Newark Bears ( AFL ) The Newark Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926 . Owned by the New Jersey Athletic Association ( headed by NJAA president William Coughlin ) , the Bears played their home games in Davids ' Stadium . Coached by player - coach Hal Hansen , the majority of the team played their college football in Georgia and Florida . Tailback Doug Wycoff scored the club ’ s only points in its existence , having a touchdown run and kicking the extra point to tie the Chicago Bulls in both teams ’ opening game of the season . While the Bears ’ defense was respectable ( yielding only five points per game ) , the lack of offensive production resulted in a record of no wins , three losses , and two ties . While the Bears played in front of ( an announced total of ) 40 , 000 spectators in Philadelphia ( a 9 - 0 loss to the Quakers on October 16 ) , the total attendance for three home games in Newark was less than 5000 . After only 400 fans attended a scoreless game ( with the Rock Island Independents ) in Davids ’ Stadium on October 24 , 1926 , the Bears withdrew from the AFL … the first team to call it quits in the American Football League . The exodus from the league continued through the month of November , until there were only four teams left , dooming the league . For the team ' s last league game , the name of the team was changed to the Newark Demons . Takeover by the Staten Island Stapletons . After its withdrawal from the AFL , the Bears became an independent team . During a November 14 , 1926 game against the Staten Island Stapletons , the Bears defeated the Stapes , 33 - 0 . Unhappy with the defeat of his Staten Island team , owner Dan Blaine promptly hired most of the Newark players , including star rookie Doug Wycoff , who were still owed money because of Newark ' s financial problems . As a result , the Bears went out of business while the Stapletons benefited from Newark ' s folding . In 1928 , Blaine further upgraded the team by signing some players from New York University . The Stapletons had a 10 - 1 - 1 record that season and were 3 - 1 against NFL teams . The Stapletons then joined the NFL in 1929 and would play there until 1932 . After the first AFL . After the dissolution of the Newark Bears on October 24 , 1926 , guard Art McManus returned to his hometown Boston to play with the Boston for the remainder of the season . While his major league football career ended with the folding of the Bulldogs three weeks later , the career of the only person to score points for the Bears , Doug Wycoff extended beyond the end of the AFL , joining the New York Giants for the 1927 season . Wycoff later played for the 1927 New York Giants , 1929 – 30 Staten Island Stapletons , 1931 New York Giants , 1932 Staten Island Stapletons , and the 1934 Boston Redskins of the National Football League . He came out of retirement in 1936 to play for the Boston Shamrocks in the second American Football League . While Wycoff was the only member of the 1926 Newark Bears playing in the NFL in 1927 , four of his Newark teammates eventually joined NFL rosters : Orin Rice – 1929 New York Giants < br > Sammy Stein – 1929 - 30 Staten Island Stapletons , 1931 New York Giants , and 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers < br > Cy Williams – 1929 - 30 Staten Island Stapletons , 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers < br > Ike Williams – 1929 Staten Island Stapletons