1941
The span of time between the last game of the 1940 season and the first game of 1941 brought sizable changes to the Buffalo AFL team. A reorganization resulted in a new owner (coal magnate Fiore Cesare), a new coach (Paul Engebretsen), and a new team name (the Buffalo Tigers). Most of the 1940 Indians players did not return to Buffalo in 1941 to play as Tigers, but stars Steve Hrycyszyn, Steve Banas, and Carl Littlefield were back in the hope of improving on the 2-8 record the team had in 1940.
Engebretsen signed former Milwaukee Chief end Sherm Barnes and back Andy Karpus, who had started for four teams in two American Football Leagues. Joe Ratica, formerly of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Bears, became the Tigers' new starting center.
The efforts to improve the offense from its four-shutout performance in 1940 appeared to be in vain as the 1941 season began when the Tigers were shut out by the Cincinnati Bengals (a team that lost twice to Buffalo the previous season) by a score of 29-0, and then to the newly-renamed New York Americans 26-7 three days later, but the rematch with the Bengals ended in a 16-0 victory for the Tigers. It was the first on-field victory for the Buffalo franchise in over a year.
While Tiny Engebretsen's upgrades in the team's offense were taking hold (the Tigers scored touchdowns in each remaining game except one), they were still losing with regularity, matching the two wins they had in 1940. A 14-0 whitewash by the Milwaukee Chiefs ended the Tigers' 2-6 season.
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