Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association ( now the National Football League ) in 1920 . The Triangles were based in Dayton , Ohio , and took their nickname from their home field , Triangle Park , which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north Dayton . They were the longest - lasting traveling team in the NFL ( 1920 – 1929 ) , and the last such " road team " until the Dallas Texans in 1952 , who coincidentally descended from the Dayton franchise . Origins . The original Dayton Triangles members first began playing together as basketball players at St . Mary ' s College , now the University of Dayton from 1908 until 1912 . After graduation , the players organized a basketball team of alumni , students , and other local athletes . They went by the name of the St . Mary ' s Cadets . The Cadets would go on to claim the title of " World Basketball Champions " by defeating the Buffalo German Ramblers 45 to 30 . In the fall of 1913 , the St . Marys Cadets organized a football team . The team was coached by Louis Clark , who coached the St . Mary ' s college football team as well . Al Mahrt was elected team captain . The team finished their first season with a 7 - 0 record and won the Dayton City Championship . They also won the Southern Ohio Championship by defeating the Cincinnati Celts 27 - 0 at Redland Park . The team won a second city championship in 1914 , despite injuries to Al Mahrt and Babe Zimmerman . In 1915 the team changed its name to the Dayton Gym - Cadets after their presumed sponsors , the Dayton Gymnastic Club . That season saw Al Marhrt take over as the team ' s coach . The team only lost one game that season , to the Columbus Panhandles . They also won their third city championship . 1916 - 1919 . The team was reorganized in 1916 , as a recreational football team from among the employees of three downtown Dayton factories ; the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company ( or Delco ) , the Dayton Metal Products Company and the Domestic Engineering Company ( now called Delco - Light ) . Carl Storck , who later served as treasurer of the NFL and as acting league president from 1939 to 1941 , co - sponsored the Dayton Cadets and used players recruited from the three factories to fill out the team roster . Storck would later become the team ' s manager , while Bud Talbott , a Walter Camp All - American tackle and team captain at Yale University was named the team ' s coach . The team ' s name was also changed to the Dayton Triangles that season . In 1916 , the Triangles went 9 - 1 , defeating teams from Cincinnati , Detroit , Toledo and Pittsburgh . The Canton Bulldogs , with the legendary Jim Thorpe in the line - up , claimed the " Ohio League " Championship after their win over the Massillon Tigers . The Triangles challenged the Bulldogs to a game on December 10 , 1916 , but the game was never played . The following season saw the Triangles move into their new park , Triangle Park . The team ' s 1917 campaign was successful . The team went 6 - 0 - 2 that season . The Triangles were able to score 188 points and gave up only 13 to their opponents . 1918 Championship . In 1918 saw the United States entry in World War I , as well as a devastating Spanish flu pandemic . While the Triangles lost players to military service , they also had many kept home with regular jobs in industries deemed essential to the war effort and , along with the few other teams still playing , far less competition for the talent pool . This allowed the Triangles to keep a team on the field and beat what few representative teams . They claimed an " Ohio League " Championship . The Triangle player - coach that season was Earle " Greasy " Neale , since Bud Talbott joined the army . During their championship run , the Triangles defeated future NFL teams , the Toledo Maroons , Hammond Pros , Columbus Panhandles and Detroit Heralds . The Triangles went 8 - 0 - 0 in 1918 , one of two known teams to have collected a perfect record of more than five games that year , the other being the Buffalo Niagaras , whose 6 - 0 - 0 record was collected as a result of playing only teams from Buffalo and who built their team on many of the players left out of work because of the Ohio League teams ' suspension . In 1919 , they followed up their championship with a season record of 4 - 2 - 1 . NFL era . At the first NFL formation meetings held on August 20 , 1920 and September 17 , 1920 at Ralph Hay ' s Hupmobile dealership located in Canton , Ohio , the Triangles were represented by their manager Carl Storck as they became charter members of the new league called the American Professional Football Association , until 1922 when it was renamed the National Football League . During the latter meeting , Jim Thorpe was unanimously elected as new league ' s president . Also at this meeting , a membership fee of $ 100 per team was established , however George Halas stated that none of the charter teams ever paid it . On October 3 , 1920 , the Triangles won what could be considered the very first APFA / NFL game , with a 14 - 0 defeat of the Columbus Panhandles at Triangle Park . The high point of the Triangles ' 1920 season was a 20 - 20 tie at Triangle Park with Thorpe ' s Canton Bulldogs ; it was the first time a team had scored three touchdowns on the Bulldogs since 1915 . Trailing the Triangles , 20 - 14 , Thorpe nailed two late field goals to tie the score . Six games into the season , the Triangles remained undefeated ( 4 - 0 - 2 ) but in the final three games lost twice to eventual league champion , the Akron Pros , ending 1920 with a 5 - 2 - 2 mark . Decline . In 1922 , the other teams in the NFL were recruiting and signing top college players from around the country ; however Dayton continued to use mainly local players . This marked a decline in the team ' s performance , and the Triangles ceased being competitive in the NFL . Because of their poor showing on the field , the Triangles were not able to draw crowds for home games : Triangle Park , with a seating capacity of 5 , 000 , rarely saw that many fans . Soon , the combination of poor home gates and the lure of $ 2 , 500 guarantees to play at larger venues ( like Wrigley Field , Comiskey Park and the Polo Grounds ) , made the Triangles primarily a traveling team . By the late twenties , Dayton was one of the league ' s doormats , winning just five of their 51 NFL contests from 1923 - 29 . Finally , on July 12 , 1930 , a Brooklyn - based syndicate headed by Bill Dwyer bought the Triangles ; the franchise moved to Brooklyn and was renamed the Brooklyn Dodgers . Indianapolis Colts lineage . In later years , the Brooklyn Dodgers would merge with the Boston Yanks franchise in 1945 ( with the Brooklyn half " moving " to the AAFC the next year ) ; in 1949 , the Yanks moved to New York and became the New York Bulldogs ; the Bulldogs franchise ( renamed the New York Yanks in 1950 ) was " sold back " to the NFL in 1952 and awarded to a group from Texas , who formed the Dallas Texans ; the Texans failed after one year and was sold back to the NFL . The NFL folded the Texans franchise , and its remains were awarded to an ownership group in the city of Baltimore to form the Baltimore Colts ; and the Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and are still playing as the Indianapolis Colts . It can thus be argued that the Triangles still exist today , albeit indirectly . Dayton Triangles Soccer Club . During the 1970s , the Dayton Triangles Soccer Club revived the name and enjoyed some success and recognition as a successful youth ( and later semi - pro ) soccer club . Like the football team , they took their name from the same city park and played an important role in development of soccer in the Miami Valley . Dayton Triangles RFC ( Rugby ) . In 1973 , the Dayton Triangles RFC rugby club was founded . Like the aforementioned soccer club , this team also took its name from the original football team and city park . Through various amalgamations over the years , the club is still active under the name of the Dayton Area Rugby Club . Hall of famers . Greasy Neale External links . Fan web site Dayton Triangles