I'm setting aside my ABA timeline to do another which, quite frankly, I'm more excited about.
This is going to be the Pythagorean history of the NFL. We'll start with the APFA in 1920 and go right up to the present day, throwing in a little AAFC and AFL as we go. Unlike my baseball and basketball timelines, there will be a few fundamental changes in various aspects caused by the Pythagorean setup, which we'll cover as we go along.
Let's jump right in with the first year of what was then called the American Professional Football Association, 1920. There are no divisions yet, and no set schedule for teams, meaning that certain teams will play more games than others.
Here we go:
Decatur Staleys: 13-0 (+3)
Akron Pros: 11-0 (+3)
Buffalo All-Americans: 11-0 (+2)
Rock Island Independents: 10-0 (+4)
Canton Bulldogs: 12-1 (+5)
Rochester Jeffersons: 10-1 (+4)
Chicago Cardinals: 9-1 (+3)
Dayton Triangles: 8-1 (+3)
Chicago Tigers: 3-5 (+1)
Detroit Heralds: 2-6 (0)
Cleveland Tigers: 2-6 (0)
Columbus Panhandles: 1-9 (-1)
Hammond Pros: 0-7 (-2)
Muncie Flyers: 0-1 (0)
The biggest change is that the future Chicago Bears take the championship from the real-life champion Pros with their three-game improvement. To be honest, I doubt that these standings could be duplicated in real life, and I think I can state with certainty that we'll NEVER (caps intentional) see four undefeated teams and four more with just one loss in this or any other universe.
A word about tiebreakers in the Pythagorean universe: Win totals are taken to the tenths decimal place, so the expected win total in tenths will be used as the first tiebreaker. This year, the Pros take second place over the All-Americans 11.0 to 10.9, while the tie for tenth goes to the Heralds over the Tigers, 2.1 to 1.9.
All win totals are rounded; .5 and higher rounds up, .4 and lower rounds down. All changes in win total reflect the difference in wins only; ties are ignored.
An early howdy to Buffalo, Detroit, and Cleveland, three cities that we might just hear a bit more from as this timeline progresses.
Next: A look at the second and final year of the APFA, 1921.
Thoughts?
This is going to be the Pythagorean history of the NFL. We'll start with the APFA in 1920 and go right up to the present day, throwing in a little AAFC and AFL as we go. Unlike my baseball and basketball timelines, there will be a few fundamental changes in various aspects caused by the Pythagorean setup, which we'll cover as we go along.
Let's jump right in with the first year of what was then called the American Professional Football Association, 1920. There are no divisions yet, and no set schedule for teams, meaning that certain teams will play more games than others.
Here we go:
Decatur Staleys: 13-0 (+3)
Akron Pros: 11-0 (+3)
Buffalo All-Americans: 11-0 (+2)
Rock Island Independents: 10-0 (+4)
Canton Bulldogs: 12-1 (+5)
Rochester Jeffersons: 10-1 (+4)
Chicago Cardinals: 9-1 (+3)
Dayton Triangles: 8-1 (+3)
Chicago Tigers: 3-5 (+1)
Detroit Heralds: 2-6 (0)
Cleveland Tigers: 2-6 (0)
Columbus Panhandles: 1-9 (-1)
Hammond Pros: 0-7 (-2)
Muncie Flyers: 0-1 (0)
The biggest change is that the future Chicago Bears take the championship from the real-life champion Pros with their three-game improvement. To be honest, I doubt that these standings could be duplicated in real life, and I think I can state with certainty that we'll NEVER (caps intentional) see four undefeated teams and four more with just one loss in this or any other universe.
A word about tiebreakers in the Pythagorean universe: Win totals are taken to the tenths decimal place, so the expected win total in tenths will be used as the first tiebreaker. This year, the Pros take second place over the All-Americans 11.0 to 10.9, while the tie for tenth goes to the Heralds over the Tigers, 2.1 to 1.9.
All win totals are rounded; .5 and higher rounds up, .4 and lower rounds down. All changes in win total reflect the difference in wins only; ties are ignored.
An early howdy to Buffalo, Detroit, and Cleveland, three cities that we might just hear a bit more from as this timeline progresses.
Next: A look at the second and final year of the APFA, 1921.
Thoughts?
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