Washington Senators Washington Senators , also referred to as the Washington Pros or Washington Presidents , was a professional football club from Washington , D . C . . The team played in the American Professional Football Association ( now the National Football League ) during the 1921 season , and continued to operate as a football club until 1941 . The Senators played and practiced at American League Park . Formation . The Senators were formed specifically for the 1921 APFA season . Officials from the Washington Professional Football Club met at the Arlington Hotel on May 19 , 1921 to finalize plans for the team , then referred to as the Washington Pros . Tim Jordan was appointed the team ' s business manager , and the squad was coached by former Georgetown star Jack Hegarty . The Senators would play a full 11 - game schedule , however only four of those games would be against other APFA squads . The featured Benny Boynton who would be involved in all three Senator touchdown s that were scored in APFA contests , throwing for two and running in the third . 1921 season . First non - league opponents . The Senators began their 1921 campaign with a 33 - 0 win over the Wilmington Collegians . Led by quarterback Bullets Watson , the victory featured touchdowns by Jack Sullivan , Watson and Dutch Leighty . The team ' s next opponent was the Holmesburg Athletic Club which was based out of Holmesburg , Pennsylvania , and were made up of former college stars from Penn State , Penn , Cornell , Swarthmore College , Carlisle Indian School and Lafayette . The Senators third game was against a team from Norfolk , after a semi - pro team from Akron was unable to play due to having a large number of injured players . Syracuse Pros . After playing against 3 non - AFPA opponents , the Senators defeated the Syracuse Pros 20 - 7 at home . It is unclear however if the Pros were ever apart of the AFPA . The team acknowledged that they were members of the league , however there is no record available through the AFPA or NFL documenting the team ' s membership . Therefore the Pros are not counted in many record books as being an AFPA or NFL franchise . Harry Courtney . Harry Courtney , a left - handed pitcher for the Washington Senators baseball club , signed with the football Senators for their November 20 against a team from Clarksburg , West Virginia . However Clark Griffith , the owner of the baseball Senators , found out about his Courtney moonlighting as a football player . Griffith ordered Courtney to stop playing football or risk finding himself without a job in baseball . Indeed , Courtney gave up his football career and continued to focus only on baseball . AFPA debut . The Senators ' APFA debut finally occurred on November 27 , 1921 , when they faced the Canton Bulldogs . Canton had a reputation was one of the nation ' s premier clubs . The game received a relatively large amount of hype in the local papers . Many observers saw this as Washington ' s big chance to show that it was a force to be taken seriously nationally . While , Canton was known for its speed , Washington came into the game with a weight advantage . Washington ' s average offensive lineman tipped the scales at 189 pounds while Canton ' s stood at 185 pounds , while the backs registered at 171 pounds to the Bulldogs ' 168 pounds . To help his team win the game , Senators head coach Jack Hegerty signed three former Canton players in an effort to tip the odds . Former Georgia Tech star Joe Guyon , Johnny Gilroy and Pete Calac . The plan was to have the men come off the bench and provide support to the already sturdy starting eleven . With tickets priced at just one dollar , approximately 4 , 000 showed up to American League Field to witness the game . However Canton shutout Washington , 15 - 0 . Rochester forfeit controversey . Washington was originally scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Collegians after their loss to Canton , however the plans for the game fell apart . When that happened Tim Jordan substituted the Collegians for the Rochester Jeffersons . On December 5 , 1921 , a game was scheduled between the Jeffersons and the Senators . Due to the field being covered with snow , Rochester ' s manager Leo Lyons refused to play the game rather than risk injury to his players . It has been said by some fans and historians that Lyons forfeited the game because of snowy conditions . However according to Lyons , the Senators had a poor fan turnout due to a snowstorm and said they would only pay the Jefferson team roughly $ 200 . That amount would not allow for the team to be paid to play the game , or travel expenses for the trip back to Rochester . The game had an NFL guarantee that the Jeffersons must be paid $ 800 for the game regardless of anything . Lyons refused to play the game because of Washington not paying the $ 800 that was in the game contract . The contract between the two teams stated that if there was a dispute as to the condition of the field , the decision would belong to the home team . Washington was willing to play the game , not wanting to disappoint the 400 or so fans that had showed up . After forty minutes of arguing , the game was awarded to Washington , by the score of 1 - 0 . Later , NFL commissioner Joseph Carr ruled in favor of Lyons and the Jeffs . Meanwhile , the Senators were required to pay a $ 800 guaranteed fee to the Jeffersons for showing up regardless of whether the contest happened or not . Washington never paid , as it decided to immediately leave the APFA after the season anyway . As a result of the fine remaining unpaid , the NFL did record the game as a victory , however the Elias Sports Bureau has not recognized this game as a forfeit and official NFL standings also say it was not a forfeit . First win and rematch with Canton . The Senators recorded their first APFA victory on December 11 against the Cleveland Indians , 7 - 0 , before a reported 5 , 000 spectators . On December 18 , 1921 , Tim Jordan landed a rematch with the Canton Bulldogs , and was determined to put up a better fight . Washington reached an agreement with Penn State All - American quarterback Glenn Killinger to play for the Senators , hoping that one of the premier collegiate players would be enough to tip the scales . However at the last moment , Killinger not only pulled out of his deal with the Senators , but also signed with the Bulldogs . Washington found themselves in an early 14 - 0 deficit , after a long Killinger pass caught the Senators by surprise , and a poor Boynton punt gave Canton an easy chance to push in their second touchdown . However Washington evened the score at 14 after two long drives that ended with a Johnnie Hudson touchdown reception and a Boynton touchdown run . The game remained tied late into the game , with the Senators holding possession with just a few minutes left in the game . But Washington ' s Gene Vidal fumbled the ball , and Canton was able to march down the field to take the lead . After the kickoff , the Bulldogs intercepted a Washington pass and returned it for the final touchdown . Before around 6 , 000 fans , the Senators again fell to the Bulldogs 28 - 14 . However the Senators would play one more game , while still members of the AFPA . On December 26 , 1921 , the Senators were scheduled to play a team of All - Stars at American League Park . The results of the game are unknown . The Senators finished the game with a 1 - 2 - 0 AFPA record . 1922 . The Senators would leave the AFPA following the 1921 season . Only three of the Senators ( Benny Boynton , Pete Calac and Joe Guyon ) would play in the NFL following the 1921 season . Led by Bullets Watson on the field and Tim Jordan off ( who appears to have doubled as coach ) , the club did continue to function in the 1922 season as the Washington Football Club or the Washington Pros . Players . Games . If this game was in fact played , Washington came out with a victory or tie . The game featured the return of Bennie Boynton , who left the Pros to play with Toledo . For this game , Boynton switched sides and played with the Pros . Akron recorded two touchdowns and safety to remain unbeaten . The Pros relied heavily on Boynton , but could no recover from an early blocked drop - kick , which was run back for the first Arkon score . The game against Canton came after nearly a month - long layoff , they hosted the APFA champion , and their old nemesis , the Canton Bulldogs . Canton was determined to keep their unbeaten record unblemished , and started their regular unit against the Washingtonians .