The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1932. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten Island. They played under the shortened nickname the "Stapes" the final two seasons. Jack Shapiro, who was a blocking back for the Stapletons, was the shortest player in NFL history.
Early years
The Staten Island Stapletons were founded in 1915 as a neighborhood team. The team was organized by Dan Blaine, who also served as the team's halfback. Blaine later became rich by building up a chain of restaurants. The Stapletons played similar semi-pro neighborhood teams from the New York City area. During those early years the Stapes played more for fun than money. Crowds were small and player salaries averaged $10 per game. The team won several local semi-pro titles before World War I.
The team was inactive in 1918, due to Blaine's service commitment to the military and involvement in the war, and reactivated in 1919. By that time, he was the sole owner. He retired as a player in 1924 and continued as owner and manager of the team, commonly called the Stapes. They took the Thompson Stadium, a minor league park in the neighborhood that gave them their name, as their permanent home field. Today the stadium site is occupied by Stapleton Housing located between Broad, Hill and Warren Streets and Tompkins Avenue. Prior to moving into Thompson Stadium, the Stapletons played in two temporary local parks: Stapleton Field and East Shore Oval.
In 1923-24 Daniel Daley manager of Stapes claimed the New York Metropolitan championship by beating the best independent pro teams in the area. In 1925, Tim Mara formed the New York Giants who moved into the Polo Grounds. Their presence in New York overshadowed the Stapes, particularly with the sell-out visit by Red Grange and the Chicago Bears on December 6, 1925. The Giants and Stapes began their New York rivalry on Thanksgiving Day 1925. The Giants defeated the Stapes in an exhibition game 7–0.
Newark Bears takeover
Over the following couple of seasons, the Stapes would play exhibitions against pro teams from the NFL and various other leagues. On November 14, 1926, the Stapes were routed by the Newark Bears, 33–0. The Bears belonged to Red Grange's American Football League, which served as competitor to the NFL during the 1926 season. Unhappy with the defeat, Blaine promptly hired most of the Newark players, including star rookie Doug Wycoff, who were still owed money because the Newark owner was having financial problems. As a result, the Bears went out of business while the Stapletons benefited from Newark's folding. In 1928, Blaine further upgraded the team by signing some players from New York University.
Pre-NFL
In 1927, the Stapes fielded their ex-Newark Bears squad, although Wycoff signed with the Giants. The Giants would go on to win the 1927 NFL championship and defeated the Stapes twice in non-league games, 19–0 and 18–0. The Stapes though did manage to beat the NFL's Duluth Eskimos, featuring Ernie Nevers 7–6 on November 27, 1927. By 1928, Blaine wanted the Stapes to become an NFL franchise. He bolstered his squad by re-signing Doug Wycoff back as a player-coach and by signing six graduates from the nationally ranked New York University team. The Stapes had their best season on record, going 10–1–1, including a 3–1 record against NFL teams. They even pulled out a 7–0 victory over the Giants on Thanksgiving Day.
NFL
After his team rolled up a 10–1–1 record in 1928, Blaine applied for an NFL franchise in 1929. He needed permission from Tim Mara, the owner of the Giants, because Staten Island was in Mara's exclusive territory. But Mara actually had an extra franchise. It had originally belonged to the Brooklyn Lions and had been given to Mara when the Lions folded in 1927, because they owed him money. Mara had then allowed the New York Yankees, owned by Grange's manager C. C. Pyle, to use the franchise when that team moved from the defunct AFL into the NFL. The Yankees went out of business after the 1928 season, so the franchise again went back to Mara and he passed those franchise's rights on to Staten Island.
Blaine promptly hired Ken Strong, who became a Stapletons Hall of Famer. Strong, who received All-American honors while at New York University, was a speedy, powerful runner who was also one of the best kickers of the era.