World Series of Football ( 1902 ) The World Series of Football was a series of football games played indoors at New York ' s Madison Square Garden in 1902 and 1903 . It originally comprised five teams , four from New York state and one from New Jersey . While none of the teams were really considered the best in the country , historians refer to the affair as a " World Series . " However it was hardly a series in the sense of two strong teams playing each other over several games . In fact no team played another more than once and the team pairings were considered odd , too . Under the 1902 system , the anticipated second - place team was automatically swept into the championship game without even playing a down while the expected first place finisher had to fight its way through the brackets , effectively creating a cross between a traditional tournament and a " gauntlet - style " tournament for the first place team . The series is best remembered for showcasing the first indoor professional football game in 1902 . History . Origins . The league was the idea of Tom O ' Rourke , who was the manager of the Gardens at the time . ' O ' Rourke needed an event to draw people to the Gardens in late December , which was a slow time of the year for sporting events . Basketball and hockey were not yet major sports in New York , so O ' Rourke decided to play host a series of indoor football games . He decided to invite several professional and college teams to the Gardens for the series . Tom O ' Rourke envisioned a series of games , showcasing the best in college and pro teams , eventually leading to one climactic game , crowning the " champion of the world . " 1902 . Finding teams . However O ' Rourke had a tough time finding teams to play in the tournament . The colleges refused due to increased pressured from the Amateur Athletic Association to stop particiapting in professional games . Also the Pittsburgh Stars , Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics , along with the first National Football League , had all disbanded . The Watertown Red and Blacks , who were the top team in New York state at the time ( and one of the few teams of the era that still exists today ) also refused the series . This left four teams to compete in the tournament , the Syracuse Athletic Club , the Knickerbocker Athletic Club , the Warslow Athletic Club and the Orange Athletic Club . O ' Rourke did finally get a fifth team to join the series when some players from the Phillies and Athletics got together and formed was called the " New York " team . In calling them the " New York " team , O ' Rourke expected to give his patrons the pleasure of watching a " home team " win . The team was made up of eight Phillies and 4 Athletics that included A ' s coach Charles " Blondy " Wallace and Phillies coach Ben Roller . The field . Madison Square Garden had to be redone to accommodate the teams . The wooden flooring of the arena was removed and replaced by a earthen surface . During the event , the goal lines were only 70 yards apart and the playing field was only 35 yards wide . The earthen surface also became sticky as the game progressed and made for some tough maneuvering , while the stands were right up to the playing field and proved to be a physical hazard . The kicking game was also drastically affected . In a game on a normal field , the team with the longest punts had the advantage . However the Gardens proved to be a dream for a weak punter , due to the field size . Also the arena wall was right on the edge of the field , presenting a serious hazard for any sideline plays . One player reportedly knocked himself out of the tournament by running into the wall on the opening kickoff . O ' Rouke ' s planned schedule . The tournament was scheduled to last three nights starting on December 29 and ending on New Years Eve . O ' Rourke scheduled his tournament by considering the expected strengths of the teams . On opening night , he scheduled the " New York " team against Syracuse . By defeating Syracuse , the " New York " team , O ' Rouke hoped , would then defeat the team that would probably bring the fewest fans into the Garden . Then on the second night the Knickerbockers and Warlow would play to determined which team would be beaten by the " New York " team in the series third game . O ' Rourke anticipated the this game as having the best attendance of the tourney . Finally the fourth game , by holding out the Orange Athletic Club until the end , he predicted a New York versus New Jersey match - up in which New Jersey would lose a close game to one of the three New York teams . Outcome . However , O ' Rourke didn ' t realize how seriously the Syracuse team took the tournament . Prior to the start of the series , Syracuse signed three running backs from Watertown , along with Bemus and Hawley Pierce from the Carlisle Indian School , and Bill Warner and his brother Glenn . The team was put together by Frank " Buck " O ' Neill who conducted daily practices in preparation for the series . Syracuse defeated " New York " in what has been called the first indoor pro football game . The final score of the game was recorded as 6 - 0 , but in reality it was 5 - 0 , since touchdowns only counted for five points in 1902 and Pop Warner missed the extra point . Warner later suffered a head injury and was replace by Blondy Wallace from the " New York " team , later in the series . The Knickerbockers then defeated Warlow the very next night 11 - 6 . Syracuse then defeated the Knickerbockers 36 - 0 on New Year ' s Eve . The finale on New Year ' s night against Orange resulted in another 36 - 0 win , and the series championship , for Syracuse . 1903 . Plans . O ' Rourke planned another series for 1903 . This year he planned for a round robin tournament of the top football clubs in the area , a high school all - star game , bicycle races , and a Gaelic football match . The end result would be fifteen football games during a span of six days at the Garden . The 1903 attendees included Oreos Athletic Club from Asbury Park , New Jersey ; the returning - champions , the Orange Athletic Club ; and the Franklin Athletic Club from Pennsylvania . The Watertown Red and Black , which refused entry into the tournament in 1902 , put up $ 2000 in prize money ( $ 1 , 250 for first place , $ 750 for second ) . Blondy Wallace also returned to the series , this time as a member of the Franklin team . The field . The playing surface of the Gardens for the 1903 series was still 70 yards . However the surface itself was also improved upon . Dirt was trucked into the Gardens and steamrolled into a more natural surface . Results . On December 14 , 1903 , the Olympic Athletic Club defeated Knickerbocker Athletic Club 6 - 0 . For that nights ' second game , the Watertown Red and Black defeated the Oero Athletic Club by a score of 5 - 0 . The game ' s only score came on a controversial touchdown call , by the referee , in the seoond half of the game . Fighting and rioting soon broke out between the Oreos and Watertown fans , beofre being contained by the New York Police Department . In other games : the Franklin defeated Orange 12 - 0 , on December 15 , Orange defeated the Oreos , 22 - 0 on December 18 and Watertown defeated Orange , 11 - 0 , on December 19 . Franklin and Waterbury became the two top teams for the 1903 series . Waterbury narrowly won the opening game against Oreo by a score of 6 - 0 . While Franklin came out the victor against Orange 16 - 0 , amid various calls of rough play and fighting . Two nights later , Franklin and Watertown were featured in the championship game . Many Watertown fans bet between $ 100 to $ 500 a clip on their team . However when Franklin won the game 12 - 0 . With that win Franklin ' s betters brought home over $ 4 , 000 in winnings . According to Dr . Harry March ' s , often inaccurate book " " , Frank Hinkey was a referee at the event . March states that the officials during the series " were dressed in full evening dress , from top hats down to white gloves and patent leather shoes . " During the last play of the series in a game between Franklin and the Watertown , the Franklin players , knew that they had the game in hand . As a result , the Franklin backfield agreed to purposely run over the clean and sharply dressed Hinkley in jest , knocking him into the dirt . Hinkley took the incident in good - nature and Franklin ' s management agreed to pay his cleaning bill . End of the series . O ' Rourke , after the 1903 series , cancelled the event . He was largely disappointed by the lack attendance at the series . The largest crowd over six days was only 2 , 500 fans , which was for a high school football game . Today the uniform worn from Harry Mason from the Syracuse Athletic Club is on diplay at the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Meanwhile , the Orange Athletic Club would go on to evolve into the Orange Tornadoes ( and later Newark Tornadoes ) of the National Football League in 1929 and 1930 . The team later folded as the Orlando Panthers of the Continental Football League in 1971 . Meanwhile the Watertown Red & Black still exists today as members of the semi - pro Empire Football League .