1927 Buffalo Bisons (NFL) Season

The 1927 Buffalo Bisons season was their eighth in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 4–4–2, losing five games and winning none. They finished twelfth (last) in the league.

The "Buffalo/Texas Rangers" experiment from the previous season was discontinued (the city's cold weather was the primary reason) and the team reverted to the Bisons name. Previous head coach Jim Kendrick left the team for the New York Giants and Dim Batterson was named the new head coach.

Buffalo returned three key players from the 1926 squad — end Neely Allison, halfback Benny Hobson, and tackle Bones Irvin. This proved to be an insufficient basis for a competitive squad however, as the team was shutout in four of its first five games. The 1.6 points per game average stands as a near-record for poor offensive output.

The Bisons suspended operations five games into the season and would not return until 1929.

Schedule

Game summaries

Game 1: at Pottsville Maroons

Buffalo's season of pain began immediately with a 22–0 drubbing by the Pottsville Maroons. All points were scored in the first half, with the home team later reckoned to have "outplayed the Buffalo crew in every department." Pottsville's "flashy little quarterback" Dinty Moore was responsible for two of the team's touchdowns — a 10-yard run off-tackle early in the game and as the recipient of a long pass from halfback Frank Kirkleski off of a fumble recovery as the 15 minute opening frame was drawing to a close. A 40-yard field goal by Barney Wentz and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kirkleskie to Vivian Hultman capped the scoring for the home team. Buffalo's best chance to score came in the fourth quarter off of a blocked punt that went out of bounds at the Pottsville 5-yard line, but the defense held for four downs and the Bisons were forced to surrender the ball.

Game 4: at Frankford Yellow Jackets

Game 5: Frankford Yellow Jackets

Poor performance and financial losses associated brought an abrupt end to the 1927 Bisons season, with the team losing a reported $7,000 playing three games with the New York Yankees and the Frankford Yellow Jackets over a five day period, suffering a pummeling by the combined score of 96–0.

In the first Yellow Jackets game, played in Philadelphia on a Saturday due to Pennsylvania's blue laws prohibiting Sunday football, the Bisons were shellacked 54–0 in a game in which "not once did Buffalo make the slightest threat of scoring, netting exactly three first downs during the game.""Rogers Leads Marathon Race for Philly Team: Buffalo Registers Only Three First Downs — Yellowjackets Score at Will,"
''Buffalo Courier-Express,'' Oct. 16, 1927, p. 23.

Standings

Roster

Starters

* LE - Allison
* LT - Harvey
* LG - Winick
* C - McArthur
* RG - McConnell
* RT - Irwin
* RE - Otte

* QB - Carr
* LHB - Snell
* RHB - Hobson
* FB - Houser

Reserves

* Watson - back
* Vedder - back

Season summary

The Buffalo Bisons were outscored 123–8 in losing their first five games and abruptly terminated operations. League President Joe F. Carr expressed hope that Ernie Nevers' Duluth Eskimos would change their name and move to Buffalo to take up the Bills' banner for 1928.Chet Youll
"Karpe's Comment,"
''Buffalo News,'' Dec. 19, 1927, p. 29. While this scenario was published in the Buffalo press, it was news to Ray Weil, Bisons' president and holder of the NFL's franchise for the city, who expressed hope for a new start for his Bisons in Buffalo in the coming year. Ultimately, neither Duluth nor Buffalo fielded an NFL team for the 1928 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1927 Buffalo Bisons (Nfl) Season
Buffalo Bisons (NFL) seasons
Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo
NFL winless seasons