History
Like many of the early NFL teams, the Rochester Jeffersons began as an amateur team, representing the Jefferson neighborhood of Rochester, New York. In 1910, an 18-year-old end named Leo Lyons took over as team manager and he guided the Jeffersons to the city championship.
Lyons developed big ambitions for the team. He took the Jeffersons to Canton, Ohio, early in the 1917 season to play the legendary Bulldogs, who were led by Jim Thorpe. Canton won easily, 41-0.
Rather than deflating Lyons, the game further inspired him. The Canton operation became his model. In 1919, he brought in some outside players and the Jeffersons won the city semi-pro championship with ease.
The following September, Lyons went to Canton again, but this time it was for the organizational meeting of the American Professional Football Association, which became the National Football League in 1922. The Jeffersons joined the new league as one of 10 charter members.
Rochester played, and lost, only one league game in that first season, and it didn't get much better. Lyons was up against a Catch-22 that most small-market owners faced: To have a competitive team that would draw crowds, he needed to spend money, but he couldn't spend the money until the crowds started coming.
In six seasons, the Jeffersons won just two games against NFL opponents. Lyons finally threw in the towel after the 1925 season. Only his very successful paint business kept the team going that long.