The Syracuse Braves were a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team that competed in the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Coached by Don Irwin and

Red Badgro Morris Hiram "Red" Badgro (December 1, 1902 – July 13, 1998) was an American football player and football coach who also played professional baseball. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. A native of Orillia, Washington ...

, the Braves played in Municipal Stadium, which had a capacity of only about 10,000 people. The team was not a strong draw as it lost its first five games, prompting a search for a new home, including

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, before settling upon a move to Rochester. On October 25, 1936, a 16–7 victory over the Boston Shamrocks in

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

provided the franchise its first win in its last game as the Syracuse Braves. The following week would see the newly renamed Rochester Braves face the Shamrocks in a rematch in

Silver Stadium Silver Stadium was a baseball stadium located at 500 Norton Street in Rochester, New York. It was the home stadium for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League from 1929 to 1996, and for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National ...

. The second half was delayed 40 minutes by Braves players demanding back pay. The game was finished; the Braves lost, 13–0; the franchise folded immediately afterward. Coach Don Irwin joined the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, while co-coach Red Badgro returned to the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers to finish the season.NFL Competitors 1926–1975
– Stephen Hensley, Professional Football Researchers Association (1981) Two weeks later, another AFL team made the trek to Silver Stadium to call it home: the

Brooklyn Tigers The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field of the baseball National League's team, the Broo ...

, having spent most of the 1936 season as a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

, became Rochester's third professional football team and continued as the Rochester Tigers in 1937.

References

American Football League (1936) teams Braves Sports in Rochester, New York American football teams established in 1936 American football teams disestablished in 1937 1936 establishments in New York (state) 1937 disestablishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-sport-team-stub