The 1920 Chicago Cardinals season was the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

' inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association (soon to be the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

). The team finished 6–2–1, earning fourth in the league. Their final two games of the season against the Chicago Stayms Foresters were played after the APFA season was officially over and did not count towards the standings. Although the Cardinals' existence traced back as far as 1899, this was their first season as a member of the American Professional Football Association.

Offseason

The Chicago Cardinals finished 4–3-0 in their 1919 season in the Chicago Football league Following the 1919 season, representatives of four Ohio League teams—the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Tigers, the Dayton Triangles, and the Akron Pros—called a meeting on August 20, 1920, to discuss the formation of a new league. At the meeting, they tentatively agreed on a

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...

and pledged not to sign college players or players already under contract with other teams. They also agreed on a name for the circuit: the American Professional Football Conference. Then they contacted other major professional teams and invited them to a meeting for September 17. At that meeting, held at Bulldogs owner

Ralph Hay Ralph Edward Hay (January 12, 1891July 29, 1944) was the owner of the Canton Bulldogs from 1918 through the 1922 season. However, he is mostly recognized for organizing the first meeting of teams that would later form the American Professional Fo ...

Hupmobile Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908. History Founding In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, for ...

showroom in Canton, representatives of the Rock Island Independents, the Muncie Flyers, the

Decatur Staleys Decatur may refer to a number of places, streets, military establishments, schools, and others mostly named after Stephen Decatur: Places in the United States * Decatur, Alabama, county seat of Morgan County ** Decatur metropolitan area, Alaba ...

, the

Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships i ...

, the Cardinals, and the

Hammond Pros The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team. History The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. Young, a boxing promoter and owner o ...

agreed to join the league. Representatives of the Buffalo All-Americans and

Rochester Jeffersons The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played from 1898 to 1925, including play in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. History Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of t ...

could not attend the meeting, but sent letters to Hay asking to be included in the league. Team representatives changed the league's name slightly to the American Professional Football Association and elected officers, installing Jim Thorpe as president. Under the new league structure, teams created their schedules dynamically as the season progressed, and representatives of each team voted to determine the winner of the APFA trophy. After joining the league, manager Chris O'Brien signed halfback John "Paddy" Driscoll for $3,000. One of Driscoll's young running backs was

Ralph Horween Ralph Horween (born Ralph Horwitz; also known as Ralph McMahon or B. McMahon; August 3, 1896 – May 26, 1997) was an American football player and coach. He played Fullback (American football), fullback and Halfback (American football), halfback ...

, who previously played under the name of B. McMahon at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Offseason

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 3: at Chicago Tigers

Week 4: vs. Moline Universal Tractors

Week 5: at Rock Island Independents

Week 6: vs. Detroit Heralds

Week 7: vs. Chicago Tigers

Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Celts

Week 9: vs. Lansing Oldsmobile

Week 10: vs. Decatur Staleys

Week 11: vs. Decatur Staleys

Week 13: at Chicago Stayms

Week 14: vs. Chicago Stayms

Standings

Roster

Post season

Notes

References

Further reading