The New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City. Collins' new team played as the New York Bulldogs and shared the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants during the 1949 season.
In 1950, Collins changed his franchise's name to the New York Yanks and moved to Yankee Stadium. Only four players from the 1949 Bulldogs (Joe Domnanovich, Joe Golding, John Nolan and John Rauch) played for the Yanks in 1950. In contrast, there were 18 players from the former New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference (Bruce Alford, George Brown, Brad Ecklund, Don Garza, Sherman Howard, Duke Iverson, Harvey Johnson, Bob Kennedy, Lou Kusseow, Pete Layden, Paul Mitchell, Barney Poole, Martin Ruby, Jack Russell, Ed Sharkey, Joe Signaigo, John Wozniak and Buddy Young). The Yanks finished the 1950 NFL season with a winning record, however the team collapsed back to a single victory in 1951.
The franchise was reported to have been "sold back" to the league following the 1951 season, but it is more likely the franchise was revoked by the league and canceled by the NFL. A group in Texas bought the rights to the franchise, whereupon the team was resurrected as the Dallas Texans for 1952. For the 1953 season, what remained of the Dallas Texans organization was awarded to the city of Baltimore to form the Baltimore Colts.
First round draft selections[]
- 1949 Doak Walker Back SMU
- 1950 None
- 1951 None
Pro Football Hall of Famers[]
- New York Bulldogs
- New York Yanks
- Art Donovan
- Mike McCormack
Notable players[]
- Brad Ecklund
- Spec Sanders
- George Taliaferro
- Buddy Young
- Jack Russell
Season-by-season[]
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 1949 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5th East | Charley Ewart |
| Yanks | 1950 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3rd National | Red Strader |
| 1951 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 6th National | Red Strader |