1921 NFL season The 1921 NFL season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League ( then called the American Professional Football Association ) . At the league meeting in Akron , Ohio on April 30 prior to the season , the Association was reorganized , with Joe Carr of the Columbus Panhandles named as president . The Association ' s headquarters was moved to Columbus , Ohio , and a league constitution and by - laws were drafted , giving teams territorial rights , restricting player movements , and developing membership criteria for the franchises . The league would play under the then - rules of college football , and official standings were issued for the first time so that there would be a clear champion . The most notable of changes was that only games played against league teams would count toward the standings ; this had the dual effect of both encouraging independent teams ( such as those from the Ohio League and the NYPFL ) to join , but also caused those that did not join to fold within a few years , because NFL teams , particularly those competing for a championship , would be much less willing to play what were effectively exhibition game s against teams that would not help them in the standings . However , a number of teams had financial difficulties . Some of the teams that played during the previous season , including the Chicago Tigers , had disbanded . The Association did increase to 21 teams , but 4 of the new teams ( Brickley ' s New York Giants , the Cincinnati Celts , the Tonawanda Kardex , and the Washington Senators ) only lasted a single season . New York and Tonawanda were particularly short - lived : New York lasted two games in the league and Tonawanda a league - record one game before leaving or folding . The Muncie Flyers also disbanded after the season , and even though the Cleveland Tigers changed their name to the Cleveland Indians , it still did not help them from folding after the season too . At one point , the Professional Football Researchers Association recognized a team by the name of the Syracuse Pros as joining and leaving the league in 1921 , but the league has not recognized the claim , and the PFRA has backed off its assertion in more recent years . The Syracuse professional team in question , which had never used the name " Pros , " " did " intend to play at least seven games against APFA teams , but only played three , and there is no records of the league ever admitting the team into the league , nor is there any record of the team leaving the league . The only word of the Syracuse team joining the league came from the team itself . The other new teams were the Evansville Crimson Giants , the Green Bay Packers , the Minneapolis Marines , and the Louisville Brecks . Detroit Heralds became the Detroit Tigers . Detroit folded mid - season and its roster was absorbed by the Buffalo All - Americans . The Staleys , who moved from Decatur , Illinois to Chicago before the season , were named the APFA Champions over the Buffalo All - Americans . De facto championship game . The Chicago Staleys ( to be renamed the Chicago Bears after the end of the season ) , led by wide receiver George Halas , and the Buffalo All - Americans , led by quarterback Tommy Hughitt , were the two top teams in the league ; each playing all of their games at home , Buffalo and Chicago amassed 6 - 0 records in league play . On Thanksgiving 1921 , Buffalo played one of its only road games of the season , in Chicago , and prevailed 7 - 6 . Chicago demanded a rematch . The All - Americans agreed to rematch the Staleys on December 4 , again in Chicago , on the condition that the game would be considered a " post - season " exhibition game not to be counted in the standings ; had it not , Buffalo would have had an undefeated season and won the title . ( Buffalo had played , and defeated , the Akron Pros just one day prior . ) This was a fairly common custom of the time ; both New York and Ohio ' s pre - NFL circuits put their marquee games on Thanksgiving weekend and cleaned up with mostly token opposition in the following weeks . Chicago defeated Buffalo in the rematch by a score of 10 - 7 . Halas rebutted that the second game was played on December 4th ( well before teams in Illinois typically stopped playing games in those days ) , and the Staleys played two more games against top opponents , the Canton Bulldogs and Chicago Cardinals after the second Buffalo game ( though , at the time of the Buffalo - Chicago matchup , Chicago had played three fewer games than Buffalo ) . The league counted the All - Americans game in the standings , against Buffalo ' s wishes , resulting in Buffalo ( 9 - 1 - 2 ) and Chicago ( 9 - 1 - 1 ) being tied atop the standings . The league then implemented the first ever tiebreaker : a rule , now considered archaic and removed from league rulebooks , that states that if two teams play multiple times in a season , the last game between the two teams carries more weight . Thus , the Chicago victory actually counted " more " in the standings , giving Chicago the championship . Buffalo sports fans have been known to refer to this , justly or unjustly , as the " Staley Swindle , " and have cited it as the first evidence of a sports curse on the city . Final standings . " W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , PCT = Winning Percentage " " Note : Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972 "