Formed by a group of Rochester teen agers, the Jeffersons got their name in reference to the locale of their playing field on Jefferson Avenue. For their first decade, the Jeffs played other amateur and semiprofessional teams in Western New York.

By 1917 the Jeffersons began looking beyond New York, as they played the Canton Bulldogs; despite getting drummed 41-0 the game earned the Jeffs some notoriety and respect. Which would help them get a invited to be one of the charter franchises in the American Professional Football Association.