Dayton Triangles
The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north Dayton. They were the longest-lasting traveling team in the NFL (1920–1929), and the last such "road team" until the Dallas Texans in 1952, who, coincidentally, descended from the Dayton franchise.
For the Dayton Triangles team that played in the American Football Conference from 1959 to 1961, see Dayton Colts.Founded
1913
1930 (as Brooklyn Dodgers)
"Ohio League" (1913–1919)
National Football League (1920–1929)
St. Mary's Cadets (1913–1914)
Dayton Gym-Cadets (1915)
Dayton Triangles (1916–1929)
Navy, white
Louis Clark (1913–1914)
Al Mahrt (1915)
Bud Talbott (1916–1917, 1919–1921)
Greasy Neale (1918)
Carl Storck (1922–1926)
Lou Mahrt (1927)
Faye Abbott (1928–1929)
Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company
Dayton Metal Products Company
Domestic Engineering Company
1 (1918)
Westwood Field (1916)
Triangle Park (1917–1929)
The Texans players and assets were moved to Baltimore in 1953, and then to Indianapolis in 1983, where they now operate as the Colts, just 117 miles west of their origin. They have kept their color scheme through the years and, ultimately, have never missed an NFL season in some form.
Origins[edit]
The original Dayton Triangles members first began playing together as basketball players at St. Mary's College, now the University of Dayton, from 1908 until 1912. After graduation, the players organized a basketball team of alumni, students, and other local athletes. They went by the name of the St. Mary's Cadets. The Cadets claimed the title of "World Basketball Champions" by defeating the Buffalo German Ramblers.[1]
In the fall of 1913, the St. Marys Cadets organized a football team. The team was coached by Louis Clark, who coached the St. Mary's college football team as well.[1] Al Mahrt was elected team captain. The team finished its first season with a 7–0 record and won the Dayton City Championship. They also won the Southern Ohio Championship by defeating the Cincinnati Celts 27–0 at Redland Park. The team won a second city championship in 1914, despite injuries to Al Mahrt and Babe Zimmerman. In 1915 the team changed its name to the Dayton Gym-Cadets after their presumed sponsors, the Dayton Gymnastic Club. That season saw Al Marhrt take over as the team's coach. The team only lost one game that season, to the Columbus Panhandles.[2] It also won its third city championship.
Decline[edit]
In 1922, the other teams in the NFL were recruiting and signing top college players from around the country; however Dayton continued to use mainly local players. This marked a decline in the team's performance, and the Triangles ceased being competitive in the NFL. Because of their poor showing on the field, the Triangles were not able to draw crowds for home games: Triangle Park, with a seating capacity of 5,000, rarely saw that many fans. Soon, the combination of poor home gates and the lure of $2,500 guarantees to play at larger venues (like Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park and the Polo Grounds), made the Triangles primarily a traveling team.
By the late twenties, Dayton was one of the league's doormats, winning just five of their 51 NFL contests from 1923 through 1929. Only the revenues from playing on the road kept them afloat. Also around this time, the NFL began shaking off its roots in mid-sized midwestern cities. Although the Triangles were one of only three original NFL teams (along with the Bears and Cardinals) to survive the 1920s, and the only team from the Ohio League to survive past 1926, it soon became apparent that Dayton was not big enough to support a team in the burgeoning league. Finally, on July 12, 1930, a Brooklyn-based syndicate headed by Bill Dwyer bought the Triangles; the franchise moved to Brooklyn and was renamed the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jack Depler was a co-owner and new coach of the Dodgers who had been a coach-player for the NFL's Orange Tornadoes. He took most of the members of the 1929 Tornadoes with him for the new Dodgers team.
Lineage[edit]
Due to numerous transactions over the years, the Triangles have a tenuous connection to the current NFL.
The Dodgers merged with the Boston Yanks franchise for the 1945 season due to player shortages. In 1946, Brooklyn's owner jumped to the AAFC and played as the New York Yankees, while the Boston Yanks remained in the NFL.
In 1949, the Yanks moved to New York and became the New York Bulldogs, while the AAFC Yankees merged with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played as the Brooklyn-New York Yankees. When the AAFC merged with the NFL in 1950, the Yankees players were divided between the New York Giants and the New York Bulldogs, the latter of whom were renamed the New York Yanks.
Due to heavy financial losses, the Yanks were sold back to the NFL in 1952 and awarded to a group from Texas, who moved them to Dallas for the 1952 season as the Dallas Texans.
The Texans were again sold back to the NFL midway through the season, and in 1953, their players were awarded to an ownership group in Baltimore and continued to play as the (new) Baltimore Colts. The Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and are still playing as the Indianapolis Colts.
In spite of the unbroken continuity of the franchises that began with the Triangles in 1913 and the Boston Yanks from 1944, the NFL and the Colts organization currently do not consider the Colts to be a continuation of the Triangles or any other franchise.
Teams named after the football Triangles[edit]
During the 1970s, the Dayton Triangles Soccer Club revived the name and enjoyed some success and recognition as a successful youth (and later semi-pro) soccer club. Like the football team, they took their name from the same city park and played an important role in development of soccer in the Miami Valley.
In 1973, the Dayton Triangles RFC club was founded. Like the aforementioned soccer club, this team also took its name from the original football team and city park. Through various amalgamations over the years, the club is still active under the name of the Dayton Area Rugby Club.