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The 1936 American Football League season is the first season of the second American Football League, the formation of which was announced by Harry March, former personnel director of the NFL's New York Giants, on December 15, 1935. Fifteen cities bid for charter franchises; on April 11, 1936, franchises were awarded to eight cities: Boston, Cleveland, Jersey City, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, and Syracuse.[1] By mid-summer, Jersey City, Philadelphia, and Providence withdrew; soon afterwards, Rochester was given a franchise, only to have it relocated to Brooklyn, despite the lack of availability of a home stadium at the time.[1] The league began its existence by raiding NFL rosters for its players,[2] with a new New York Yankees team signing members of the New York Giants, the Cleveland Rams taking Chicago Bears star Damon Wetzel as their coach, and the Pittsburgh Americans snaring members of the crosstown Pirates. On the other hand, eventual AFL champions Boston Shamrocks pretty much ignored the roster of the crosstown Boston Redskins, while the Brooklyn Tigers and Syracuse Braves opted for "home grown" talent.[2] The race to the 1936 AFL championship quickly narrowed down to three teams (Boston, Cleveland, and New York) as the Syracuse team was moved to Rochester after a deafening lack of fan support while it lost almost every game. The former Syracuse Braves became the Rochester Braves in early October 1936 — and folded after their game on November 1. Two weeks later, the Brooklyn Tigers moved to Rochester and became the Rochester Tigers.[3] The two Rochester teams finished in the bottom of the league standings. In contrast to the following year, the majority of the AFL had winning records in 1936 (the two Rochester teams had one win combined). The Pittsburgh Americans finished with a 3-2-1 record despite averaging only 2500 fans in the Forbes Field stands; the Boston Shamrocks (8-3-0) won the title by defeating both the Cleveland Rams (5-2-2) and the New York Yankees (5-3-2) in the season's final weeks. Final standings | Results of AFL games - 1936 season[4] | WEEK ONE 20 September, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse, New York: Boston Shamrocks 14, Syracuse Braves 3 WEEK TWO 27 September, Triborough Stadium, New York, New York: New York Yankees 13, Syracuse Braves 6
30 September, Braves Field, Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Shamrocks 7, New York Yankees 0 WEEK THREE 4 October, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse: Pittsburgh Americans 27, Syracuse Braves 16
7 October, Fenway Park, Boston: Boston Shamrocks 16, Pittsburgh Americans 7 WEEK FOUR 11 October, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Rams 26, Syracuse Braves 0
11 October, Fenway Park, Boston: Boston Shamrocks 10, Brooklyn Tigers 6
14 October, Triborough Stadium, New York: New York Yankees 17, Brooklyn Tigers 6 WEEK FIVE 18 October, Municipal Stadium, Syracuse: New York Yankees 13, Syracuse Braves 0[5]
18 October, Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Americans 17, Brooklyn Tigers 13
18 October, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: Boston Shamrocks 9, Cleveland Rams 0
21 October, Yankee Stadium, New York: New York Yankees 7, Pittsburgh Americans 6 WEEK SIX 25 October, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: Cleveland Rams 27, New York Yankees 0
25 October, Fenway Park, Boston: Syracuse Braves 16, Boston Shamrocks 7
28 October, Yankee Stadium, New York: Cleveland Rams 0, New York Yankees 0 (tie) WEEK SEVEN 1 November, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: Pittsburgh Americans 0, Cleveland Rams 0 (tie)
1 November, Yankee Stadium, Brooklyn: New York Yankees 3, Brooklyn Tigers 3 (tie game moved from Ebbets Field)
1 November, Silver Stadium, Rochester, New York: Boston Shamrocks 13, Rochester Braves 0 (Braves fold after game) WEEK EIGHT 8 November, Forbes Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Americans 14, Boston Shamrocks 6
8 November, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: Cleveland Rams 15, Brooklyn Tigers 14
11 November, Fenway Park, Boston: Cleveland Rams 34, Boston Shamrocks 26 WEEK NINE 15 November, Yankee Stadium, New York: Boston Shamrocks 12, New York Yankees 7 WEEK TEN 22 November, Municipal Stadium, Cleveland: New York Yankees 15, Cleveland Rams 7
22 November, Silver Stadium, Rochester, New York: Boston Shamrocks 13, Rochester Tigers 10
26 November, Silver Stadium, Rochester: Cleveland Rams 7, Rochester Tigers 6 | See also References
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