History
In 1926, when the NFL was threatened by Red Grange's American Football League, Eddie Butler was granted a franchise for the Brooklyn Lions. The team existed mainly as a challenge to the AFL's Brooklyn Horsemen, led by quarterback Harry Stuldreher, who had been one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.
In early November, the Horsemen left the AFL and merged with the Lions. After the season, the AFL folded. The Brooklyn Horse-Lions, as they had unfortunately become known, were in debt to Tim Mara, owner of the New York Giants. Mara was given the franchise to settle the debts. He loaned it to the New York Yanks in 1927 and 1928, then sold it to the Staten Island Stapletons in 1929.