"Buffalo's Forgotten Champions: The Story of Buffalo's First Professional Football Team and the Lost 1921 Title" is now available! The book tells the story of Buffalo's first National Football League team, its many colorful characters, and the lost 1921 championship that would have been the Queen City's first title in any major league sport.

Click here to order your copy of Buffalo's Forgotten Champions!

Buffalo's Forgotten Chamapions contains summaries of every game the All-Americans, Bisons and Rangers played. It features in-depth background information on many of the players, and includes statistics and demographics for every player who donned a Buffalo uniform in the 1920s. Included at the end is a chapter detailing the post-football lives of many of the players. The book is generously illustrated, with some pictures which have not been seen by the general public in over 75 years!

---

The All-Americans were a fine team in the early days of pro football, finishing within one game of the title in each of the first two seasons of the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922). In 1921, the All-Americans claimed the title, but lost it to the Chicago Staleys in an executive decision. Some historians argue that the title is rightfully Buffalo's, but it is very unlikely the city will ever see the 1921 decision overturned.

The team listed a number of star players on its roster over its nine years in the NFL, including Swede Youngstrom, Elmer Oliphant, Benny Lee Boynton, Ockie Anderson, Eddie Kaw, Tommy Hughitt, Jim Kendrick, Luke Urban, Walter Koppisch (pictured below), and many more. Jim Ailinger, who played for the Bisons in 1924, was recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the oldest former National Football League player prior to his death on March 27, 2001--he would have been 100 years old in July 2001! (go to the link below titled "Jim Ailinger: Buffalo Legend")

---

Wally Koppisch runs for 12 yards against the Rochester Jeffersons at Bison Stadium, 1925.

---

---

Complete Roster of
Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons/Rangers
(Featuring links to profiles of the players!)

---

Articles

Personalities:

• Jim Ailinger: Buffalo Legend

• Ockie Anderson: Buffalo's First Great Running Back

• Benny Lee Boynton: The Purple Streak

• Tommy Hughitt: Mr. Everything

• Wally Koppisch: Great Expectations

• Luke Urban: He Did It All

• Swede Youngstrom: Buffalo's First Forgotten Football Superstar

• MORE ARTICLES COMING SOON!

General:

• Hall of Famers Were Plenty in the 1920s

• Is a Former Buffalo All-American Responsible for Igniting the “Beat” Movement? (*NEW*)

• The New Pro League Is A Big Hit In The Big Apple:
  Buffalo Faces Canton at the Polo Grounds (12/04/20)

---

Professional Football Researchers Association



The Rochester Jeffersons Official Site




The Dayton Triangles Official Site




The Oorang Indians Official Site




GHOSTS OF THE GRIDIRON
The Early Days of Professional Football in the Philadelphia Region




HAP MORAN AND THE EARLY YEARS OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
(Member of the Frankford Yellow Jackets, Chicago Cardinals, and New York Giants)




The American Football League Hall of Fame




Buffalo Bills Backers United Home Page




---

Are you a relative or a friend of a Buffalo All-American or Bison? If so, I would love to hear from you!

Email Jeffrey Miller

---

Jeff Miller is the author of Buffalo's Forgotten Champions, which details the history of Buffalo's first professional football team and its controversial claim to the 1921 championship. He is a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association. He was named by the PFRA as the 2004 winner of the Ralph Hay Award, given for career achievement in pro football research and historiography. He is currently working on a book about the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League.

---



---

©Copyright 2001 by Jeffrey J. Miller (last updated 4/25/06). All rights reserved. Copying of photos and text from this site without consent of the site owner is strictly prohibited.