1920 APFA Season - Post Season

Post Season

Since there were no playoff system in the APFA until 1932, a meeting was held to determine the 1920 Champions. Each team that showed up had a vote to determine the champions. Since the Akron Pros had a 1.000 winning percentage, the Pros were awarded the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup on April 30, 1921. The trophy was a "silver loving cup", donated by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. This decision, however, would arise with controversy. The Staleys and the All-Americans each stated that they should win the award because they had more wins and were not beaten by the Akron Pros. Each player from the Pros was also awarded with a golden fob. It was of a football and "1920", "WORLD CHAMPIONS", and each players' first initial and last name was inscribed on the fob.

In 1972, the NFL changed the rules so ties count as a half-win and a half-loss. If this rule had applied in 1920, the All-Americans and the Pros would each have a .864 winning percentage. Even though the Pros were given the trophy in 1920, the league lost track of the event and for a long time published in its own record books that the 1920 championship was undecided. It was not until the 1970s that the NFL remembered its early vote on awarding the Akron Pros the championship.