. McBride for the use of the name. However, after Brown told McBride "That old Panthers team failed, I want no part of that name", McBride refused to pay. He reopened the contest, and selected the Browns name for his team;[6] Brown ultimately acquiesced, and so the team would be named theCleveland Browns. The Browns joined the National Football League (NFL) from the AAFC in 1950, and continue to play in the NFL today.
The Panthers nickname would be revived in theNFL in 1993, when anexpansion team was awarded toCharlotte, North Carolina: theCarolina Panthers.