| Team: | New York Yankees |
| Year: | 1927 |
| Record: | 7–8–1 |
| Division Place: | 6th NFL |
| Owner: | C.C. Pyle |
| Coach: | Ralph Scott |
| Stadium: | Yankee Stadium |
| Playoffs: | No playoffs until 1932 |
| Previous: | 1926 |
| Next: | 1928 |
| Shortnavlink: | Yankees seasons |
The 1927 New York Yankees season was their inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). The team played just four of their 16 games at home in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees finished 7–8–1, good for sixth in the 12-team league.[1]
C.C. "Charlie" Pyle was a theater operator in Champaign, Illinois who in 1925 entered the world of sports entertainment by promoting a exhibition games featuring a local sensation of his acquaintance, Illinois running back Red Grange. After acting as an agent to get Grange signed with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), in 1926 Pyle established a team of his own, the New York Yankees, seeking admission to the NFL. When his application was rejected, Pyle sprung into action establishing a rival league, the American Football League in 1926. Sailing was not smooth and the league lasted one season before folding.
Pyle then successfully joined the NFL for the 1927 season, bringing aboard the popular Grange as a player and part owner of the team. In an effort to bolster the star-power of his team, in July he added a star passer to the roster, All-American University of Montana tailback Wild Bill Kelly.[2]
As one of only twelve teams in the league and in a position to split the lucrative New York City market with Tim Mara's fledgling New York Giants, Pyle had high expectations of financial success going into his first NFL year, telling one journalist that he hoped to clear $50,000 for his efforts.[3]
According to Pyle, Yankee linemen were paid somewhat better than the norm — $100 to $200 per game — while stars made more. Pyle said that he carried 21 men on the roster, although only 18 were eligible in a given week due to league rules. His expenses ran approximately $3,500 per week, he reckoned.
To cover this cost there was a single revenue stream — the stadium gate. This ultimately proved inadequate, leading to the club's termination following the 1928 season.
An all-time record crowd of more than 6,000 spectators assembled at Dayton's Triangle Park to see Red Grange and the New York Yankees open the 1927 NFL season of the Dayton Triangles. A defensive battle ensued, in which "The Galloping Ghost" was held to just 8 total yards from scrimmage on the day. Earl Britton of Dayton hit a 40-yard field goal in the second period to give the home team a 3–0 lead in the evenly-matched contest.[17] That proved insufficient however, as in the third quarter a 77-yard punt return down the sideline by Yankee back Bullet Baker, who was pulled down on the 2-yard line, set up a series ending in a touchdown plunge by fullback Wes Fry. This would prove to be the final score in a 6–3 New York victory.
The meeting of legendary Illinois runner Red Grange and Michigan passing marvel Benny Friedman — future NFL Hall of Famers both — was eagerly anticipated as the New York Yankees traveled to Detroit to take on the Cleveland Bulldogs. With the shuttering of the Detroit Panthers franchise after the 1926 season, this would be the only National League game held in the Motor City in 1927. The second quarter was where the Yankees did their damage, scoring their first touchdown after a drive featuring several solid runs by Bo Molenda, consummated by Bullet Baker taking the ball the last 8 yards with two runs for the score. A second TD followed when speedy Eddie Tryon scooped a Bulldog fumble on the Cleveland 20 and ran it back for six more points and a 13–0 halftime lead. Cleveland answered as the second half opened, with Benny Friedman grabbing an interception of a long pass before connecting four times for 40 yards as part of the ensuing touchdown drive. That ended the scoring, however, and New York escaped with a 13–7 victory.