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{{confused|RIT Tigers}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox Pre-modern NFL team
| name = Rochester-Brooklyn Tigers
| bgcolor = #f03a16
| fontcolor =
| helmet =
| logo = BrooklynTigers36.png
| founded = 1936
| suspended =
| folded = 1937
| relocated =
| location = [[Brooklyn, New York]] [[Rochester, New York]], [[United States]]
| field = [[Yankee Stadium]] [[Red Wing Stadium]]
| league = [[American Football League (1936)|American Football League]] (1936-37)
| conference =
| division =
| colors = Yellow, Orange, Black
{{color box|yellow}} {{color box|#f03a16}} {{color box|black}}
| history ='''Brooklyn Tigers (1936)''' '''Rochester Tigers (1936-37)'''
| nickname =
| coach = [[Mike Palm (American football)|Mike Palm]]
| manager =
| owner = [[Mike Palm (American football)|Mike Palm]] [[Harry Newman (American football)|Harry Newman]]
| championships =
| AFL 1 championships =
| AFL 2 championships =
| AFL 3 championships =
| AAFC championships =
| Other League championships =
| named for =
| mascot =
| website =
}}

The '''Rochester Tigers''' were a professional [[American football]] team that competed in the [[American Football League (1936)|second American Football League]] in 1936 and 1937. Owned by [[Mike Palm (American football)|Mike Palm]] (who doubled as coach) and [[Harry Newman (American football)|Harry Newman]], the Tigers were originally awarded to Rochester as a charter member of the AFL, but were shifted to Brooklyn two weeks afterward despite the lack of availability of a home stadium in its new home town, then moved back to Rochester midway through the 1936 season.<ref>Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' (HarperCollins 1999) {{ISBN|0-06-039232-0}}</ref>

== 1936 season ==

The '''Brooklyn Tigers''' delayed their start of the 1936 season as the team started as essentially a [[traveling team]], with the Tigers playing their first game on October 11<ref>[http://www.warriorsbologna.it/Enciclopedia/PDF/1936_afl_usa.pdf Enciclopedia del football italiano - 1936 AFL season]</ref> (in Week Four of the league schedule); while [[Ebbets Field]] was designated the Tigers' home stadium, the only AFL game scheduled to be played there was moved to [[Yankee Stadium]] to accommodate a large anticipated crowd for the Tigers' November 1 game against the [[New York Yankees (1940 AFL)|New York Yankees]].

As the two teams played to a 3-3 tie, another AFL team (the former [[Syracuse Braves]]) played its only game as the [[Rochester Braves]] at [[Red Wing Stadium]] before going out of business.<ref>[http://www.warriorsbologna.it/Enciclopedia/PDF/1936_afl_usa.pdf Enciclopedia del football italiano - 1936 AFL season]</ref> Two weeks later, the Tigers moved back to Rochester and renamed themselves the '''Rochester Tigers'''.<ref>[http://www.billsbackers.com/1936.htm History of Football in Western New York]</ref> Playing in Red Wing Stadium, the Tigers lost the last two games of the season, wrapping up a season of futility with no wins, six losses, and one tie (ironically, one-half game behind the defunct Syracuse/Rochester Braves).<ref>George Gipe, ''The Great American Sports Book'' (Doubleday 1978) {{ISBN|0-385-13091-0}}</ref> Yet the team managed to survive the turbulent season to continue into 1937 with plans on staying full-time in Rochester.

== 1937 season ==

The 1937 AFL season presented several changes, most notably a reconfiguration as the [[Cleveland Rams]] departed for the [[National Football League]] while the [[Cincinnati Bengals (AFL)|Cincinnati Bengals]] and the [[Los Angeles Bulldogs]] joined the league. While the Rochester Braves were a distant memory, the Rochester Tigers kept their owners and coach from the 1936 season, but like fellow AFL members [[Pittsburgh Americans]], the Tigers were not in good financial shape.<ref>George Gipe, ''The Great American Sport Book'' (Doubleday 1978) {{ISBN|0-385-13091-0}}</ref>

As Los Angeles marched through its AFL schedule on its way to the first undefeated-untied season in major professional American football history,<ref>George Gipe, ''The Great American Sport Book'' (Doubleday 1978) {{ISBN|0-385-13091-0}}</ref> the other five AFL members were financially devastated.<ref>Boston Shamrocks owner Bill Scully noted that the team lost $37,000 in 1937; the rest of the league (excluding Los Angeles) fared worse - George Gipe, ''The Great American Sport Book'' (Doubleday 1978) {{ISBN|0-385-13091-0}}</ref> Pittsburgh, averaging only about 2000 fans in attendance, folded after only three games in 1937; Rochester, with only slightly better numbers despite a second-place 3-3-1 record, barely hung on until the end of the season.<ref>George Gipe, ''The Great American Sport Book'' (Doubleday 1978) {{ISBN|0-385-13091-0}}</ref> After the last game of the season, the AFL folded; only the Bulldogs and the Bengals, the two newest AFL members, continued into 1938.

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Team!!Year !! W !! L !! T !! Finish!!Coach
|-
| Brooklyn Tigers*||[[1936 American Football League season|1936]] || 0 || 6 || 1 || 7th ([[AFL II|AFL]])||[[Mike Palm (American football)|Mike Palm]]<ref>[http://www.billsbackers.com/1936.htm History of Football in Western New York, 1936]</ref>
|-
| Rochester Tigers||[[1937 American Football League season|1937]] || 3 || 3 || 1 || 2nd ([[AFL II|AFL]])||Mike Palm.<ref>[http://www.billsbackers.com/1937.htm History of Football in Western New York, 1937]</ref>
|}
{{center|1=* 0-2 as '''Rochester Tigers''' in 1936}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{AFL II}}
{{Rochester Sports}}

[[Category:American Football League (1936) teams]]
[[Category:Sports in Rochester, New York|Tigers]]
[[Category:American football teams established in 1936]]
[[Category:American football teams disestablished in 1937]]
[[Category:1936 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1937 disestablishments in New York (state)]]

Rochester Tigers - Revision history

imported>Tassedethe: v2.05 - Repaired 1 link to disambiguation page - (You can help) - Harry Newman