Harold "Red" Grange

When Bears owner and coach George Halas rejected a bid by Grange and Pyle to buy into his team, the pair formed their own league. Grange played for the New York Yankees but found he could not carry a league on his own. The American Football League folded after one year, and Grange and his Yankees joined the NFL.

The following year, Grange seriously injured his right knee in the third game of the season when he collided with former Bears teammate George Trafton while reaching for a pass. Since Trafton was known for rough play, some speculated he may have intended to injure Grange. Grange attempted to quell such rumors before they started, however, stating in the locker room that the game "was one of the cleanest football games I ever played in." The injury kept him out of the lineup for the rest of the 1927 season, save for an ill-fated comeback attempt, and all of the 1928 season as well.