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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/GeorgeHalasLover on 2025-06-19 16:31:25+00:00.
Yep, you read that right, this isn’t clickbait. That’s exactly how the Rochester Jeffersons were founded way back in 1898. Playing in upstate New York as a semi-pro team for over 20 years and becoming a founding member of the NFL, the Rochester Jeffersons have one of the most interesting origin stories of any NFL team both defunct and active.
The 1920s NFL was a wild time for the league, filled with growing pains and constant change, the NFL resembled the wild west more than a legitimate sports league.
Winding the clock back to the end of the 19th century, the Jeffersons got their name from playing on Jefferson Avenue in Rochester. For the first decade of their existence, they mostly played teams from upstate New York such as the Rochester Scalpers and Oxfords. Also during this time, a 16-year-old named Leo Lyons joined the team in 1908 (more on him later).
The Jeffs eventually drew better and better competition and in 1910 as an 18-year-old, Leo Lyons took over as the team’s owner/coach. Eventually, the Jeffs grew large enough that they began playing opponents from Buffalo and Syracuse and were even named New York state champions in 1916.
Things improved even more for Lyons and the Jeffs as he scheduled a game against Jim Thorpe and the legendary Canton Bulldogs in 1917. Although they suffered a crushing loss of 41-0, Lyons began to develop a fearless reputation for challenging what was the best team in the nation at the time.
Three years later, Lyons attended the famous 1920 NFL owners meeting and represented the Jeffersons who became a charter franchise of the league. Unfortunately for the Jeffersons, the city was more interested in the thriving sandlot teams than professional football. To counteract this and improve talent, Lyons and the Jeffersons began to recruit outside of the city, but attendance dipped as fans wanted to see the local boys play.
This put the Jeffs in a hard predicament as they dominated every local team they played (which discouraged attendance because fans knew they would win) but were the doormats of the NFL, and they finished with a horrendous 0-21-2 record their last 4 seasons in the NFL. Because of this, Rochester locals often preferred going to the semi-pro games than to a game for the Jeffs.
In a last-ditch effort to save the franchise, Lyons attempted to lure University of Illinois superstar Red Grange, but after Grange chose the Bears instead, Lyons suspended the Jeffs for the 1926 and 1927 seasons before handing the franchise back to the NFL in 1928.
The story of the Jeffs is a sad, yet interesting one, and the fact that a random group of teenage boys were able to start a small neighborhood team that eventually joined the NFL in the span of 20 years may be the best underdog story of all time. Even though they weren’t successful in the NFL the fact that they were able to reach that point at all is worth remembering and celebrating.
A big reason for that even happening in the first place is due to Leo Lyons. Not only did he take over as an owner/coach at the age of 18, but by 1920 when they joined the NFL he had taken on the roles of, manager, owner, photographer, doctor, counselor, financier, field worker, game booker, agent, and scout. Not only did he do this, but he also ran a basketball team to keep his players in shape during the offseason.
Lyons poured his heart and soul into the franchise and he owned them from 1910-1925. There is even a record stating that he had poured so much of his own money into the team to finance it that his house was foreclosed on in 1925.
Thankfully for Lyons, his legacy did not end with the folding of the Jeffs and he became the NFL’s first historian. He was well respected and was named one of the best of his time in his role as historian. He was also close with Bears owner/coach George Halas. Even though he is largely forgotten today, he has been nominated to the Hall of Fame several times and is a prime senior nominee candidate.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this and feel free to comment which defunct team I should cover next!
en.wikipedia.org/…/Leo_Lyons_(American_football)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_Jeffersons
www.gridiron-uniforms.com/GUD/…/controller.php?ac… Jeffersons Uniforms
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…/edit?gid=2093551… Spreadsheet I have made with rosters for defunct teams for a video game I am currently developing, the Jeffs are near the front between the Kenosha Maroons and the Rock Island Independents. The Jeffs are also the inspiration for a game mode I want to create called “sandlot mode” where you start off as a small semi-pro team and gain prestige and eventually be invited to join the NFL.