The Boston Shamrocks were a professional

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

team based in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The team played in the second American Football League from 1936 to 1937, followed by at least one year as an independent in 1938. The team was coached by George Kenneally and split its games between Braves Field and Fenway Park. The Shamrocks were a successful franchise in the AFL, outdrawing the NFL's Boston Redskins and prompting

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American professional American football, football executive who founded the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Commanders. The team began play as the Boston Braves in ...

to move the Redskins to Washington, D.C., where the team remains. During the 1936 American Football League season, the Shamrocks won the league's championship. The Shamrocks did not fare so well in 1937, falling to a 2-7 record that year. During that year, the team managed to sign former

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner Larry Kelley to a one-game contract; Kelley reneged on the deal and never played. After the failure of the second AFL (and no apparent effort to join the succeeding minor leagues), the Shamrocks continued as an independent, picking up mostly players that had been released from the Pittsburgh Pirates (now the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

). The Steelers, led by Byron White, defeated the Shamrocks 16-6 that year.

References

{{AFL II Defunct American football teams S 1936 establishments in Massachusetts 1938 disestablishments in Massachusetts American football teams established in 1936 American football teams disestablished in 1938