Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

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Agree?

What is the definition of modern? I would say the 1976 Buccaneers.

James wrote:What is the definition of modern? I would say the 1976 Buccaneers.

According to the article, it was 1970. There were some pretty bad teams before that. Some pretty good ones too.

Although they did win their last two games, I think that the 2-12-0 Buccaneers were even worse than the 0-14-0 edition from the year before. During those first 12 games, they scored only five touchdowns, and two of those were in their 23-30 loss to their fellow expansion team, the AFC Seahawks.

Against their conference rivals, they were shut out in six of their first 11 NFC games (0-10, 0-13, 0-31, 0-10, 0-17, 0-10), and managed only 30 points while their defense allowed 172 (even with the Seattle game, they were still outscored 53 to 202). They finally won in their penultimate game when they faced the Saints, and that end of the season defeat of the St. Louis Cardinals is a mystery.

Mark L. Ford wrote:that end of the season defeat of the St. Louis Cardinals is a mystery.

The Cardinals were in free fall at that point and Coryell ended up leaving after the season.

BD Sullivan wrote:

Mark L. Ford wrote:that end of the season defeat of the St. Louis Cardinals is a mystery.

The Cardinals were in free fall at that point and Coryell ended up leaving after the season.

The Cards were like that during the 1960's too. They would play hard until they were out of contention. Once they were out of it, then anyone could beat them, like Atlanta in 1966.

The 52 Texans have a special place in my heart. 76 Bucs had a point differential of -25 / Game, 52 Texans -24.6 / Game. Certainly in the breath, for comparison this years' Browns team is ONLY losing by 12.8 / game. I also like that they had more HOF'ers on the team than victories. I suppose Calvin Johnson was on the 08 Lions and will likely get in, Lee Roy Selmon from the 76 Bucs.

The thing about that Texans team is that they were just so disorganized it's like they never had a chance. Their only win was against the Bears when Halas' team turned it over 8 times!

I've seen very little film on the team, has anyone else here seen any? I've seen only some of the 11/2/52 game at LA.

NWebster wrote:The 52 Texans have a special place in my heart. 76 Bucs had a point differential of -25 / Game, 52 Texans -24.6 / Game. Certainly in the breath, for comparison this years' Browns team is ONLY losing by 12.8 / game. I also like that they had more HOF'ers on the team than victories. I suppose Calvin Johnson was on the 08 Lions and will likely get in, Lee Roy Selmon from the 76 Bucs.

The thing about that Texans team is that they were just so disorganized it's like they never had a chance. Their only win was against the Bears when Halas' team turned it over 8 times!

I've seen very little film on the team, has anyone else here seen any? I've seen only some of the 11/2/52 game at LA.

If there is any Thanksgiving game from pro football history I wish I could have attended, I would have to go with the 1952 Texans Bears game at the Rubber Bowl in Akron. I wrote a piece on it for my manuscript about the most compelling game of the 1952 season:

Chicago Bears vs. Texans at Akron, November 27th

The New York Yanks was disbanded after the 1951 season, but the franchise still had assets (read: players) and the remnants of the franchise were purchased and brought to the Lone Star state and renamed the Dallas Texans. The Texans had attendance problems from the outset (their debut game only filled the Cotton Bowl to about a quarter of capacity) and their second game in Dallas had 10,000 paying customers. By mid-November, the ownership collapsed and the NFL took over the team, turning the Texans into a nomadic team without a home; they were technically based out of Hershey, PA but never played there. They were also without a city name after Commissioner Bert Bell stripped the name Dallas from the franchise and they became known simply as the Texans. As the Texans were scheduled to host the Thanksgiving game, the game was instead played at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, with an attendance of about 3,000 watching, but the attendance was higher at the high school game held there earlier in the day. It was the most bizarre Turkey Day game ever played.

In the first quarter, neither team scored but Chicago did get close enough for two FG tries by George Blanda, but neither was one was successful. Perhaps the highlight of the first stanza was a fake punt by Fred Morrison, who took it 57 yards to set up a FG try by Blanda.

The Bears had no trouble driving down the field in the second quarter, getting to the Texans seven-yard line when Morrison fumbled and Joe Campanella recovered for the Texans. The Bears recorded a safety when Buddy Young was sacked in the end zone by Don Kindt. On the ensuing Free Kick, the Bears fumbled and the Texans recovered on the Chicago 45. Three passing plays by Frank Tripucka (whose son, by the way, was 1980’s NBA All-Star Kelly Tripucka) moved the Texans to the ten-yard line. After George Taliaferro went right and took the ball to the two, Zellie Toth took it over the middle of the line for the score. Dick Flowers missed the PAT, and the Texans led 6-2 midway thru the second.
After the Bears were unable to do anything after he kickoff, Morrison went back to punt and decided to try to run with it again, but this time the Texans were ready and Morrison went down at the Bears 14. Tripucka was picked by Jim Dooley, (who would go on to replace George Halas as Bears Head Coach when Halas retired after the 1967 season) but while driving up the field, the Bears coughed it up and the Texans recovered at the Chicago 38. A pass to Ray Pelfrey moved the ball to the 20. On third down Tripucka handed off to Taliaferro, who passed the ball to Dick Wilkins in the end zone to put the Texans up 13-2 at the midpoint.

The Texans received the second half kickoff, and spent six minutes working the ball into FG range. However, the drive stalled and Pat Cannamela missed a 28-yard FG try, the only FG he ever attempted in the NFL. Later in the period, Stan Williams intercepted a pass for the Texans, returning it 25 yards down to the Bears 40. From there, the Texans moved inside the Chicago ten-yard line on a 24-yard Tripucka pass to Pelfrey. Two plays later, Tripucka ran over the pile and into the end zone to give the Texans a 20-2 lead after three periods.

Chicago got a huge break early in the fourth quarter when Tripucka was sacked and coughed up the ball deep in Bears territory, with Ed Sprinkle falling on the loose ball at the one-yard line. Billy Stone ran it in to cut the Texans lead to 20-9. On the kickoff, Taliaferro fumbled and the Bears recovered at the Texans 46-yard line, but a Blanda pass was picked in the end zone. The Texans were unable to mount a drive and punted, and Chicago took over at the Texans 41. One play later, Blanda went deep to Babe Dimancheff at the six-yard line and Babe took it into the end zone. The Bears pulled to within four points of the Texans at 20-16 midway thru the fourth quarter.
The Texans started driving, but Tripucka was intercepted again, this time by Frank Dempsey, whose return put the Bears at the Texans 35. One play later, Blanda hit Gene Schroeder and the Bears led 23-20 with five minutes to play. Starting from their 26, the Texans moved to the Bears 40 when the two-minute warning sounded. A run by Pelfrey picked up six yards, and Pelfrey took a pass to the 20 as one minute remained. Tom Keane caught a pass at the three-yard line, and Toth ran it to the one foot line where Tripucka snuck it in to give the Texans a 27-23 lead with 34 seconds to play. Chicago tried a couple desperation bombs (which today we call Hail Marys), but they fumbled the ball away and the Texans had their only victory.

The Texans disbanded after the 1952 season. The assets of the Texans would be moved to the Charm City in 1953 and renamed the Baltimore Colts. Frank Tripucka, by the way, never won another NFL game. He left professional football after the 1952 football but was coaxed out of retirement in 1960 to join the expansion Denver Broncos of the American Football League.

Interesting enough the Dallas Texans held the NFL's mythical belt title due to that upset of the Bears. Here's an explanation and a quick rundown I put together a few years ago.

The belt is a fictitious lineal title. It can only be won by beating a team/franchise that holds the belt. The Rock Island Independents held it first by winning the first-ever game to count in the standings. It's a sort of nerdy but fun and different way of looking at NFL history.

Forgive me if my "math" is wrong. I didn't double-check any of this. It was tricky when a franchise went belly up while holding the belt. That happened in 1927 with the Cleveland Bulldogs and in 1948 with the Boston Yanks. I handed the belt to the team that was the best continuation of the defunct franchise (same ownership, same star player(s), etc.).

1920 Rock Island
1920 Decatur
1920 Chicago C
1920 Decatur
1921 Buffalo AA
1921 Decatur/Chicago B
1922 Canton/Cleveland B
1924 Frankford
1925 Detroit P
1925 Chicago B
1926 Frankford
1927 Dayton
1927 New York Y
1927 Chicago B
1927 New York Y
1927 Cleveland B/Detroit W
1928 Frankford
1928 Providence
1929 New York G
1929 Green Bay
1930 Chicago C
1930 Chicago B
1931 Green Bay
1931 Chicago C
1931 Chicago B
1931 Portsmouth
1932 Green Bay
1932 New York G
1932 Chicago B
1933 Boston R
1933 New York G
1933 Chicago B
1934 New York G
1935 Green Bay
1935 Chicago C
1935 Pittsburgh
1935 Brooklyn
1935 Pittsburgh
1935 Green Bay
1935 Chicago C
1935 Chicago B
1936 Green Bay
1937 Chicago C
1937 Detroit L
1937 Green Bay
1937 New York G
1937 Washington
1938 New York G
1939 Detroit L
1939 Chicago B
1940 Chicago C
1940 Green Bay
1940 Detroit L
1940 Washington
1940 Brooklyn
1941 Washington
1941 Brooklyn
1941 Pittsburgh
1941 Green Bay
1941 Chicago B
1942 Washington
1943 Phil-Pitt
1943 Green Bay
1944 Chicago B
1944 Detroit L
1945 Green Bay
1945 Cleveland R
1945 Philadelphia
1945 New York G
1945 Washington
1945 Cleveland R/Los Angeles
1946 Philadelphia
1946 Green Bay
1946 Chicago B
1946 Chicago C
1947 Los Angeles
1947 Philadelphia
1947 Boston Y
1947 Pittsburgh
1947 Philadelphia
1948 Chicago C
1948 Chicago B
1948 Philadelphia
1948 Boston Y/New York B
1949 Philadelphia
1949 Chicago B
1949 New York G
1949 New York B
1949 Chicago C
1949 Chicago B
1950 Green Bay
1950 New York Y
1950 Chicago B
1950 Chicago C
1950 Pittsburgh
1951 Green Bay
1951 Los Angeles
1951 San Francisco
1951 Los Angeles
1951 Washington
1951 Philadelphia
1951 New York G
1952 Chicago C
1952 Pittsburgh
1952 Detroit L
1952 Chicago B
1952 Dallas

The belt is a fictitious lineal title. It can only be won by beating a team/franchise that holds the belt. The Rock Island Independents held it first by winning the first-ever game to count in the standings. It's a sort of nerdy but fun and different way of looking at NFL history.

This is interesting. And yes nerdy. So The Eagles would have taken the title from the Texans the following week. Do you have the whole list done to the present? If so PM it to me. I'd love to see it!