Cleveland Tigers (NFL)
| Founded | 1916 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1921 |
| Based in | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| League |
Ohio League (1916–1919) National Football League (1920–1922) |
| Team history |
Cleveland Indians (1916–1919) Cleveland Tigers (1919–1920) Cleveland Indians (1921–1922) |
| Team colors | Red, White |
| Head coaches |
Peggy Parratt (1916) Stan Cofall, Al Pierotti (1920) Jim Thorpe (1921) |
| General managers | Stan Cofall |
| Owner(s) |
Peggy Parratt (1916) Jimmy O'Donnell (1920–1922) |
| Named for |
Akron Indians (1916) Massillon Tigers (1920) Double entendre (1921) |
| Home field(s) | League Park |
The Cleveland Tigers were the first Cleveland, Ohio team franchise in what became the National Football League. The Tigers played in the "Ohio League" before joining the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League in 1922) during the 1920 and 1921 seasons.
The Cleveland Indians football team was originally established in 1916 and played in the Ohio League. The team was formed after the Massillon Tigers raided the Akron Indians roster in 1915 and took away many of their star players. That year Peggy Parratt, the Akron Indians player-coach formed the Cleveland Indians with several former ex-Akron Indians players and a few new ex-college players. Despite a winning record, the 1916 Indians season was disappointing, losing twice to the Canton Bulldogs, who were led by Jim Thorpe, and splitting a pair of games with the Columbus Panhandles.
In 1920, when owners of professional teams organized a more structured league, Jimmy O'Donnell, a local sports promoter, obtained the Cleveland franchise. O'Donnell, also the owner of a semi-pro baseball team called the Tigers, was aided in his football venture by Stan Cofall, a football star at Notre Dame from 1914 to 1916, and with the Massillon Tigers. Cofall helped re-organize the Cleveland team in 1919 and, along with O'Donnell attended the September 1920 meeting in Canton, Ohio that founded the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL the following year. For the first half of the 1920 season, Cofall was the Tigers' player-coach; he was also elected vice-president of the new league.
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