Standings

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Muncie Flyers	3	3	0	0	56	14	1.000
*Gas City Flyers	9	9	2	0	457	41	.818
Muncie Offers More AC
Muncie Tigers
Wabash AA
Jonesboro AC
Portland-Redkey Legion

Note: Total Record including Playoffs. *Qualify for Championship Series

Playoffs

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	City Championships
05.12.1920	Muncie Offers More AC	0	Muncie Flyers	24
	State Championship
28.11.1920	Gas City Tigers	7	Muncie Flyers	19
12.12.1920	Muncie Flyers	13	Gas City Tigers	7
	Muncie Flyers won series 2-0

Report

Who won the Indiana State Football Championship in 1920 is a matter of debate. For starters there was no Official League, and secondly the State’s best team in 1919, the Muncie Flyers, signed up to play in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) – the first National Football League for Pro teams, adopting the name NFL in 1992.

The Flyers, however, were to lose their first game in the APFA on opening weekend 45-0 to the Rock Island Independents of Illinois, and had trouble scheduling matches after that. No team was willing to play them for the next three weeks, and players signed on with the Dayton Triangles in the APFA, Fort Wayne Friars (AAA – National Division 2) or Indiana State Football Circuit teams such as the Wabash AA and Muncie Tigers.

By the end of the season after scheduling three more games and having their opponents cancel to play more lucrative teams (and one cancelled due to rain), the Muncie Flyers were then challenged to a game for the Indiana State Championship by Gas City Tigers, who had won all nine games they had played.

The Flyers won 19-7 and then in a game the Gas City Journal described as “a team of college stars” (Flyers) versus “a team of highly skilled players” (Muncie Offers More AC), the Flyers won 24-0 against the MOM FC to win the City Championship for the second year running. In a rematch for the State Championship, this tome on home ground in Muncie, the Flyers defeated Gas City 13-7 to take the series 2-0.

After playing at AAA (National Division 2) in 1919 against the likes of the Cincinnati Celts and Dayton Oakwoods and finishing the season with a respectable 4-1-1 record, the Flyers found the jump to the APFA (NFL) in 1920 too much, but by the end of the season, having dropped back down to play the Indiana State Championship went 3-0, including two wns against the Gas City Tigers who had won all 9 games they had played, out-scoring opponents 443 points to 9.

References

Websites

[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings | 1920-1926” 2014 Official NFL Record & Factbook” pg. 398-399. National football League, Time Home Entertainment. 2014.

[2] The Growth of a Game (2015) The Complete List of European NFL Players [Internet] Available from: https://www.growthofagame.com/2015/03/the-complete-list-of-european-nfl-players/ [Accessed 11 October 2019]

[27] Sports Encyclopedia (2020) Muncie Flyers [Internet] Available from: https://sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/muncie/flyers.html [Accessed 19 September 2020]

[28] Roy Sye, The Coffin Corner Vol. 24 No. 3, Pro Football Researchers Association (2002) Muncie Flyers 1920 – [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/24-03-937.pdf  Accessed 18 September 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Decy Maher and Sondra Maher.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish, North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 20 September 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.