New York Yanks

For the Major League Baseball franchise, seeNew York Yankees.

For other professional sports franchises, seeNew York Yankees (disambiguation).

TheNew York Yankswere anAmerican footballteam that played in theNational Football Leagueunder that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons.

New York Yanks / Bulldogs

Founded	1949
Folded	1951
Based in	New York City
League	National Football League
Conference	National Conference
Team history	New York Bulldogs (1949) New York Yanks (1950–1951)
Team colors	Royal blue, silver, white
Head coaches	Charley Ewart(1949) Red Strader(1950) Jimmy Phelan(1951)
Owner(s)	Ted Collins
Home field(s)	Polo Grounds(1949) Yankee Stadium(1950–1951)

Season by season overview

1949

Main article:1949 New York Bulldogs season

The team began in 1944 as theBoston Yanks,owned byKate Smith's manager,Ted Collins.He wanted a team inNew York City,but had to be content with one in Boston after theNew York Giantsrefused to let his new team share the New York area.

In 1949, Collins suspected that theAll-America Football Conferencewas on its last legs and got permission to move the Yanks to New York. Rather than a formal relocation, however, Collins asked the NFL to fold his Boston franchise and grant him a new one for New York, most likely as a tax write-off.This new team played as theNew York Bulldogsand shared thePolo Groundswith the Giants during the 1949 season.

The 1949 Bulldogs were a disaster on the field (1–10–1) as well as the box office, drawing just 48,007 fans to their six home games, with by far the largest crowd (17,704) coming against the Giants.

The nadir came during a 13–13 tie with theWashington Redskinson October 30, which drew a meager 3,678 fans, the lowest attendance at a non-neutral site NFL game since 1939 (excluding 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited attendance).

1950

Main article:1950 New York Yanks season

1950media guideshowing the team's new home,Yankee Stadium

In 1950, Collins changed his franchise's name to theNew York Yanksand moved toYankee Stadium,essentially merging the woeful Bulldogs with theNew York Yankeesof the now-defunct AAFC, as part of a deal in which he bought the rights to most of the Yankees players. (Eighteen players from the '49 Yankees played for the Yanks in 1950,while only four players from the 1949 Bulldogs —Joe Domnanovich,Joe Golding,John Nolan andJohn Rauch— returned.)

After splitting their first two games, the Yanks went on a five-game winning streak, putting them on top of the NFL's new National Conference with a 6–1 record. Led by quarterbackGeorge Ratterman(whom the Yanks acquired after his old team, the Buffalo Bills, failed to be accepted in the NFL-AAFC merger), New York rolled up 190 points in those five victories. (Attendance improved as well; after attracting barely 30,000 total to their first three home games (all Yanks victories), 48,642 showed up for their next home game against Chicago, followed by 42,673 against the Rams.) That proved to be the team's high-water mark, however; a porous defense led to a four-game losing streak that knocked the Yanks out of the race. A win over the expiring Baltimore franchise (playing its last game) upped their final record to 7–5, good enough for third place and a definite improvement over 1949.

1951

Main article:1951 New York Yanks season

The football Yanks had two future Hall of Fame linemen inArt DonovanandMike McCormackin 1951.

Their biggest opponent turned out to be their landlords, the baseball Yankees, who won the American League pennant, and did not want the field torn up during the1951 World Series.

The Yanks were forced to move their first two home games to Los Angeles and Detroit, both of which were blowout losses. Their next five games resulted in four losses by a total of 16 points and one tie, all but one of which were also played on the road (only four of their 12 games for the season were at home).

With a 0–6–1 record, the Yanks season was already over, and their attendance crashed in response: their sole home game in that span, a 29–27 loss toGreen Bay,drew just 7,351 fans.

The Yanks finished the 1951 season with only one victory, a 31–28 win in their road game against Green Bay. Their final game, at Yankee Stadium against the Giants, was played on an icy field with a game time temperature of 17 °F (−8 °C), and drew only 6,658 fans to Yankee Stadium.

The Yanks lost 27–17 to finish their season at 1–9–2 and last place in the league.

Season-by-season record

	Year	W	L	T	Finish	Coach
Bulldogs	1949	1	10	1	5th East	Charley Ewart
Yanks	1950	7	5	0	3rd National	Red Strader
	1951	1	9	2	6th National	Jimmy Phelan

Yanks Total: 8 - 14 - 2

Decline and dissolution

After only 37,268 people attended their four home games in 1951 (three losses and a tie), the New York Yanks were reported to have been sold back to the league following the season, but it is more likely the franchise was simply cancelled by the NFL.

Shortly thereafter, a group of Dallas businessmen bought the Yanks' roster and player contracts, though it was ostensibly a new franchise, and moved them to Dallas as theDallas Texans,playing at theCotton Bowl.That franchise, in turn, failed after only one season, and the remains were awarded to aBaltimore-based group that used it to start the newBaltimore Colts.

However, the NFL and the currentColts organization(which relocated toIndianapolisin1984) do not consider the Colts to be a continuation of the New York Yanks or any other franchise.

First round draft selections

New York Yanks / Bulldogs first-round draft picks

Year	Player name	Position	College
1949	Doak Walker	Back	SMU
1950	None
1951

Pro Football Hall of Famers

New York Yanks / Bulldogs Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
22	Bobby Layne	QB/K	1949	1967
39	Art Donovan	DT	1951	1968
71	Mike McCormack	OT	1951	1984

Notable players

• Bob DeMoss
• Brad Ecklund
• George Ratterman
• Jack Russell
• Spec Sanders
• George Taliaferro
• Art Weiner
• Buddy Young