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1925 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration September 20, 1925 - December 20, 1925
A controversial ruling by the NFL suspended the Pottsville Maroons from all league privileges, including the right to play for the NFL championship.
Champions Chicago Cardinals*
National Football League seasons
 < 1924 1926 > 

The 1925 NFL season was the 6th regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team. The Kenosha Maroons and Minneapolis Marines folded, with Racine Legion mothballing.

1925 NFL Championship controversy[]

Controversy surrounds who actually won the 1925 NFL Championship. Officially, the Chicago Cardinals are listed as the 1925 NFL champions because they finished with the best record; however, many Pottsville fans at the time claimed that the Maroons were the legitimate champions. The Maroons and the Cardinals were the top contenders for the title, with Pottsville winning a late-season meeting between them, 21–7. But the Maroons scheduled a game against a team of University of Notre Dame All-Stars in Philadelphia (and winning 9–7) on the same day that the Frankford Yellow Jackets were scheduled to play a game in the same city. Frankford protested, saying that it was violating their protected territory rights.

Although NFL president Joe Carr warned the Maroons in writing that they faced suspension if they played in Philadelphia, the Maroons claimed that Carr approved the game during a telephone call, and played anyway. In response, Carr fined the club, suspended it from all league rights and privileges (including the right to play for the NFL championship), and returned its franchise to the league.

In 2003, the NFL decided to again examine the case regarding the 1925 championship. But in October the NFL voted 30–2 not to reopen the case. Thus the Cardinals are still listed as the 1925 NFL champions. [1]

Final standings[]

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, STK = Streak

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972

Team W L T PCT PF PA STK
Chicago Cardinals* 11 2 1 .846 230 65 W-2
Pottsville Maroons* 10 2 0 .833 270 45 W-5
Detroit Panthers 8 2 2 .800 129 39 W-1
Frankford Yellow Jackets 10 4 0 .714 190 169 L-2
New York Giants 8 4 0 .667 122 67 W-1
Akron Pros 4 2 2 .667 65 51 L-2
Chicago Bears 9 5 3 .643 158 96 W-3
Rock Island Independents 5 3 3 .625 99 58 L-1
Green Bay Packers 8 5 0 .615 151 110 W-1
Providence Steam Roller 6 5 1 .545 111 101 L-1
Canton Bulldogs 4 4 0 .500 50 73 L-1
Cleveland Bulldogs 5 8 1 .385 75 135 L-1
Kansas City Cowboys 2 5 1 .286 65 97 W-1
Hammond Pros 1 4 0 .200 23 87 L-3
Buffalo Bisons 1 6 2 .143 33 113 L-4
Rochester Jeffersons 0 6 1 .000 26 111 L-5
Dayton Triangles 0 7 1 .000 3 84 L-7
Duluth Kelleys 0 3 0 .000 6 25 L-3
Milwaukee Badgers 0 6 0 .000 7 191 L-6
Columbus Tigers 0 9 0 .000 28 124 L-9

* – The Pottsville Maroons were suspended from the league in December, resulting in the Chicago Cardinals being named the NFL champions.

References[]

1925 NFL Seasonv · d · e
Akron Buffalo Canton Chicago Bears Chicago Cardinals
Cleveland Columbus Dayton Detroit Duluth
Frankford Green Bay Hammond Kansas City Milwaukee
New York Pottsville Providence Rochester Rock Island
 
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