L.A. Buccaneers Results DATE OPPONENT SCORE 26 Sep 1926 Chicago Cardinals 0-15 3 Oct 1926 Milwaukee Badgers 6-0 17 Oct 1926 Canton Bulldogs 16-13 24 Oct 1926 Buffalo Rangers 0-0 7 Nov 1926 Providence Steam Roller 7-6 11 Nov 1926 Pottsville Maroons 0-10 14 Nov 1926 New York Giants 6-0 21 Nov 1926 Brooklyn Lions 20-0 25 Nov 1926 Detroit Panthers 9-6 5 Dec 1926 Kansas City Cowboys 3-7 The 1926 Los Angeles Buccaneers Every Bucs fan knows that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started play in the 1976 NFL season and went winless in their first 26 games. But how many of you know that 50 years earlier, another Buccaneers' team took the field in the NFL and posted a winning season? Long before the days of Gene Deckerhoff, Dave Moore and TJ Rives ... well OK, long before the days of Dave and TJ then, back in the early days of the NFL, when teams came and went every season, a team that called itself the Los Angeles Buccaneers played in the 1926 NFL season. The year before, there had been a team called the Los Angeles Tigers, but they were also a one-year wonder. The LA Bucs played only ten games in their existence, and every one of them was a road game as most NFL teams in those days were based on the East Coast or around the Chicago area. 1926 NFL Standings Team W L T .PCT PF PA Frankford Yellow Jackets 14 1 2 .933 236 49 Chicago Bears 12 1 3 .923 216 63 Pottsville Maroons 10 2 2 .833 155 29 Kansas City Cowboys 8 3 0 .727 76 53 Green Bay Packers 7 3 3 .700 151 61 Los Angeles Buccaneers 6 3 1 .667 67 57 New York Giants 8 4 1 .667 147 51 Duluth Eskimos 6 5 3 .545 113 81 Buffalo Rangers 4 4 2 .500 53 62 Chicago Cardinals 5 6 1 .455 74 98 Providence Steam Roller 5 7 1 .417 99 103 Detroit Panthers 4 6 2 .400 107 60 Hartford Blues 3 7 0 .300 57 99 Brooklyn Lions 3 8 0 .273 60 150 Milwaukee Badgers 2 7 0 .222 41 66 Akron Indians 1 4 3 .200 23 89 Dayton Triangles 1 4 1 .200 15 82 Racine Tornadoes 1 4 0 .200 8 92 Columbus Tigers 1 6 0 .143 26 93 Canton Bulldogs 1 9 3 .100 46 161 Hammond Pros 0 4 0 .000 3 56 Louisville Colonels 0 4 0 .000 0 108 In addition, there was no proper NFL schedule and teams played an odd number of games in a season. The unofficial champion went to the team with the best winning percentage and the idea of a Super Bowl was still a long way in the future. The head coach of the team was one Tut Imlay who also played at running back, wing back and full back for the franchise. Brick Miller was his assistant playing at the end position. These were the days of 60 minute football, two-way players and no specialist substitutions. Not much passing, definitely no Monday Night Football and George Halas was still a player on his way to becoming a legend. The Buccaneers even played a midweek match during their 10-game schedule. Fresh from a narrow win over the Providence Steam Roller (pictured), they lost to the Pottsville Maroons on a Thursday afternoon, before defeating the New York Giants three days later in a normal Sunday game. Tut Imlay was the main offensive force of the team along with the wonderfully-named Tuffy Maul, perhaps an ancestor of the Sith Lord Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace. Brick Miller's passing stats for that season rank even some of the worst QBs in Buc history in terms of completion percentage, but in 1926, football was by no means any kind of passing game. The NFL re-organised itself at the end of the 1926 season and many teams were disbanded with their best players being absorbed into other teams. The Los Angeles Buccaneers were one of those and their records were consigned to the history books. It would be another 50 years before a team calling itself the Buccaneers took the field in the NFL. The playing roster included:- G Juddy Ash, WB Ben Bangs, G Fred Beach, FB Bull Finch, FB Bill Gutteron, E Del Hufford, RB/WB/FB Tut Imlay, FB Tuffy Maul, C/T/G/E Jack McArthur, E Brick Muller, T Don Newmeyer, G John Nolan, FB/WB Artie Sandberg, E/FB/WB Pete Schaffnit, G Don Thompson, T John Thurman, WB/FB Ellery White, WB/FB/RB Al Young. Passing Att Com Yards TD Int Brick Muller 95 14 unk 3 0 Tuffy Maul 16 8 134 1 2 Tut Imlay 13 8 131 1 1 Ellery White 1 1 21 0 0 Bill Gutteron 1 0 0 0 0 Pete Schaffnit 1 0 0 0 0 Rushing No Yds Avg TD Tut Imlay 29 225 7.8 3 Tuffy Maul 34 104 3.1 2 Ellery White 20 78 3.9 0 Brick Muller 8 64 8.0 0 Al Young 5 14 2.8 0 Receiving No Yds Avg TD Tut Imlay 8 175 21.9 1 Brick Miller 8 169 21.1 4 Pete Schaffnit 3 13 4.3 0 Del Hufford 2 24 12.0 0 Punt Returns Tut Imlay 16-234, 14.6 avg. Interceptions Don Thompson 1 (1 TD), Bull Finch 1, Tuffy Maul 1, Jack McArthur 1, Pete Schaffnit 1, John Thurman 1. Kicking FGs PAT Pts Tuffy Maul 3-5 2-10 11 Don Newmeyer 2-3 0-0 2 Tut Imlay 0-1 0-0 0 Punting No Yds Avg Pete Schaffnit 7 207 29.6 Tuffy Maul 1 35 35.0