By Darin The 1921 American football season was a landmark year characterized by “impossible” upsets in the college ranks and a controversial finish in the professional game that fans still debate today.
1921 College Football: The Year of the Upset
The 1921 college season is best remembered for one of the greatest shocks in sports history and a murky national championship race.
- “C6H0” – The Miracle at Harvard: On October 29, the tiny Centre College Praying Colonels traveled to Cambridge and defeated the mighty Harvard Crimson 6–0. Harvard hadn’t lost in 25 games, and the score was so improbable that students famously painted the “chemical formula” C6H0 (Centre 6, Harvard 0) across their campus.
- A Divided Title: There was no single national champion. Cornell, Iowa, California, and Lafayette all claimed shares of the title. Iowa, led by the legendary Howard Jones, secured a perfect 7–0 season and snapped Notre Dame’s 20-game winning streak.
- The Rose Bowl Tie: In a rain-soaked defensive battle, California’s “Wonder Team” played Washington & Jefferson to a 0–0 tie. This game remains the only scoreless tie in Rose Bowl history.
- Media Milestone: On October 8, 1921, the first-ever live radio broadcast of a college football game took place as West Virginia played Pittsburgh.
Professional Football: The “Staley Swindle”
This was the second and final season of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before it officially renamed itself the National Football League (NFL) in 1922.
- League Expansion: The league grew to 21 teams, including the addition of the Green Bay Packers, who officially joined the professional ranks this year.
- The Championship Controversy: The Chicago Staleys (soon to be the Bears) and the Buffalo All-Americans finished with identical 9–1 records. Buffalo had actually defeated Chicago earlier in the year and believed they had clinched the title.
- The “Post-Season” Trap: Staley’s owner, George Halas, convinced Buffalo to play a second game in December, which Buffalo viewed as an exhibition. Chicago won 10–7, and the league used a new tiebreaker rule—stating the second game of a series carried more weight—to award the championship to Chicago. Buffalo fans dubbed it the “Staley Swindle.”
A Deep Dive into 1921 Football History and Highlights
- October 8, 1921 – The first-ever live radio broadcast of a college football game took place as West Virginia played Pittsburgh.
- October 29, 1921 – Harvard’s 25-game winning streak was snapped as the Center College Praying Colonels traveled to Cambridge and defeated the Crimson 6–0.
- December 4, 1921 – The Chicago Staleys defeated the Buffalo All-Americans 10-7, in what Buffalo thought was merely an exhibition game. Chicago owner George Halas convinced the League that the game should count, and the Staleys became champions, and not Buffalo, in what All-American fans still call the Staley Swindle.