The National Football League (NFL) formed in 1920, and the first ever NFL game featured the Dayton Triangles facing down the Columbus Panhandles, for a 14-0 victory.
The Triangles were named for Triangle Park. Their origin predates the American Professional Football League, the original name for the NFL. The team organized under the Triangles name in 1916, comprising employees of Delco, the Dayton Metal Products Company, and the Domestic Engineering Company. The league itself did not organize until 1920; the first game was held on October 3, at Triangle Park.
As with many teams of that era, the Triangles eventually faltered, relying on local players, rather than jumping on the trend of recruiting from colleges. Their record suffered, and they soon had trouble filling the 5,000-seat Triangle Park. Ultimately they became a traveling team until 1930, when a purchaser moved the franchise to Brooklyn.
The legacy of the Dayton Triangles lives on, however. The lineage can be traced down to the Dayton Area Rugby Club, still in operation, which began in 1973, as the Dayton Triangles RFC. Additionally—since the Triangles changed hands a number of times and played in a number of locations—the team can be considered an ancestor of the Indianapolis Colts, who still use the blue and white colors of the Triangles.