The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League (NFL).
A proposal to add teams from outside Ohio, such as the Latrobe Athletic Association, to form a formal league known as the "Football Association" fell through prior to the 1904 season.
Though a champion was declared by the group throughout its existence, a formal league was not founded until 1920, when several Ohio League teams added clubs from other states to form the American Professional Football Association. In 1922, the APFA became the National Football League.
All but one of the remaining Ohio League teams left the NFL after the 1926 season, with the sole remaining team, the Dayton Triangles, surviving until 1929, before moving to Brooklyn, playing as the Dodgers. That team merged with the Boston Yanks in 1945. The merger ended after the end of 1945 season. The league cancelled the Brooklyn franchise.
Further, the Detroit Heralds, though based in Michigan, played many of its games against Ohio teams.
Successor leagues
Ohio Valley League (1925-1929)
Some of the better teams of the 1920s, who did not join the NFL existed in the Ohio Valley,[5] and would form an unofficial but recognized circuit - The Ohio Valley League - which resembled the old Ohio League.[6] The "league" collapsed at the beginning of the Great Depression.[7]
The two stronger teams in the league were the Portsmouth Spartans and the Ironton Tanks,[8] that in the year after the circuit died (1930) beat the New York Giants and Chicago Bears,[9] while the Spartans would join the NFL and would later become the Detroit Lions. Two other noteworthy teams were the Armco Corporation employees teams - Ashland Armco Yellowjackets (Kentucky) and Middletown Armco Blues (Ohio),[10] who featured many former college All-Americans, including Red Roberts.[11]
In 1941, there was a resurgence in pro football in Ohio, as local teams tried to form a new professional league called The Ohio Professional Football League (also known as Ohio Valley League).[17] Six teams came together in an attempt to restore the region's former old glory: The Dayton Dakotas, Dayton Merchants, Cincinnati Pepsi-Colas, Columbus Avondales, Middletown Merchants, and another Canadian team the Thomas Athletic Club from Windsor, Ontario,[18] but they withdrew from the league before the season started.
The circuit operated on a much smaller scale from previous leagues, and did not return for a second season.
^Massillon won by tiebreaker of common opponents. While both Massillon and the Shelby Blues went undefeated and played each other once to a scoreless tie, Shelby tied the Columbus Panhandles, while Massillon had defeated Columbus twice.
^Both teams finished undefeated, but shared so many players that it was impossible to stage a true championship game. Their records were added together and the two organizations shared the title and officially merged in 1911. The Tigers name was spun off to another team.
^While Akron is traditionally listed as champions, the Dayton Cadets won the Southern Division title with an undefeated record. Akron and Dayton never faced each other.
^The Professional Football Researchers Association lists 1915 as "no clear champion" and discounts Youngstown's competition as subpar. Canton and Massillon, the next two contenders, tied at 5-2-2.
