Los Angeles Wildcats
| Founded | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1926 |
| Based in | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| League | American Football League (1926) |
| Team history | Los Angeles Wildcats (1926) |
| Team colors |
Light Brown, White |
| Head coaches | Jim Clark |
| Owner(s) | C. C. Pyle, Red Grange and George "Wildcat" Wilson |
| Named for | George “Wildcat” Wilson |
| Home field(s) | Traveling Team |
Light Brown, White
The Los Angeles Wildcats (also reported in various media as Pacific Coast Wildcats, Los Angeles Wilson Wildcats and Wilson’s Wildcats) was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois (it trained in Rock Island). Coached by Jim Clark, the team was designed to be a showcase for University of Washington star back George “Wildcat” Wilson. Compared to most traveling teams in professional football, the Wildcats were successful, compiling a 6-6-2 record in the only season of the team’s – and the league’s – existence.
The existence of the Wildcats began with the 1926 formation of the American Football League by C. C. Pyle, a sports agent who represented star back Red Grange. Pyle’s application for a National Football League franchise in New York was rejected as Tim Mara, owner of the New York Giants objected to Pyle proposed intrusion into the Giants’ territory. Armed with a five-year lease at Yankee Stadium, Pyle subsequently announced the formation of the American Football League as a showcase for his client.
The league was also a showcase for another Pyle client who was an All-American on the West Coast: Wilson. Because of the limitations of train (or bus) travel, the National Football League extended only from the Atlantic coast westward to Kansas City, Missouri, and Pyle wanted to tap the talent of college football players along the Pacific. His solution was novel (and one that the more established NFL would copy quickly): establish a traveling team nominally representing Los Angeles and headed by Wilson. The team would be based in Moline, Illinois (home of the Rock Island Independents, which jumped from the NFL to the AFL) and would have no home stadium. Virtually all of the players of the team attended colleges sited west of the Rocky Mountains.
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