Union Quakers of Philadelphia The Union Quakers of Philadelphia were a professional independent football team , based in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in 1921 . The team evolved from a number of pro players who played with the Union Club of Phoenixville during their 1920 season . During their only season of operation , the club won the mythical " Philadelphia City Championship " . All of the team ' s home games were played at the Baker Bowl . History . Origins . At the end of a highly successful 1920 football season , the team ' s coach and captain , Heinie Miller , created a proposal for the directors of the Phoenixville Union Club to sponsor his pro football team for a second season . The team was to have the same line - up as the previous year ' s . However the proposal was declined by the Club who opted instead to field a less costly team of mostly local talent . As a result , Miller and Leo Conway quickly announced the formation of the Union Athletic Association of Philadelphia . The Union Club , however , was often referred to by the press as the " Union Athletic Association " , a name that was associated with the Phoenixville team . So in order to avoid confusion , the new organization ' s name was soon changed to the Union Quakers of Philadelphia . The " Union " reference was kept as an attempt to maintain some continuity and to remind the fans that this was essentially the same line - up that had been so successful in Phoenixille in 1920 . The team was also feature many players from the University of Pennsylvania , who were nicknamed the " Quakers " . For example , Bill Hollenback a former All - American at Penn played for the Union Quakers in 1921 , as did future Philadelphia Eagles founder , co - owner and coach , Bert Bell . The team ' s manager Leo Conway was also Penn alumnus as were most of the Union Quakers offensive linemen , like Heinie Miller , Lou Little and Lud Wray . 1921 season . 3 - 1 start . In their inauguaral game the Union Quakers defeated the Shenandoah Yellow Jackets 24 - 0 . The Yellow Jackets were members of the Anthracite League , a group of teams located in Pennsylvania ' s coal mining belt . For their second game of the 1921 campaign , the Union Quakers defeated another Anthracite team , the Coaldale Big Green 2 - 0 . The game ' s only score came via a safety , by Stan Cofall . However a week later , the Union Quakers were scheduled to play the New York Brickley Giants , a member of the American Professional Football Association . While a fumble from Philadelphia ' s Clarence Beck , led to a Giants field goal in the games opening minutes , the Union Quakers defense prevented the Giants from gaining a first down the whole game . However Philadelphia was unable to score the entuire game and lost their first game of the season 3 - 0 . After the Giants game , Philadelphia played the Holmesburg Athletic Club . Holmesburg , Conshohocken Athletic Club and the pre - NFL Frankford Yellow Jackets were considered the top teams in eastern Pennsylvania at the time . The Union Quakers defeated Holmesburg 21 - 0 , by way of two Johnny Scott touchdowns and one by Ockie Anderson . However the biggest game of the season would take place a week later as Philadelphia was scheduled to play another AFPA team , the Canton Bulldogs . The previous season , while still under the Phoenixville moniker , the Union Quakers defeated the Bulldogs 7 - 3 . The 1921 Bulldogs team no longer featured the legendary Jim Thorpe , however newer players like Pete Henry and Pie Way has stepped up to create a strong team . Cancellation and dispute with Buffalo . The night before the Bulldogs game , Frank McNeil , the owner of the Buffalo All - Americans lodged a protest with APFA officials regarding the Quakers - Bulldogs game . Many of the Buffalo players were associated with the Quakers in 1921 , just as they had been with the Phoenixville team the previous year . These players would play a non - league game with the Quakers on Saturdays and then take a train to Buffalo and the next day ’ s game . This arrangement helped the Buffalo players , earn extra money in between league games . McNeil felt that his team ' s poor performance in a crucial game against the Akron Pros , was due to his key players being exhausted from Union ' s victory over Holmesburg two days earlier . Meanwhile Buffalo was still a contender to win 1921 AFPA Championship and was scheduled to Canton the day after Union . McNeil feared that his players would be too tired from playing with the Quakers that they would deliever another lack luster performance and lose not only the game to Canton , but eliminate themselves from winning the AFPA title . McNeil then told Canton that the rules league ' s rules governing games against non - league teams were prohibited without the prior approval of the league . As a result , Canton cancelled their game against the Quakers . Meanwhile Heinie Miller , Lud Wray , Lou Little , Johnny Scott and Butch Spagna , who were previously involved in an on - going financial dispute with McNeil , decided to leave the All - Americans and played the remainder of the season with the Quakers . Leo Conway was able to arrange for the Union Quakers to play another AFPA team , to make up for the loss of the Canton game . The Rochester Jeffersons played the Quakers to a 3 - 3 tie . Since the Jeffs were losing large amounts of money during the 1921 season and needed the revenue from the Union Quakers game , the AFPA decided to not interfere . Buffalo ' s Swede Youngstrom and Pat Smith played for Quakers against Rochester before heading back to Buffalo for that club ' s game with Canton . It would be their last game for the Quakers . Strong schedule . The Quakers brought in to strengthen their roster . These players included Jim Laird , who had previously faced the Quakers as a member of both the Brickley Giants and Rochester Jeffersons , future Hall of Famer Joe Guyon and Pete Calac , both of whom were playing with the Cleveland Tigers at the time . The team then prepared to play another top independent eastern Pennsylvania team the Conshohocken Athletic Club . That game resulted in 14 - 0 Union Quakers victory . Two days later the Quakers travelled to Frankford to take on the pre - NFL Frankford Yellow Jackets . Tiny Maxwell , a former pro and college football standout , officiated the game , which ended in a scoreless tie . On December 3 , 1921 , the Union Quakers were finally able to schedule and play a game against the Canton Bulldogs . Despite a hard fought game , the Quakers lost the game , 14 - 9 , due to a late touchdown reception by Canton ' s Harry Robb . City champions . However the Union Quakers soon scheduled rematches against Frankford and Canton . The also signed two former Penn State Nittany Lions ' football players , Hinkey Haines and Harry Robb , who had just caught the winning touchdown for Canton , during the December 3rd contest . The Quakers - Yellow Jackets game resulted in 7 - 0 victory for the Union Quakers and gave them bragging rights as the Philadelphia City Champions . Afterwards the Quakers entered into a rematch against the Canton Bulldogs . The second game between the two teams , resulted in a 34 - 0 Union Quakers victory . Possible NFL franchise ? Since the team ' s time in Phoenixville in 1920 , Leo Conway had been trying to get the club into the AFPA . He had been present at several league meetings and before the 1921 season and had met with several franchise owners during the season . Wins over the Canton Bulldogs and Frankford Yellow Jackets showed that the Union Quakers could be a strong team in the league . During the off season Leo Conway and Heinie Miller attended meetings of the APFA . Before those series of meetings , two major items were decided . It was first concluded the APFA would change its name to the National Football League , and that Philadelphia would be awarded a league franchise . However for reasons unknown ( the heavy use of players already on NFL teams was a likely factor ) , the Union Quakers plans to enter the NFL were eventually dropped . Whatever members of the Union Quakers team who were not already on an NFL squad were absorbed by the Frankford Yellow Jackets , who posted a 13 - 0 - 1 record in 1922 . Leo Conway disappeared from the Phialdelphia football scene until 1926 when he went on to own and manage the similarly named Philadelphia Quakers of the first American Football League . That team would go on to win the league ' s only championship . Bell and Wray would later re - emerge as the owners and founders of the modern - day Philadelphia Eagles , which founded in 1934 after the Yellow Jackets folded .