Akron Pros
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The Akron Pros were a National Football League team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1920-1925 and as the Akron Indians in 1926. The Pros won the 1920 APFA Championship. The NFL was called the American Professional Football Association until 1922.
The team started out in 1916 as the Akron Burkhardts, named after a local family of brewers that sponsored the team. As from 1917 the team competed as the Akron Pros.The Pros became a charter member of the NFL (then known as the American Professional Football Association) in 1920.
Fritz Pollard, the first African-American head coach in the NFL, co-coached the Pros in 1921. Paul Robeson played for the team in 1921 as well. In 1926, the name was changed to the Akron Indians, which had been an earlier Akron semi-pro team, but that didn't help. Because of financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and surrendered its franchise the following year.
[edit] Pro Football Hall of Famers
[edit] Season-by-season
| W | L | T | Finish | Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Pros | |||||
| 1920 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1st | Elgie Tobin |
| 1921 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3rd | Elgie Tobin, Fritz Pollard |
| 1922 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10th | Untz Brewer, Paul Sheeks |
| 1923 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 15th | Dutch Hendren, Carl Cramer |
| 1924 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 13th | Jim Flower |
| 1925 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5th | George Barry, Fritz Pollard |
| Akron Indians | |||||
| 1926 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16th | F Pollard, Al Nesser, Rube Ursella |
| Totals | 27 | 26 | 11 | ||
