1926 Detroit Panthers season
The 1926 Detroit Panthers season was their second and final year in the league. Despite playing 9 of their 12 games at home, the team failed to improve on their previous output of 8–2–2, winning only 4 times and finishing 12th out of 22 teams
Roster
- John Barrett, center, 11 games, 170 pounds, 5-6, Univ. of Detroit
- John Cameron, guard, 8 games, 175 pounds, Kalamazoo, Central Michigan
- Jimmy Conzelman, back, 12 games, 175 pounds, 6-0 Washington
- Al Crook, center, 8 games, 190 pounds, 5-10, Washington & Jefferson
- Dinger Doane, fullback, 12 games, 190 pounds, 5-10 Tufts
- Tom Edwards, tackle, 12 games, 185 pounds, 5-11, Central Michigan, Michigan
- Jack Fleischman, guard, 11 games, 184 pounds, 5-6, Purdue
- Bruce Gregory, tailback, 12 games, 170 pounds, 5-10, Michigan
- Charlie Grube, end, 2 games, 175 pounds, 5-10, Michigan
- Al Hadden, wingback, 12 games, 186 pounds, 5-9, Washington & Jefferson
- Norm Harvey, tackle, 8 games, 196 pounds, 6-0, Univ. of Detroit
- Vivian Hultman, end, 10 games, 178 pounds, 5-8, Michigan St.
- Dutch Lauer, end, 10 games, 185 pounds, 5-10, Univ. of Detroit
- Eddie Lynch, end, 12 games, 191 pounds, 6-0, Catholic
- Dutch Marion, fullback, 12 games, 180 pounds, 5-9, Washington & Jefferson, Michigan
- Tom McNamara, guard, 11 games, 210 pounds, 5-10, Tufts, Univ. of Detroit
- Eddie Scharer, back, 12 games, 165 pounds, 5-6, Univ. of Detroit, Notre Dame
- Gus Sonnenberg, tackle, 12 games, 196 pounds, 5-6, Dartmouth, Univ. or Detroit
- Dick Vick, wingback, 6 games, 167 pounds, 5-9, Washington & Jefferson
Post-Season
The Panthers concluded their 1926 season with a December 13 game against another local professional team, the Detroit Tigers, in an event billed as the city's professional championship. Originally scheduled for December 6, the game had to be delayed one week due to four inches of snow covering Navin Field, rendering it unplayable. Things were little better on the 13th, with the track slippery and slow, but the Panthers managed a 9–0 win over a hapless opponent that failed to make even one first down during the contest.Plans were made for a third campaign in 1927, with rumors circulating in April that the team had landed University of Michigan passing sensation Benny Friedman, with Friedman explicitly denying a report that he had agreed to terms with the club at a secret meeting in Cleveland.
With the NFL attempting to pare down weak franchises in 1927 by raising the amount of each team's assurance money to the league office and forcing a commitment to play at least four home games with a visitors' guarantee of $3,000 per game, the Panthers ultimately were one of ten teams falling to the wayside and terminating operations.
The Cleveland-born Benny Friedman ultimately signed a contract that July to play with a new Cleveland Bulldogs franchise owned by a syndicate headed by Herbert Brandt.