History
Sam Deutsch, a boxing promoter who also owned a minor-league team, bought an NFL franchise in 1923 and named the team the Indians. They played only seven games in that first season, but they had a shot at the championship, with a 3-0-3 record going into their final game against the Canton Bulldogs, who were also undefeated.
Even at home, the Indians weren't close to being a match for the defending champion Bulldogs, who wiped them out, 46-0.
But the Bulldogs were in deep financial trouble. Deutsch bought the Canton team for $2,500 in August of 1924 and merged it with his existing team. The merged team was called the Cleveland Bulldogs.
Only seven of the Canton players actually joined the new Bulldogs, but they combined with some players from the 1923 club and a few newcomers to shape a formidable team. Most important, perhaps, player-coach Guy Chamberlin came to Cleveland from Canton. Chamberlin, now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was an outstanding end and also a fine coach.
After winning their first six games, the Bulldogs lost to the Frankford Yellow Jackets and into a virtual tie with the Chicago Bears. The Bears played more games, but also had more ties, and their one loss had come in the season opener against the Bulldogs.
At their July meeting, NFL owners had agreed that the 1924 season would begin on September 27 and end on November 30. Ironically, as it turned out, the proposal was made by Dutch Sternaman, co-owner of the Bears. On the official end date, Cleveland had a 7-1-1 record to Bears' 6-1-4. Ties didn't count at all in those days, so the Bulldogs were in first place with an .875 percentage to Chicago's .857.
On December 7, the Bulldogs went to Chicago for a challenge match. The Bears won, 23-0, and claimed that they deserved the NFL championship. The issue wasn't settled until the owners' meeting in January of 1925, when a vote favored Cleveland. (Owners also decided at that meeting that the 1925 season would run through December 20.)
The championship in hand, Deutsch un-merged the teams. He sold the Canton franchise back to a group of Canton businessmen for $3,000, although he continued to call his Cleveland team the Bulldogs. Both sets of Bulldogs were mediocre in 1925 and Deutsch gave up his Cleveland franchise after that season.