Brooklyn Horsemen
| Founded | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1926 |
| Based in | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| League | National Football League |
| Team history |
Brooklyn Lions (1926) Brooklyn Horsemen-Lions (1926) (Merger) |
| Team colors |
Red, Black, White |
| Head coaches | Punk Berryman |
| Home field(s) | Ebbets Field |
| Founded | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1926 |
| Based in | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| League | American Football League (1926) |
| Team history |
Brooklyn Horsemen (1926) Brooklyn Horsemen-Lions (1926) (Merger) |
| Team colors |
Maroon, Black, White |
| Head coaches | Eddie McNeely (Horsemen) |
| Owner(s) | Humbert Fugazy |
| Named for |
Elmer Layden & Harry Stuhldreher: Two of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen |
| Home field(s) | Commercial Field |
Red, Black, White
The Brooklyn Lions were a National Football League team that played in the 1926 NFL season. The team was formed as the league's counter-move to the first American Football League, which enfranchised a team called the Brooklyn Horsemen, a professional football team that competed in the 1926 AFL season.
In the months before the regular season began, both leagues battled with each other for fan support and the right to play at Ebbets Field. The NFL emerged as the winner, as the Lions signed the lease to use the stadium on July 20.
On November 12, 1926, the Horsemen withdrew from the AFL and merged with Lions. The new team created by the merger was initially called the Brooklyn Lions and competed in the NFL from November 22, 1926. For the last three games of the 1926, the team used the Horsemen name to finish the season. After three consecutive losses by shutout, the merged team winked out of existence.
Coached by Punk Berryman, the Lions featured Rex Thomas and Herm Bagby, two members of the backfield who could play either tailback or wingback. On defense, Thomas also snared four interceptions. Unfortunately, the team was only slightly more consistent in its play than the Horsemen, and after the November 7 game against the Kansas City Cowboys (a 10–9 loss at Ebbets Field), the Lions merged with the Horsemen. At the time of the merger, the Lions had compiled a 2–5 won-loss record.
NOTE: Final NFL standings: official franchise won-lost record combines the wins and losses of the Lions with the results of the games played by the merged Brooklyn Horsemen
Maroon, Black, White
The Horsemen of the first AFL were owned by boxing promoter Humbert Fugazy and played their home games in Brooklyn's Commercial Field. Coached by Eddie McNeely, the Horsemen got the team name after McNeely's signing of Elmer Layden and Harry Stuhldreher, two of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen. While the team's first game was decided by a 60-yard touchdown pass from Stuldreher to Ed Harrison, the team had trouble maintaining a steady offense (and, ultimately maintaining a fan base). After losses to the Los Angeles Wildcats and Boston Bulldogs in front of decreasing crowds, a scheduled game at Ebbets Field against league leader (and eventual champion) Philadelphia Quakers was cancelled due to inclement weather. On November 7, 1926, the Horsemen played their last AFL game, a 21–13 loss to the New York Yankees, and then merged with their NFL cousins, the Brooklyn Lions, to complete the season in the NFL.
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