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The 1925 NFL season was the sixth regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team. The Kenosha Maroons folded, with the Racine Legion and Minneapolis Marines mothballing.
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 20 – December 20, 1925 |
| A controversial ruling by the NFL suspended the Pottsville Maroons from all league privileges, including the right to play for the NFL championship. | |
| Champions | Chicago Cardinals |
Pros
Bisons
Bulldogs
Bears
Cardinals
Bulldogs
Tigers
Triangles
Panthers
Kelleys
Yellow Jackets
Packers
Cowboys
Badgers
Giants
Maroons
Steam Roller
Jeffersons
Independents
Traveling teams
Pros
Pros NFL teams
Twenty teams competed in the NFL during the 1925 season.
| First season in NFL * | Last active season ^ | Last season before hiatus, rejoined league later § |
| Team jumped to the AFL † | Rejoined the NFL ** |
Controversy surrounds who actually won the 1925 NFL Championship. Officially, the Chicago Cardinals are listed as the 1925 NFL champions because they finished with the best record; however, many Pottsville fans at the time claimed that the Maroons were the legitimate champions. The Maroons and the Cardinals were the top contenders for the title, with Pottsville winning a late-season meeting between them, 21–7. But the Maroons scheduled a game against a team of University of Notre Dame All-Stars in Philadelphia (and winning 9–7) on the same day that the Frankford Yellow Jackets were scheduled to play a game in the same city. Frankford protested, saying that it was violating their protected territory rights.
Although NFL president Joe Carr warned the Maroons in writing that they faced suspension if they played in Philadelphia, the Maroons claimed that Carr had previously approved the game during a telephone call, and played anyway. In response, Carr fined the club, suspended it from all league rights and privileges (including the right to play for the NFL championship), and returned its franchise to the league.
In 2003, the NFL decided to again examine the case regarding the 1925 championship. In October of that year, the NFL voted 30–2 not to reopen the case, with only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the league's two Pennsylvania-based teams, voting in favor. Thus, the Cardinals are still listed as the 1925 NFL champions.[1]
Had the current (post-1972) system of counting ties as half a win and half a loss been in place in 1925, the Maroons would have won the championship with a win percentage of .833, while the Cardinals would have finished runner-up at .821.
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Chicago Cardinals * | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 229 | 65 | W2 | ||
| Pottsville Maroons * | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 270 | 45 | W5 | ||
| Detroit Panthers | 8 | 2 | 2 | .800 | 129 | 39 | W1 | ||
| New York Giants | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 122 | 67 | W1 | ||
| Akron Pros | 4 | 2 | 2 | .667 | 65 | 51 | L2 | ||
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 13 | 7 | 0 | .650 | 190 | 169 | W2 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 5 | 3 | .643 | 158 | 96 | W3 | ||
| Rock Island Independents | 5 | 3 | 3 | .625 | 99 | 58 | L1 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 151 | 110 | W1 | ||
| Providence Steam Roller | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 111 | 101 | L1 | ||
| Canton Bulldogs | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 50 | 73 | L1 | ||
| Cleveland Bulldogs | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 75 | 135 | L1 | ||
| Kansas City Cowboys | 2 | 5 | 1 | .286 | 65 | 97 | W1 | ||
| Hammond Pros | 1 | 4 | 0 | .200 | 23 | 87 | L3 | ||
| Buffalo Bisons | 1 | 6 | 2 | .143 | 33 | 113 | L4 | ||
| Rochester Jeffersons | 0 | 6 | 1 | .000 | 26 | 111 | L5 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 0 | 7 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 84 | L7 | ||
| Duluth Kelleys | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 25 | L3 | ||
| Milwaukee Badgers | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 191 | L6 | ||
| Columbus Tigers | 0 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 28 | 124 | L9 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
* The Pottsville Maroons were suspended from the league in December, resulting in the Chicago Cardinals being named the NFL champions.
NFL league president Joseph Carr chose an all-star team for 1925, including players from Red Grange's tour.[2]
Ends
- Lynn Bomar, New York Giants
- Paul G. Goebel, Columbus Tigers
Tackles
- Ed Healey, Chicago Bears
- Link Lyman, Cleveland Bulldogs
Guards
- Butch Spagna, Frankfort Yellow Jackets
- John Alexander, New York Giants
Center
- Herb Stein, Pottsville Maroons
Quarterback
- Joey Sternaman, Chicago Bears
Halfbacks
- Red Grange, Chicago Bears
- Red Barron, Coral Gables All-Stars
Fullback
- Jack McBride, New York Giants
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