Tonawanda Kardex The Tonawanda Kardex ( also known as the Tonawanda Lumbermen and , during its first season , the All - Tonawanda Lumberjacks ) was an American football team active between 1916 and 1921 . They played their games in City of Tonawanda , New York , a suburb of Buffalo with close ties to North Tonawanda , New York where American Kardex was founded . The team is most notable for their one game as a member of the National Football League , the shortest lived team in the league ' s history . Early history . The Tonawanda began playing games in 1916 as the All - Tonawanda All - Stars . They played their home games on the Tonawanda High School field , sometimes drawing up to 3 , 500 fans for a game . For the team ' s entire history , they were coached by Syracuse standout Walter " Tam " Rose . In 1917 , they defeated the Rochester Jeffersons for the state championship . In 1919 , they made the state playoffs , but lost in the semifinals to the Buffalo Prospects , who went on to win the title . The 1920 " All Tonawanda Lumberjacks " were a very successful team , garnering a record of 7 - 1 against two local " American Professional Football Association " ( the predecessor to the NFL ) franchises and other independent teams , only allowing more than 6 points in one of their contests ( the one loss , a 35 - 0 decision to Buffalo ) . Their last game of the season against the Rochester Jeffersons was among the first Thanksgiving Classic s . Tonawanda in the NFL . With their 1920 success ( and a crackdown by the NFL on playing non - league teams ) , the Lumberjacks joined the league in 1921 as the " Tonawanda Lumbermen " or " Tonawanda Kardex , " named for ( and presumably sponsored by ) the office supply company of the same name , still in business today . Prior to 1921 , the team played its home games at Tonawanda High School ; however , their lone game in the NFL was an away game , and according to contemporary news reports , the team had intended to play as a traveling team had it continued beyond one game . NFL records list the nonexistent and spurious " Lumbermen Stadium " as the team ' s home field . The 1921 season began much like the first , with a 0 - 0 tie against the Syracuse Pros , followed by a 9 - 7 win against the Cleveland Panthers . A game against the Rochester Scalpers scheduled for November was canceled ; instead , on November 6 , 1921 , the Kardex traveled to Rochester to face the Rochester Jeffersons , where they played their worst game in existence — a 45 - 0 blowout loss to the Jeffs in front of 2 , 700 fans . Considering that Syracuse and Rochester were two teams that Tonawanda had beaten handily in 1920 , team management realized that the team was no longer fit to play at the top level that would be required of the top professional league in the United States , and so the Lumbermen folded . However records from the Pro Football Researchers Association indicate that Tonawanda had trouble scheduling games due to a lack of opponents . The NFL ' s franchise fee for 1922 also increased from $ 50 to $ 1 , 000 , making it harder for Tonawanda play a second season in the league . Whether or not the team continued to exist is somewhat unclear . Records from 1925 show that the Buffalo Football Bisons played an exhibition game against a team from Tonawanda prior to the 1925 regular season , but it ' s not known if it ' s the same Tonawanda team as the APFA / NYPFL franchise . The " Lumberjacks " name is currently in use by North Tonawanda High School .