New York Yanks
 | |
| Founded | 1949 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1951 |
| Based in | New York City |
| League | National Football League |
| Conference | National Conference |
| Team history | Boston Yanks(1944, 1946–1948) Yanks(1945) New York Bulldogs (1949) New York Yanks (1950–1951) Dallas Texans(1952) |
| 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) |
TheNew York Yankswere anAmerican footballteam that played in theNational Football Leagueunder that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons.
Season by season overview
[edit]1949
[edit]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.[1]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).[2]
1950
[edit]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,[3]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
[edit]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
[edit]| 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
[edit]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
[edit]| Year | Player name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Doak Walker | Back | SMU |
| 1950 | None | ||
| 1951 | |||
Pro Football Hall of Famers
[edit]| 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
[edit]- Bob DeMoss
- Brad Ecklund
- George Ratterman
- Jack Russell
- Spec Sanders
- George Taliaferro
- Art Weiner
- Buddy Young
References
[edit]- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 17, 2013.RetrievedJune 17,2013.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^An NFL game on Thanksgiving Day 1952, between the Dallas Texans and the Chicago Bears, which had been moved to Akron, Ohio due to paltry ticket sales in Dallas, drew only 2,208 people; meanwhile, an AAFC game between in Miami between the Miami Seahawks and the Brooklyn Dodgers on December 13, 1946 drew just 2,340 people.
- ^Bruce Alford,George Brown,Brad Ecklund,Don Garza,Sherman Howard,Duke Iverson,Harvey Johnson,Bob Kennedy,Lou Kusseow,Pete Layden,Paul Mitchell,Barney Poole,Martin Ruby,Jack Russell,Ed Sharkey,Joe Signaigo,John WozniakandBuddy Young