10 NFL Teams That Came To Strangely Grim Ends

The Dallas Cowboys. Green Bay Packers. New England Patriots. Some teams are practically synonymous with football, and for over 100 years, the National Football League has kept the spirit of the sport alive with the help of its many famous franchises. But before the NFL became a global powerhouse, the league was made up of dozens of different teams that even the biggest football fans have probably never heard of. While some franchises went on to set the foundations for the rivalries of today, these 10 classic NFL organizations ultimately faded into obscurity — until now.

New York Yankees

That's right: the Yankees were a football team, too. Following a contract dispute between NFL superstar Red Grange and the Chicago Bears, Grange's agent, C.C. Pyle, threatened to form his own rival league unless he was awarded a franchise. The NFL called his bluff, and in 1926, Pyle founded the American Football League with the Yankees as its flagship team.

Worked like a charm

As Pyle had predicted, Grange's drawing power put a serious dent in the NFL's attendance numbers, leading the league to eventually relent and award Pyle and his Yankees a franchise. However, Grange missed the entire 1928 season due to injury, and after revealing he'd be returning to the Bears, the Yankees folded that same year.

Tonawanda Kardex

Also known as the Tonawanda Lumbermen, the Kardex joined the NFL in 1921 after several years of success against other non-league teams in New York. Unfortunately, their time against actual competitors was about as brief as could be.

Completely embarassed

In their very first NFL contest, before a crowd of 2,700, the Kardex were walloped by the Rochester Jeffersons 45-0. This would be the only game the team played in the league before folding, making them the shortest-lived franchise in NFL history.