Buffalo All - Americans Buffalo , New York had a turbulent , early - era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s . The early NFL era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All - Stars from 1915 to 1917 , Buffalo Niagaras in 1918 , the Buffalo Prospects in 1919 , Buffalo All - Americans from 1920 – 1923 , Buffalo Bisons from 1924 – 1925 , 1927 and 1929 , and the Buffalo Rangers in 1926 . The franchise , experiencing financial problems in 1928 , did not participate in league play . History . Prior to the NFL . The All - Stars played from 1915 to 1917 under the leadership of Barney Lepper ; in 1917 , Lepper took the team on a barnstorming tour of midwestern pro football teams . In 1918 , the city ' s teams were not allowed to play outside the area because of the 1918 flu pandemic , and Lepper discontinued the All - Stars . Shoe salesman Warren D . Patterson , at the same time as this , formed a new team known as the Buffalo Niagaras , signing former Youngstown Patricians quarterback Ernest " Tommy " Hughitt as his quarterback . As the Niagaras , the team won a city - wide championship in 1918 , going undefeated with a 6 - 0 - 0 record ( including a forfeit ) , having only one touchdown scored on them in any of their six games . They were one of the few upper - level teams still able to play games that year , with most of the top level teams ( such as the Patricians , Canton Bulldogs and Massillon Tigers ) all having suspended operations due to the pandemic and / or World War I player shortages ; this allowed Buffalo to get a leg up on its Ohio competition and sign otherwise - unemployed players , setting a course for bringing the region on par with the Ohio League and the ultimate establishment of the NFL . With that , they could have theoretically staked a claim to being the best team in the nation , especially considering how the team would perform over the next three seasons , but the Professional Football Researchers Association is dismissive of any claim that does not come from the Ohio League , and gives the mythical " national title " to the Dayton Triangles , who also went undefeated that year . When the New York Pro Football League opened in 1919 , the team , now reorganized into a franchise known as the Prospects , defeated the Rochester Jeffersons for the league title in a two - game Thanksgiving weekend tournament . The two teams tied the Thanksgiving Day game , but Buffalo handily defeated Rochester 20 - 0 the following Sunday . Lepper teamed up with Hughitt and Patterson in early 1920 to create the Buffalo All - Americans , then quickly sold the team to Frank McNeil , a somewhat abrasive and aggressive owner who was able to get the team into the National Football League for its first season . However records indicate he may not have actually entered his team into the American Professional Football Association until 1921 , the All - Americans are generally shown as the third - place team in league standings from that year . Patterson held on to the Prospects name and put together a lower quality team that played through 1923 , including a 1922 game against the All - Americans themselves . The NFL . The Buffalo All - Americans had success during its first couple of APFA seasons , posting a 9 - 1 - 1 regular season record in 1920 where they became the first professional NFL team to win by margins of 20 or more points in each of its first four games , an asterisked record which was not tied until the 2007 New England Patriots ' offense duplicated the feat against other ( all ) professional and league teams on October 1 , 2007 ; the asterisked record is because in the early NFL , the All - Americans played several non - league opponents in their first four wins in 1920 . Like the 1990s - era Buffalo Bills seven decades later ( and the 1960s - era Bills four decades later ) , the 1918 - 21 All - Americans team is often considered one of the best professional teams to have never won an NFL championship . Even though they didn ' t officially win any championships , there are two championships that are disputable , in 1920 and 1921 . The Buffalo - Phoenixville connection . Unique for a professional football team , the All - Americans had a sharing agreement with the Union Club of Phoenixville , a side project managed by All - Americans player Heinie Miller . Miller would take himself and seven other All - Americans to Phoenixville , Pennsylvania to play games on Saturdays ( Pennsylvania had blue laws that prevented play on Sunday ) , and then return to Buffalo on Sundays . This sharing agreement lasted into 1921 when Miller formed the new Union Quakers of Philadelphia , but All - Americans owner Frank McNeil put a halt to the agreement halfway through the 1921 season after the Quakers played the Canton Bulldogs and wore out the All - Americans players . First trade in the NFL . In 1920 , the Akron Pros held the Buffalo All - Americans to a scoreless tie in front of only 3 , 000 fans . At the game , Akron owners , Frank Nied and Art Ranney agreed to sell Bob Nash to Buffalo for $ 300 and five per cent of the gate , in the first known player deal between NFL clubs . 1920 Championship issue . Along with the Decatur Staleys and Akron Pros , Buffalo claimed a share of the 1920 league title . That same season the Pros held the best record in the league , and only had to avoid losing a game . Meanwhile Buffalo and the Staleys had to win in order to capture the AFPA Championship . The Pros were able to hold the Staleys to a scoreless tie at Cub Park . However the Pros still had to play the All - Americans who were fresh from a 7 - 3 win over the Canton Bulldogs at New York City ' s Polo Grounds . Despite Buffalo ' s confidence going into the match , the Pros also held the All - Americans to scoreless tie . Both the All - Americans and the Staleys complained about the championship , arguing that Akron had only tied , but not defeated them . However , Joseph Carr ( then serving only as owner of his Columbus Panhandles team ) moved at the league ' s meeting in April 1921 to give Akron the sole title and the rights to the Brunswick - Balke Collender Cup . The motion was accepted , and Buffalo finished in third place , with Chicago in second place . According to modern NFL tie - breaking rules , the 1920 Buffalo All - Americans would be co - champions . They would be tied with the Akron Pros in win percentage , 9½ wins to 1½ losses ( . 864 ) , both teams beating out the Decatur Staleys , who would have a season that counted 11 wins to 2 losses ( . 846 ) . " Staley Swindle " . On November 27 , 1921 , the All - Americans claimed the AFPA title with a record of 9 - 0 - 2 . However , for reason still unknown , owner Frank McNeil agreed to play two more games . He did tell the Buffalo media that the two games were exhibitions and would have no bearing on the team ' s claim to the AFPA title . Meanwhile , George Halas and the Chicago Staleys , manage to capture second place in the AFPA in 1921 , with their only loss of the season against Buffalo . Meanwhile McNeil scheduled the two additional games against the Akron Pros and Chicago , in back - to - back games . The first game was scheduled for December 3 against the tough Akron Pros , after which his team would take an all - night train to Chicago to play the Staleys the next day . The All - Americans defeated the Pros on December 3 . They then rode to Chicago , where they disembarked the next day , worn out and in no condition to play the Staleys . The All - Americans then lost to the Staleys , 10 - 7 . Meanwhile McNeil still believed his team was the AFPA ' s 1921 champion , and even invested in tiny gold footballs for his players to commemorate the achievement . However Halas declared that the title was Chicago ' s , basing his claim on his belief that the second game of the Buffalo - Chicago series mattered more than the first . He also pointed out that the aggregate score of the two games was 16 - 14 in favor of the Staleys . McNeil insisted the Buffalo All - Americans were the champions , still maintaining that the last two games his team played were merely exhibitions . It didn ' t matter . The league awarded the championship by a vote of the Association ' s executive committee in January 1922 to the Staleys . This episode is referred to by several sports historians and Buffalo sports fans as the " Staley Swindle . " McNeil eventually went to his grave trying to get the league ' s decision overturned . In both the 1920 and 1921 seasons , Buffalo played all of its games at home ( the lone exceptions being the two 1921 matches in Chicago and one against the Detroit Tigers ) . Buffalo Bisons . Under the leadership of player - coach Tommy Hughitt , the All - Americans , though they never equaled the success of the first two seasons , continued to post winning records in 1922 and 1923 . Star running back Ockie Anderson ' s knees deteriorated during the 1922 season , forcing his early retirement and beginning the team ' s decline . In 1924 , owner Frank McNeil sold the team back to Hughitt and Warren D . Patterson , who immediately changed the team name to " Bisons " ( a stock name for Buffalo sports teams ) and signed several players ( Pete Calac , Benny Boynton and Jim Ailinger being among them ) to make another run at the title . After starting the season 6 - 2 , the team lost their last three to once again end up marginally above . 500 . Hughitt retired at the end of the season . After Hughitt ' s retirement at the end of the 1924 season , the team struggled for the rest of its lifespan . However on October 1 , 1925 ; the Bisons managed to wrestle Jim Kendrick from his contract with the Hammond Pros and signed him to play for Buffalo . In 1925 the Bisons were led by former Columbia University star and Buffalo native Walter Koppisch . Prior to Kendrick joining the team , the Bisons were already 0 - 2 on the season . Kendrick ' s first game with Buffalo came on Sunday , October 4 , 1925 against the Rochester Jeffersons . With Kendrick in the line - up , the Bisons managed to tie the Jeffersons and the Akron Pros in their next two games . A week later the Bisons defeated the Columbus Tigers , 17 - 6 . However tragedy struck the team just a few days later when , team captain , Walter Koppisch was injured in a car accident and was advised to sit out a few games to allow his injuries to heal . A week later , the Bisons were defeated by the Frankford Yellow Jackets 12 - 3 . However the team was scheduled to play the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds , a few days later . The game was also going to be the first game back for Koppisch . However the Bisons , despite a strong defensive showing , the Bisons could not generate their offensive potential . This game also end up as Koppisch ' s last appearance in a Buffalo uniform . The team then lost their final two games of the season to the Providence Steam Roller ( 10 - 0 ) and the Chicago Cardinals ( 23 - 6 ) . In July 1926 it was announced that Walter Koppisch would not be returning to manage the Buffalo Bisons in the upcoming season . Meanwhile Jim Kendrick would announced to be taking over as the team ' s manager , and serving as a player - coach . Buffalo Rangers . Jim Kendrick announced his " Buffalo Rangers " experiment , which turned the team into an exhibition from players from Texas and the Southwestern United States for the 1926 season . The team , while it was made up of players from Texas and Oklahoma , would then represent Buffalo in the NFL . Because most of the players were Texans , the team was nicknamed the " Rangers " in reference to the state ' s legendary peacekeeping force . Along with the West Coast ' s Los Angeles Buccaneers and the South ' s Louisville Colonels , it was one of three teams that represented cities outside the NFL ' s existing footprint . Kendrick believed that if the players have no outside interests or anything to divert their minds from playing football , they can play better . This was an ' experiment ' for the new manager , and the season ' s outcome would determine if his theory was correct . The Buffalo media alternately referred to them as the " Bison Rangers , " combining the old moniker with the new so that fans might more easily identify the team that was on its third name in seven years . The one - year experiment brought a 4 - 4 - 2 ( . 500 ) season . Buffalo expected Kendrick to return to field the Rangers for the 1927 season , however Kendrick signed with the New York Giants , and most of the remaining players went their separate ways , citing their dislike for Buffalo ' s cold winters as the primary reason for not sticking around . Return of the Bisons and closure . Dim Batterson , a local high school and college coach and an assistant with the team since 1925 , was brought in to coach the 1927 season . After five games ( all losses , all but one being a shutout ) , the team suspended operations and failed to finish the season . The team did not return to play in 1928 , but returned in 1929 with former Oorang Indian Al Jolley as coach . Much like in 1927 , the Bisons failed to win a game in their final season until their final game , when in a case of cosmic irony they upset the Chicago Bears 19 - 7 ; thus , the very team that had spoiled their lossless season in 1921 had spoiled their winless season in 1929 . With the Great Depression underway , the Bisons folded , never to return again . With the exception of the three teams that have direct descendants still in the NFL , the Chicago Bears , Arizona Cardinals and Dayton Triangles ( whose remains reside in the current Indianapolis Colts — or the St . Louis Rams , depending on the perspective ) , Buffalo was the longest - lived of the league ' s original teams . The team has no official relation to future Buffalo pro football franchises : the Buffalo Indians and Tigers of the third American Football League , the Buffalo Bisons of the AAFC , or the Buffalo Bills of today which was one of the new AFL teams ( formation announced in 1959 ) that first played in 1960 . Players of note . As of 2010 , no Pro Football Hall of Fame rs played for the All - Americans , Bisons or Rangers .