Boston Yanks
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (October 2017) |
Ted Collins, (1900–1964) | |
| Home field(s) | Fenway Park (Boston) Braves Field [a few regular season games] (Boston) |
|---|---|
The Boston Yanks were a
Ted Collins, who managed singer and television show host Kate Smith (1907–1986) for thirty years, picked the name Yanks because he originally wanted to run a team that played at New York City's old Yankee Stadium
. The Yanks managed only a 2–8 record during their first regular season.
Because of a shortage of players caused by World War II, the Yanks were temporarily merged with the erratic founding APFA member Dayton Triangles' franchise, then known as the Brooklyn Tigers, for the 1945 season, and styled as just the Yanks with no home city named. The merged team played four home games in Boston and one in New York and finished with a 3–6–1 record.
When Brooklyn Tigers owner
New York Bulldogs. However, like many of this franchise's moves, the NFL considers them to have folded, while the players and assets simply moved, ultimately keeping the Dayton Triangles' legacy alive as the last remaining Ohio League member.[1]
Despite the franchise's assets moving to a new city and carrying on the team's legacy, the Boston Yanks are the only officially defunct NFL team ever to have the first overall NFL draft pick. They had it twice, in 1944 and 1946, selecting quarterbacks from Notre Dame, Angelo Bertelli and Frank Dancewicz, both Massachusetts
natives.
First round draft selections
| Year | Player name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
1944 |
Angelo Bertelli | Back | Notre Dame |
1945 |
Eddie Prokop | Back | Georgia Tech |
1946 |
Frank Dancewicz | Back | Notre Dame |
1947 |
Fritz Barzilauskas | Guard | Yale |
1948 |
Vaughn Mancha | Center | Alabama |
Pro Football Hall of Fame
| Boston Yanks Hall of Famers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | ||||
| No. | Name | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| — | Clarence "Ace" Parker |
QB, HB | 1945 | 1972 |
Season-by-season
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4th East | Herb Kopf |
| 1945 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3rd East | |
| 1946 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 5th East | |
| 1947 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3rd East | Clipper Smith |
| 1948 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 5th East | |
| Totals | 14 | 38 | 3 | ||