BUFFALO ALL-AMERICANS, original NFL team, 1920. Quality cotton shirt, free shipping.

Buffalo All Americans® is a registered trademark.

Quality cotton t-shirt, graphics front and back:                                                    Team front in burnt orange, league pigskin emblem back.                          

Free shipping.

American Professional Football Association® is a registered trademark. 

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Pro Football in Buffalo: 

Legacy of bittersweet excellence long before the Bills. 

Seven decades before Marv Levy's great teams of the 1990s, the seeds were sown for dynasty of the runner-up.

The Buffalo All-Americans® were second-best each of the first two years (1920 & 1921) of the nascent NFL -- known then as the American Professional Football Association.

YEAR ONE, 1920: A gridiron grind from the start, Buffalo took on the undefeated Akron Pros in what amounted to a title game.

But it came at a distinct disadvantage, home field notwithstanding.      The day before, the All-Americans played down in New York City,  a 7-3 triumph over Jim Thorpe's reigning powerhouse Canton Bulldogs, avenging Buffalo's only defeat that season.

The very next day, Buffalo hosted Akron, resulting in a 0-0 stalemate. (The scoreless tie was commonplace in the era before the passing attack or overtime of any sort.) 

Akron escaped the season unblemished at 6-0-3, becoming de facto champion of the inaugural season. Buffalo finished 4-1-1.

►Note: The season records reflect games against American Professional Football Association opponents. The APFA's 14 teams scheduled their own games, in what amounted to a disjointed hodgepodge. Uniformity began to take shape the following season, when Joseph Carr became the first professional commissioner.

YEAR TWO, 1921, produced another potent Buffalo team at 8-1-2.      The single loss was dealt by the Chicago Staleys, 10-7. Bitter pill again, as the All-Americans had defeated the Staleys just weeks prior, 7-6, also played in Chicago.

George Halas and his Staleys earned a 9-1-1 record and claimed the championship. (The novel idea of a formal title game would not arrive for another dozen years.) 

Right out of the gate, Buffalo was a repeat runner-up, at the doorstep of dominance. Pro football in Buffalo chartered more than championship lament.

A history rich in resilience, heralded by a dynamic shirt.