# Samuel Deutsch

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{{short description|American sports franchise owner and jeweler (1892–1958)}}
{{Infobox gridiron football person
| name = Samuel Deutsch
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|04|02}}
| birth_place = [New York City](/source/New_York%2C_New_York), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1958|09|04|1892|04|02}}
| death_place = [Cleveland, Ohio](/source/Cleveland%2C_Ohio), U.S.
| team = 
| number = 
| status = 
| position1 = Owner
| height_ft = 
| height_in = 
| weight_lb = 
| other_title = owner
| other_years1 = 1923
| other_team1 = [Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Bulldogs)
| other_years2 = 1924–1927
| other_team2 = [Cleveland Bulldogs](/source/Cleveland_Bulldogs)
| career_highlights = * [NFL champion](/source/List_of_NFL_champions) ([1924](/source/1924_Cleveland_Bulldogs_season))
}}
'''Samuel H. Deutsch''' (April 2, 1892 – September 4, 1958) was a prominent sports franchise owner and jeweler. He is best known as being the owner of the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL)'s [Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Bulldogs), formerly the [Cleveland Tigers](/source/Cleveland_Tigers_(NFL)), in 1923 as well as for moving the [Canton Bulldogs](/source/Canton_Bulldogs) to [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland%2C_Ohio) from [Canton](/source/Canton%2C_Ohio) and renaming the team the [Cleveland Bulldogs](/source/Cleveland_Bulldogs).

==Jeweler==
He was born in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), however his family moved to Cleveland, in 1899. After finishing school, Sam began working for his father's jewellery firm, where he learned the art of diamond cutting. He succeeded his father as company president and became chairman of the board in 1956, with his son Robert as president.

==Sports==
In 1923, Deutsch bought the defunct Cleveland Tigers franchise after it was vacated by [Jimmy O'Donnell](/source/Jimmy_O'Donnell), and renamed the team the Cleveland Indians. During the [1923 season](/source/1923_NFL_season), the Indians finished in fifth place in the 20-team NFL. Prior to purchasing the Indians, Deutsch was involved in both minor league [baseball](/source/baseball) and [boxing](/source/boxing) in Cleveland. During that season though, the NFL champion Canton Bulldogs lost money, and Deutsch purchased the team for $1,500 from a group of Canton businessmen. He took the team's best players out of Canton and renamed the team the Cleveland Bulldogs, leaving the Canton franchise inactive.

The Cleveland Bulldogs won the [1924 NFL championship](/source/1924_NFL_season), and Deutsch sold the inactive franchise back to Canton for $3,000. With key players returning to Canton in time for the [1925 season](/source/1925_NFL_season). The Cleveland Bulldogs though finished the 1925 season in 12th place in the NFL.

After a hiatus in 1926, Deutsch revived the Cleveland Bulldogs. Although the team finished fourth in 1927, it was unsuccessful financially, and Deutsch sold the franchise to [Elliot Fisher](/source/Elliot_Fisher) owner of the [Detroit Wolverines](/source/Detroit_Wolverines). The 1928 Wolverines roster included 12 former Bulldogs, 8 of whom became [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants) when Fisher sold the Wolverines to [Tim Mara](/source/Tim_Mara) in 1929.

==References==
*[http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=DSH1 Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Samuel Deutsch]
*[http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2285 Ohio History Central: Cleveland Indians (1923)]
*{{cite journal | title=Cleveland's First title | journal=Coffin Corner | publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association | volume=2 | issue=8 | year=1980 | pages=1–3 | url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-037.pdf | author=Horrigan, Joe | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127052937/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-037.pdf | archivedate=2010-11-27 }}
*{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCnbhSRZpgIC | title=Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football | first=Robert W. | last=Peterson | isbn=0-19-511913-4 | publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) | year=1997}}
*[http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CB6 Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Cleveland Bulldogs]
{{Cleveland Bulldogs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deutsch, Samuel}}
Category:1892 births
Category:1958 deaths
Category:NFL franchise owners
Category:People from Shaker Heights, Ohio
Category:20th-century American people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Samuel Deutsch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Deutsch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Deutsch?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.