Newark Bears (AFL)
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The Newark Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by the New Jersey Athletic Association (headed by NJAA president William Coughlin),[1] the Bears played their home games in Davids' Stadium. Coached by player-coach Hal Hansen, the majority of the team played their college football in Georgia and Florida. [2]
Tailback Doug Wycoff scored the club’s only points in its existence, having a touchdown run and kicking the extra point to tie the Chicago Bulls in both teams’ opening game of the season.[3] While the Bears’ defense was respectable (yielding only five points per game), the lack of offensive production resulted in a record of no wins, three wins and two ties. While the Bears played in front of (an announced total of) 40,000 spectators in Philadelphia (a 9-0 loss to the Quakers on October 16), the total attendance for three home games in Newark was less than 5000. After only 400 fans attended a scoreless game (with the Rock Island Independents) in Davids’ Stadium on October 24, 1926, the Bears withdrew from the AFL… the first team to call it quits in the American Football League. The exodus from the league continued through the month of November, until there were only four teams left, dooming the league.
For the team's last game, the name of the team was changed to the Newark Demons.[4]
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9th | Hal Hansen |
[edit] Players
The following people played for the Bears for at least one game in the 1926 AFL regular season, the only one of the team’s (and the league’s) existence: [5]
| Name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Black | End | Muhlenberg |
| Jim Brewster | Blocking Back1 | Georgia Tech |
| Russ Clark | Guard2 | Muhlenberg |
| Vaughn Connelly | Back3 | Georgia Tech |
| Carl Davis | Tackle | West Virginia |
| Goldie Goldstein | Guard | Florida |
| Hal Hansen | Fullback4 | Minnesota |
| George Kerr | Guard | Catholic |
| Ken King | End | Kentucky |
| Don Manella | Guard | none |
| Adrian “Sparky” Maurer | Wingback | Oglethorpe |
| Art McManus5 | Guard | Boston College |
| John Murray | Center | Georgia Tech |
| Ark Newton | Wingback | Florida |
| Orin Rice | Guard6 | Syracuse, Muhlenberg |
| Bob Rives | Tackle2 | Vanderbilt |
| Sammy Stein | End | none |
| Silvio Tursi | End | Muhlenberg |
| Cy Williams | Tackle | Florida |
| Ike Williams | Back7 | Georgia Tech |
| Doug Wycoff | Tailback | Georgia Tech |
1 Position later known as quarterback
2 Also played tackle
3 Played fullback and tailback
4 Also played end
5 After the Newark Bears folded, for the Boston Bulldogs for rest of 1926 season
6 Also played center
7 Played fullback and blocking back
[edit] After the first AFL
After the dissolution of the Newark Bears on October 24, 1926, guard Art McManus returned to his hometown Boston to play with the Boston for the remainder of the season. While his major league football career ended with the folding of the Bulldogs three weeks later, the career of the only person to score points for the Bears, Doug Wycoff extended beyond the end of the AFL, joining the New York Giants for the 1927 season. [6] Wycoff later played for the 1927 New York Giants, 1929-30 Staten Island Stapletons, 1931 New York Giants, 1932 Staten Island Stapletons, and the 1934 Boston Redskins of the National Football League. He came out of retirement in 1936 to play for the Boston Shamrocks in the second American Football League.
While Wycoff was the only member of the 1926 Newark Bears playing in the NFL in 1927, four of his Newark teammates eventually joined NFL rosters:
Orin Rice – 1929 New York Giants
Sammy Stein – 1929-30 Staten Island Stapletons, 1931 New York Giants, and 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers
Cy Williams – 1929-30 Staten Island Stapletons, 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers
Ike Williams – 1929 Staten Island Stapletons
[edit] References
- ^ “Bill Edwards Named President of A.F.L.", New York Times, March 8, 1926
- ^ David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football, From 1892 to the Present (St. Martin’s Press 1994), ISBN 0-312-11435-4
- ^ 1926 American Football League from Elias Sports Bureau and Pro Football Research Association Linescore Committee
- ^ David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football, From 1892 to the Present (St. Martin’s Press 1994), ISBN 0-312-11435-4
- ^ David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football, From 1892 to the Present (St. Martin’s Press 1994), ISBN 0-312-11435-4
- ^ David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen, and Rick Korch, The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional Football, From 1892 to the Present (St. Martin’s Press 1994), ISBN 0-312-11435-4
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