On October 17, 1926 the Los Angeles Buccaneers came to Canton to take on the Bulldogs in an early-season NFL contest. The Buccaneers were a traveling team, thus playing all road games while being ostensibly a Los Angeles franchise. End Brick Muller, formerly a major college star at the University of California, was the most well-known player on the club that was sometimes referred to as “Brick Muller’s Californians”. He was also a player/coach along with his former college teammate, tailback Tut Imlay (pictured above), and the roster drew heavily from California schools. The Buccaneers came into the game at Canton with a 1-1 record.
The Bulldogs were a once-formidable franchise that had fallen
on lean times. After being dormant for a year, Canton back to the NFL in 1925 and
went 4-4. They were 1-1-1 thus far in ’26 and still contained big names such as
tackle Pete “Fats” Henry, who was also a co-coach along with back Harry Robb,
and the aging legend, Jim Thorpe.
There were 5000 fans in attendance at Lakeside Park in
Canton. The first quarter was scoreless, but in the second quarter a mixup in
the LA backfield caused a loose ball that was picked up by end Cliff Marker of
the Bulldogs, who ran 30 yards for a touchdown. Pete Henry (pictured below) added the extra
point. Late in the period, the Buccaneers scored on a pass from FB Tuffy Maul
to Tut Imlay for a 30-yard TD. However, Maul’s extra point attempt was
unsuccessful and Canton held onto a 7-6 lead at the half.
Early in the third quarter, the visitors were forced to
punt from their own end zone, which gave the Bulldogs possession at the LA 33.
A good drive led to a one-yard touchdown carry by Harry Robb. Henry’s PAT
attempt was nullified by a penalty, but Canton’s margin was now 13-6.
Later in the period, the Buccaneers drove to a one-yard
TD by Maul, who added the point after to tie the score at 13-13. LA reached
deep into Canton territory in the fourth quarter and Maul kicked a 17-yard
field goal to put the Buccaneers in front by three points. The Bulldogs went to
the air in desperation, but couldn’t come close to scoring again. The closest opportunity
was a Henry drop-kick from midfield that was blocked. The Buccaneers hung on to
win by a final score of 16-13.
The point total for the Buccaneers proved to be their
second-highest of the season, although they compiled a healthy 6-3-1 record
that placed sixth in the non-divisional 22-team NFL. The 1926 season proved to
be the only one for the franchise, although they did play preseason contests in
’27 (and actually played them in California). Canton struggled through a poor
1-9-3 campaign that ranked 20th in the league. It also proved to be
the final year for the once-proud club.
