Watertown Red and Black The Watertown Red & Black is a semi - professional American football team based in Watertown , New York . Founded in 1896 , the team is the oldest semi - pro football team in the United States . Because of this , the team has the most wins ( 565 ) , losses ( 268 ) , ties ( 43 ) and games played ( 876 ) of any semi - professional team ; their overall win percentage is . 670 . Watertown did not participate in the first World Series of Pro Football , instead loaning its entire backfield to the Syracuse Athletic Club for its entry into the tournament . Watertown participated in the 1903 tournament , finishing second to the Franklin Athletic Club , to whom the Red & Black lost , 12 - 0 . During the 1903 season , the Red & Black defeated a team from Cortland , New York by a score of 142 - 0 , the second - highest in football history ( behind only a 148 - 0 win by the Massillon Tigers over a team from Marion , Ohio a year later ) . In 1919 , the team participated in the New York Pro Football League playoffs , losing in the regional quarterfinals ( " Central New York Championship " ) to Syracuse . The team currently plays in the Empire Football League and has won the league ' s title twice , in 1980 and 2009 . Season - by - season . < hr > It was in 1902 that Watertown Athletic Association became known as the Red & Black Professional Football Team . Though it declined participation in the first World Series of Pro Football , it loaned players to the Syracuse Athletic Club to participate in that contest , the first ever attempted national professional football championship . ( The enhanced Syracuse team , which included Pop Warner , won the tournament in an upset . ) Football enthusiasm reached a peak locally in 1903 , a year which included a 142 - 0 rout of a team from Cortland ( which still stands as the second - biggest blowout in pro football history , behind the Massillon Tigers ' 148 - 0 win over a team from Marion in the Ohio League a year later ) . The 1903 season ended with the Red & Black participating in the second ( and as it would turn out , the final ) World Series of Pro Football . Watertown lost the championship to the superteam Franklin Athletic Club of Pennsylvania by a 12 - 0 score ; J . B . Wise , Mayor of Watertown and the Red & Black ' s business manager lost $ 8 , 000 in bets during this contest . The Red & Black team , mostly located too far from pro football ' s core in Ohio and western Pennsylvania to play an extensive schedule against other fully - professional teams , then dropped back to the semi - professional level in 1904 and has played with semi - pro status ever since . This allowed the scheduling of teams located within what was then a reasonable travel distance of Watertown . Several teams during the decades of the 1900s , 1910s and 1920s brought the semi - professional championships of New York State home to Watertown . Alex Duffy wore the colors for 17 seasons , the last 15 as captain during the 1910s and 1920s . During the 1923 - 1925 seasons , the team won 31 games , losing only to Binghamton , 6 - 0 . The 1927 squad was undefeated . In 1935 , the Red & Black was reorganized under George ( Buzzy ) Gibson and produced several outstanding teams . Jake Devito and Rocco Canale guided the team when it was a member of the Eastern Professional League in the late 40 ' s and early 50 ' s . In 1950 , the Red & Black went undefeated until losing the championship game to Hudson Falls at the Fairgrounds in Watertown . In 1954 , after a two year hiatus , the Red & Black was reorganized by Dick Doe and Budjo Alteri , assisted by Earl Cole . Johnny Marra was the sponsor . Boots Gaffney coached the team , assisted by Joe Guardino and Nelson Sholett . In four seasons , beginning in 1954 , the team won 28 games , lost one and tied two . In these four seasons , the defense allowed but 50 points . Sadly the team once again became only a fond memory after the 1959 season . In 1969 , Carmen Scudera , Francis Lyng and John Morgia headed efforts to revive the Red & Black . Pat Killorin was selected as coach and the team had a successful season of four wins , three losses . It was not only competitively successful but financially successful as well . Crowds of 5000 to 6000 were reported at the games . In 1971 and 1974 , the Red & Black went undefeated . In 1980 , the team reached its pinnacle of modern history , nearly comparable to that of the 1903 team . The team , playing under the direction of Jim Powers and Tom LaDuke won the Empire Football League Championship and was ranked second in the nation by " Pro Football Weekly " . The Red & Black have their own showcase in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as being the oldest semi - pro team in the nation . It is the very first showcase . From 1980 until 1991 the team was under the direction of several different coaches . In 1991 to present , George Ashcraft took over as the head coach . Mike Britton was the offensive coordinator from 1992 through the 2000 season starting his own semi - pro team , the St . Lawrence Trailblazers in 2002 . The Red and Black have made the playoffs every year since 1993 . The team briefly played in the New York Amateur Football League ( now the Northeastern Football Alliance ) in the late 1990s , but a few years later , moved back to the EFL . In 2003 they won the Northern Division Championship . In 2005 agency producers contacted several AFA member teams regarding use of players and coaches to give their TV commercials the professional football appearance they are looking for . One such Chunky soup commercial , featuring Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb did just that . Several Empire League football players were used in the production of that popular TV spot . The agency relied heavily on the coaching experience of AFA Hall of Famer George Ashcraft from the EFL ' s Watertown Red and Black team . Ashcraft provided the agency with the technical football advice ( and several EFL players ) they needed to make the McNabb / Chunky soup commercial convincing to the viewers . It is the Red and Black players and other EFL players wearing the Cleveland Browns uniforms . In 2006 the Red and Black was the floater team for the EFL . They played all of the teams once . They were the only floater team , but were still considered a Northern Division team . They won the Northern Division Championship game against the Vermont Ice Storm and lost to the Albany Metro Mallers in the EFL championship game . In 2007 the team finished with a 12 - 4 overall record . They were the 2007 Western Division Champs and lost in the EFL championship game to the Vermont Ice Storm 9 - 8 . They went on to play in the National Tournament at Watertown High School . Before the game there was a tribute in memory of a fallen coach and soldier , Dave Connell , who lost his life in Iraq . The Tenth Mountain Division at Fort Drum landed a helicopter on the field before the game to deliver the game ball . Four members of the Watertown Red & Black team returned home from Iraq that week and played in the game . They were Ben Pritchard , Lorenzo Sanchez , Gregory Duckson , and Mike Jester . The team lost to the Monroe County Sting of the New York Amateur Football League 21 - 6 . Monroe went on to win the National Championship game . Long - time veteran Earnie Wash also returned home from Iraq earlier in the season to finish the year . The 2008 season saw Thomas Schultz of Sports Partners Inc . claim that he " bought " the team , with intentions to move it back to the Northeastern Football Alliance . The owners of the Red & Black denied this , and a court settlement eventually led to Schultz being barred from using the " Red & Black " name . Schultz ' s team took to the field as the Watertown Revolution for the NFA , with no further connection to the Red & Black . The original Red & Black played in the EFL and finished with a 4 - 7 overall record . The Red & Black rebounded in 2009 to win the Empire Football League championship over the Plattsburgh North Stars 6 - 0 at the Alex Duffy Fairgrounds . Almost 3000 fans packed around the field to watch the team win its first EFL Championship since 1980 . The Team finished with a 13 - 1 overall record . The Red and Black did go to Florida and played the Carolina Express in the Orange Blossom Bowl in January . After a hard fought battle the Red and Black came up short and lost 7 - 6 . Running back Anthony Noel and LB Dustin Houppert received honors for the team for their outstanding play . The team finished with over 3800 yards in offense . The defense posted seven shutouts . The Red and Black was ranked 20th in the nation on October 13th . To start the 2010 season the Watertown Red & Black traveled to Florida to play in the Orange Blossom Bowl . The Red and Black played The Carolina Express . It was a hard fought battle but the Red & Black came up short losing 7 - 6 . Dustin Houppert and Anthony Noel received honors for the team for their great play . The Red & Black took the field in June with no choice but to defend their title . The team finished with a 12 - 3 overall record making it to their second championship in two years . The team lost to the Plattsburgh Northstars in the Championship game 13 - 10 . The R & B missed a field goal with 22 seconds left that would have put the game in overtime . The Red and Black finished another great season . Running backs Brian Williams and Joe Brennan led the offense both rushing over a thousand yards . This was the first time since 1902 . Also Mike Dumaw led the defense receiving all league honors becoming the second player on the Red & Black team to be the EFL Iron man of the year . The Red & Black Football Association has always shown a unique ability to draw players , fans , workers and supporters from all social and economic backgrounds . It is from this unique ability that the organization has drawn its strength throughout its long history and developed a deep sense of pride that can only come from working with such an organization .