Who Were The Chicago Boosters?

The Chicago Boosters was founded in 1920 as an independent professional football team, starting the season with a tie against the Green Bay Packers. Their second game's score is unknown. Their third game was a 0–0 tie against the Chicago Amos A.A.. The Boosters most of their games at home or at a neutral site near or in Chicago. They ended up playing 15 games in 1920. Their record was 7-1-6 (excluding their second game which had an unknown score). Their only game against an APFA opponent was a 27–0 win over the Hammond Pros. They used three different home stadiums in 1920; they played in Harrison Tech Field, DePaul Field, and Logan Square Park. The Boosters opened the 1921 season with a 13–0 loss against the Green Bay Packers. They then had a 3–0 win over the Moline Indians. They started 1921 playing the Green Bay Packers again meaning the first game the Packers played in the APFA (later to be the NFL) was against the Boosters, the Packers won 13-0. They finished the 1921 season with a 4-2-3 record. Losing their final ever game to the Chicago Opal A.A.. The 1921 season was their last season.

Who Were The Utica K. Of C. Football Team?

The Utica K. of C. or the Utica Knights of Columbus was an independent professional football team from 1919-1921. They played home games in Utica, NY at Knights of Columbus Athletic Field. In 1920, the team went 4-3-1. In week one they faced All-Syracuse on the road and Utica lost 0-7. The following week Utica won 2-0 on the road against the Schenectady Knights of Columbus. Utica then traveled to the Rochester Jeffersons of the APFA (later to be the NFL) where the game ended up in a scoreless tie. Utica then stayed home the following two weeks. They first faced the Endicott Endicott-Johnson A.A. where Utica won 21-14. Utica then played the Amsterdam American Legion, Utica won 68-0. The team went back to Rochester to face the Jeffersons but this time the Jeffersons won 26-7. At home Utica lost 0-7 to the Schenectady Knights of Columbus in the second matchup between them. In the last game for Utica in 1920 the team played at Knights of Columbus Athletic Field to face off against the Watertown Red & Black. Utica would come out with a 20-7 victory.

Who Were The Rochester Scalpers?

The Rochester Scalpers were an independent football team that played home games in Rochester, NY at Exposition Park. Even though there is not a lot of information out there it is believed they played games in 1910, 1912-1913, 1915-1917,1919-1921. In 1920, they had a winning record at 5-4-1, They started playing 7 straight home games. In their first game against the Syracuse YMHA Stars where the Stars won 27-0. A week later, the Scalpers faced Fort Ontario where Rochester won 41-0. The next game was against All-Buffalo where the Scalpers won 7-6. The following week was a 15-0 shutout against Utica YHMA. Then Rochester had a rematch with All-Buffalo where Rochester lost 0-6. After their second loss of the year they then shutout All-Syracuse 9-0. In the last home game of the season the Rochester Scalpers faced off against All-Geneva, the Scalpers won 17-0. In the final three games the Scalpers did not go to far since the would face the Rochester Jeffersons of the APFA (later to be the NFL) Rochester Baseball Park. In the first matchup with the Jeffersons, the Jeffersons won 16-0. The Jeffersons followed it up with another victory against the Scalpers with a score of 7-6. In the last game of the 1920 season for the Scalpers they ultimately tied the Jeffersons 0-0 showing improvement in each matchup.

Who Were The Wheeling Stogies Football Team?

The Wheeling Stogies, otherwise known as the Wheeling Collegians played three football games as an independent club in 1920. In their first game they went to League Park to play the Akron Pros. The Pros won 43-0 and this would be a sign on how good Akron would be. They ended up as APFA champions with a 9-0-3 record in 1920. They then faced the Bradley Eagles at Bradley Field in McKees Rocks, PA. The game ended in a zero-zero tie. In their final ever game they faced another APFA team in the Rock Island Independents. The Independents won the game 48-7 at Douglas Park with 2500 in attendance. Even though the Wheeling Stogies baseball team is remembered more the Stogies football team should not be forgotten.

Who Were The West Buffalo Football Team?

West Buffalo was an independent football team in 1920. They played only two games, both of which were on the road. After the 1920 season the team never played another game again. In their first game West Buffalo went Canisius Villa Field to play the Buffalo All-Americans. The All-Americans scored three rushing touchdowns in the first half, two by Bodie Weldon. In the second half, the All-Americans scored two more touchdowns (one rushing and one passing) while West Buffalo scored their only touchdown off an interception from 60 yards out in the third quarter. West Buffalo would lose 6-32 against the All-Americans of the APFA (later to be the NFL). A few weeks later West Buffalo would play their final game against the All-Tonawanda Lumberjacks at Tonawanda High School Athletic Field. The Lumberjacks would win 42-0 meaning the only score in West Buffalo professional football history is a pick six.

Who Were The All-Buffalo Football Team?

All-Buffalo was an independent professional football team in 1920. They played four games in total in there only season of existence, two of which were against teams in the APFA (later to be the NFL). They played all of their games on the road. There first game was against the Rochester Jeffersons in Rochester Baseball Park. The Jeffersons won 10-0 against All-Buffalo. All-Buffalo then went to Canisius Villa Field to play the Buffalo All-Americans where the All-Americans won 51-0. All-Buffalo then decided to play back to back games against Rochester Scalpers in Exposition Park. The Scalpers won the first matchup 7-6. The following week All-Buffalo won 6-0 with about 3000 in attendance. All-Buffalo would then fold after this game never to play again.

Who Were The McKeesport Olympics?

The McKeesport Olympics were a professional football team from McKeesport, Pennsylvania from 1896 until around 1940. The Olympics were considered one of the top football teams in Pennsylvania from 1910 until 1919.

The Olympics played against many of the teams that later formed the National Football League. These teams included the Buffalo All-Americans, Rochester Jeffersons and the Canton Bulldogs. The primary reason the Olympics never joined the NFL during the early era was the state of Pennsylvania's blue laws which prevented football from being played on Sunday; as a result, no Pennsylvania team joined the NFL (which played most of its games on Sundays) until 1924, though because most teams were available to play on Saturdays, they were able to schedule exhibition games against NFL teams fairly easily. Why the Olympics never joined after that was unclear. In 1929, the Olympics were crowned as Sandlot Qrid Champs with Art Rooneys team, Rooneys Majestics, placing second.

The team also played against a current NFL team, the Pittsburgh Pirates (renamed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1940) twice. The first game between the two clubs was held on October 31, 1938. The Pirates, led by Byron White, won that game 21-6. However, almost a year later, on October 4, 1939, in McKeesport, while the Pirates won that game too, the semi-pro Olympics held them to a much closer score, 9-6.

The Olympics also played against several strong clubs that never made it into the NFL. These teams included the Youngstown Patricians and the Shelby Blues. However, the Olympics main rivals were the Pitcairn Quakers, another strong team from the Pittsburgh-area. In 1919 the Olympics had won the first game of the two-game series, 3-0 and had employed the entire Cleveland Indians team just for that game. However, Pitcairn would win the second game due to a last minute field goal by Paul Rupp.

The team disappears from the records shortly after the 1939 contests and likely shut down, as many professional football teams and leagues did, due to World War II.

Who Were The Pitcairn Quakers?

The Pitcairn Quakers were a professional American football team from Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, United States. The team played as an independent from 1904 until 1920 and featured the best players in the community as well as some famous college-level players. A few of the players were college All-Americans. At one time, the team was loaded with Native Americans from nearby Carlisle Indian School. The team played many of the Midwestern teams that would later become future members of the National Football League.

The Quakers were established in 1904 out of a local need for sports entertainment. They played home games at Broadway Stadium. The team was founded by Clyde Collins, his cousin John Johnstonbaugh and former Pitt quarterback Terry DeLozier, who became the team's first coach. Ed Johnston became the team's coach in 1914 and brought with him many ex-college players. Later George Vedernack, a friend of Jim Thorpe, became the team's coach. The team usually played on consecutive days, usually Saturdays and Sundays. They would at times play up to five games in a span of only nine days.

After Glenn "Pop" Warner took over as the head football coach at Pitt, he decided to try out his experimental plays for the Panthers on the Quakers. If those plays were workable, Warner would then use them against his college opponents. As a result, the forward pass and the criss-cross formation were used by the Quakers in 1914 and later by Pitt in the early 1920s. The forward pass once resulted in a 140-0 Quakers victory over a team from nearby South Fork. During that game, the Quakers completed 14 consecutive passes.

In 1915, the Quakers, after establishing themselves as the top team in the Pittsburgh area, decided to venture into the Midwest and play many of the top teams from Indiana and Ohio. After a $12,000 investment made by the team's manager, the Quakers began to establish a loyal fan base and began play in the Midwest. During this time, the Quakers played against Ohio League teams such as the Canton Bulldogs, Massillon Tigers, Fort Wayne Friars and Dayton Triangles.

In 1916 the Quakers posted a 7–8 record, and lost every game they played against their Ohio League opponents. However, in each game, Pitcairn held those opponents to close scores. A year later, the Quakers defeated the Youngstown Patricians 16–0, and the Fort Wayne Friars 10–9. They also lost to the Canton Bulldogs by a 12–7 score. After suspending operations in 1918 due to manning shortages associated with World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic, the team returned in 1919. Despite a disappointing 1919 record of 5-5, the Quakers went into their final game against their local rivals the McKeesport Olympics. The Olympics had won the first game of the two-game series, 3–0, and had employed the entire Cleveland Indians team just for that game. However, Pitcairn won the game due to a last-minute field goal by Paul Rupp.

In 1920, the team went winless. They lost 0-48 to the Canton Bulldogs on the road. The following week on the road they faced All-Tonawanda Lumberjeacks and lost 3-12. In the final game the Quakers played they lost again on the road to the Fort Wayne Friars 0-7. The last game scheduled against the Youngstown Patricians was cancelled.

The team quietly folded in 1920 and would ultimately never come out victorious in any of their matchups against APFA teams (0-13).

Who Were The Washington Glee Club?

The Washington Glee Club, also known as the New Haven Washington Glees were an independent professional football team in 1920. The played their home games at Weiss Park. There first ever game was canceled on September 26th, 1920 against the New Britain Nutmegs at Nutmeg Field. In the first game they ever played they went on the road to Bristol, Connecticut to face the Bristol New Departures in which the Glees won 7-0. The following week at home the Glees faced the Bridgeport Chains in a 7-7 tie. The teams decided to face each other the following week which was common in those days after a tie. This time at Newfield Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut the teams tied again in 0-0 tie. At home the following week the team won aginst the Providence Steam Rollers in a 12-0 victory. The Glees went on the road to Hartford, Connecticut to face the All-Hartford squad. The game resulted in a 0-0 tie so they decided to face each other again at Weiss Park where the Glees won 14-0. The next game got postponed two days so after the wait the team faced the New Haven Williams at Weiss Park. The game resulted in a scoreless tie. In the Glees final ever game they faced the Canton Bulldogs of the APFA (later to be the NFL) who had future Hall of Famers like Jim Thorpe. Both teams did not score and that game resulted in another tie for the Glees. The Glees would not the following year.

Who Were The Union A.A. (Union Athletic Association) Football Team?

Union A.A. or Union Athletic Association was an independent football team from 1907 to 1920. They were also referred to as Phoenixville Union A.A.. The team was the result of a 1919 merger between the Phoenixville Union Club and the upstart Phoenix Athletic Club. From 1907 until 1919, the Union Club was considered one of the best football teams in eastern Pennsylvania. However, in 1919 the upstart Phoenix Athletic Club signed many of the top players of the area, leaving the Union Club no choice but to merge with the Phoenix A.C. The team is best known for defeating the Canton Bulldogs 13–7, in 1920. The team folded in 1921.

In 1907 the Phoenixville Union Club fielded its first football team. The team frequently played rival clubs from Schuylkill County, as well as teams from Philadelphia and New Jersey. Within a few years, the Union Club became one of the strongest teams in the region. Several times they were declared the mythical "Champions of the Schuylkill Valley" and "Champions of Eastern Pennsylvania". However, the team experienced tragedy on occasion. In November 1913, George Gay, a star player for the Ursinus College football team, died from a neck injury three days after it was broken in a Phoenixille–Pottstown game. He broke his neck after being tackled from behind.

World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic had a severe impact on Phoenixville's 1917 football season. The team had only managed to schedule 5 games in 1917, while only one game was played in 1918. In 1919, the Union Club and the new Phoenix Athletic Club merged. The merger began when the Phoenix Athletic Club signed away many of the area's top football players. This left Union in a dilemma. In 1919, Union played what should have been an easy game against a local high school. However that game resulted in scoreless tie. As a result, the Union Club merged with the Phoenix A. C.

Meanwhile, the Union Club of Phoenixville ended their 1919 season with a 6–0–3 record. The final game of the season against the Conshohocken Athletic Club, ended in a scoreless tie. However Phoenixville, managed to sign many ex-college players to their roster including; Heinie Miller of Penn and Butch Spagna of Lehigh University.

The 1920 Phoenixville Club fielded many of the top players of the era. These players included Lou Little, Lud Wray, Fats Eyrich, Bodie Weldon, Heinie Miller, Earl Potteiger, Stan Cofall and future Hall of Famer, Fritz Pollard. The club also fielded several members (eight in all, including Ockie Anderson and Swede Youngstrom) of the Buffalo All-Americans of the APFA (later to be the National Football League); Pollard and Cofall also had NFL jobs, Pollard with the Akron Pros and Cofall with the Cleveland Tigers. The NFL players would play a non-league game with Phoenixville on Saturdays, then hop the train for Buffalo or Ohio and the next day’s game. This arrangement helped the All-Americans earn extra money. Incidentally, the team had been organized by Bert Bell, the future NFL commissioner and Philadelphia Eagles owner, but Bell had planned to play the team as the "Philadelphia Collegians" before Phoenixville's managers came and signed all of Bell's players.

The Phoenixville club went 11-0 in 1920. The Union started out home or on a neutral site until the end of the season. They started the season with 7 shutouts. They gave up 6 points twice and giving up 7 points against Canton in the final matchup in 1920. The team defeated several local teams, including their rivals, the Conshohocken Athletic Club, Holmesburg Athletic Club, and the pre-NFL Frankford Yellow Jackets. However, the team still had the biggest game of the year, and in team history, to play.
At the end of the 1920 season, Phoenixville fans began to wonder how their team stacked up to the best teams of the era. Prior to 1920, the Canton Bulldogs were considered the best pro football team in world. The team featured Joe Guyon and the legendary Jim Thorpe, both future Pro Football Hall of Famers. The team was also not only a member of the mythical Ohio League, which consisted of the best teams in pro football, but won the league's championship in 1916, 1917 and 1919.

On December 11, an estimated 17,000 fans turned out to watch the Union Club and Canton Bulldogs play at the Baker Bowl. Despite the Bulldogs scoring first off of a Pete Calac touchdown, the Phoenixville soon gained control of the game with a fumble recovery by Heinie Miller. That play set up a Stan Cofall touchdown pass to Lou Hayes. Later in the third quarter, Cofall blocked a Guyon punt which was returned for another touchdown by Hayes. While Canton did manage a late game drive to the Phoenixville 20 yard line, a Guyon fumble, was recovered by Phoenxiville's Heinie Miller. Phoenixville won the game 13–7.

Despite their victory, the Union Club could not claim any national professional championship based upon the outcome of the Canton game. The 1920 Canton Bulldogs were just not the dominant football team that they had been in previous seasons. In the NFL, the Akron Pros, Decatur Staleys (renamed the Chicago Bears in 1922) and the Buffalo All-Americans had all placed higher ahead of the Bulldogs in the standings. Leo Conway appeared at the NFL's organizational meetings in April 1921, representing Phoenixville, where the league's championship was awarded to Akron by a vote.

In 1921, the Union Club's status as a premier professional team disappeared. The club's board of directors rejected Heinie Miller's proposal to for the team to reform with a similar 1920 lineup for the 1921 season. The club instead opted to field a less costly team of mostly local talent. The Big Red went on to a 5–2 record in what turned out to be its final season. However Miller, managed to keep most of the 1920 team intact and fielded them in 1921 as the Union Quakers of Philadelphia in 1921.

Who Were The Richmond Athletics?

The Richmond Athletics were an independent professional football team in 1920. There are no records left of who they played or what they did on the field. It is one of the most unknown teams to ever play professional football.

Who Were The Pullman Thorns?

The Pullman Thorns otherwise known as the Chicago Pullman Original Thorns was an independent professional football team in 1920. They played all their games Chicago, Illinois (some home and some on the road). Their first game was home at the Pullman Athletic Field in Chicago against Chicago Calumets. The Thorns won 21 to nothing and played the Whiting Red Crowns the following week in a 7-0 win for the Thorns. The third game was home against the Toledo Broadway Tigers in a 42-0 victory. The following game was against Chicago Opal A.A. at home in which the score is forgotten in history and no outcome is known. The Thorns at home won 54-0 against the Fort Wayne Pyramids the next week. The following week the Thorns went up against the Hammond Pros of the APFA (later to be the NFL) at Pullman Athletic Field in a final score of 13-14, Hammond Pros victory. The following week at home again was against the Chicago Cornell A.C. in a 13-6 victory for the Thorns. Next week the Thorns played on the road against the Chicago Logan Square A.C.. The Thorns lost 7-28 in that matchup. The next game at home was against the Chicago Hegewisch A.A. in a final score of 6-0. The following matchup against the Forest Park Tigers was played at a neutral site, at Dexter Park Pavilion. The Thorns won 7-0 against the Tigers. A few weeks later the Thorns at home played the Rock Island Independents of the APFA and lost 7-14. The very last game in the Thorns history they played the Chicago Boosters at Dexter Park Pavilion. The Thorns lost 14-0 with 3500 in attendance in their very last game.

Who Were The Fort Porter Football Team?

Fort Porter was constructed between 1841 and 1844 at Buffalo in Erie County, New York, and named for General Peter Buell Porter. The site was bounded by Porter Avenue, Busti Avenue and the Erie Barge Canal. It was initially a square masonry two-story redoubt, 62 feet square, with crenelated walls surrounded by large earthworks and moat. The fort was considered the largest masonry "blockhouse" ever built; it burned in November 1863. The "castle" had been built in 1836 as a home for Col. James McKay. This was part of the government acquisition of land in 1841 and was used as the commandant's quarters.

Fort Porter had not been used for some time when the Civil War started. It was used as the headquarters of the 74th Regiment, New York Army National Guard. Ten 60 by 18 foot barracks were constructed and used as a recruiting center. In 1898, the post was reactivated for the Spanish–American War and used as the headquarters for 13th U.S. Infantry. In 1917, it was reactivated again for World War I and used as U.S. Army Base Hospital 23 until the unit shipped out. At the end of World War I, it was used as U.S. General Hospital 4 for returning wounded. In 1926, the property was sold to provide approaches to new Peace Bridge at Front Park and all evidence was removed. A boulder dedicated in 1899, as a token of the city's esteem for the regiment, was removed to a place outside the Buffalo History Museum.

Fort Porter had an American football team that was active in 1917 and in 1920, playing teams in the informal New York Pro Football League. Even though the schedule and game outcomes are mostly forgotten, we do know in 1920 that Fort Porter played the Rochester Jeffersons of the APFA (later to be the NFL). Fort Porter was shutout 66-0 by Rochester. The team would not play another game after the 1920 season.

Who Were The Syracuse Stars?

The Syracuse Stars was an independent professional football team in 1920. The team played five total games, four of which were on the road. The first game the Stars played was Exposition Park in Rochester, New York against the Rochester Scalpers. The Stars defeated the Scalpers 27-0. The following week they went to Johnson City, New York to play Johnson Endicott-Johnson A.A.. The Stars won that game 14-0 to start 2-0 on the season. Two weeks later the Syracuse Stars headed to Rochester, New York to play the Rochester Jeffersons of the APFA (later to be the NFL). The game was played at Rochester Baseball Park. The Stars would open up with a touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, Jim Laird of the Jeffersons scored a rushing touchdown. The Jeffersons would follow that up with a passing touchdown later in the quarter from Hal Clark to Jim Laird. In the third quarter, Bob Argus would score a rushing touchdown for the Jeffersons to take a 21-7 lead. The game would end it that score resulting in the first loss for the Stars. The following week, the Stars stayed in Syracuse to play All-Syracuse but ultimately lost 0-7 in the game. The last game the Syracuse Stars ever played was in New Haven, Connecticut to play the New Haven Williams. The Stars lost 7-14 at Weiss Park. The Syracuse Stars would never play again.

Who Were The Pittsburg All-Collegians?

One of the most obscure teams in professional football history is the Pittsburg All-Collegians who seem to play only one game ever. Pittsburg All-Colegians was also referred to as Washington and Jeffe (Jefferson) Collegians. They played the Rock Island Independents of APFA (later to be the NFL). Rock Island on that day was comprised of not so famous players and apparently whomever they could find in the crowd that day. One such player of note was Guy Morrison of the 1920 Evansville Evas. Morrison had 1 long run but it was evident he was not in playing shape. Many of the players seemed to respond to several names implying that some of them were playing under aliases. The game started off with a punt block for a touchdown with a 7 yard rushing touchdown to follow it in the first quarter by the Independents. In the second the Independents would get a fumble return touchdown, a passing touchdown, and a rushing touchdown. The Collegians would get their only score in history in the third quarter. The Independents would get a rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Going into the fourth quarter it was 7-41 Independents. The game would end up being 7-48 after a pick six by Tom Henry. Rock Island would win the game 48-7 at Douglass Park. The Collegians would never play another game after this one and never played a game before it.

Who Were The Moline Universal Tractors?

The Moline Universal Tractors, also known as the Moline Athletics, were an independent American football team that played in 1920. They played in two official APFA games. They played against the Decatur Staleys and Chicago Cardinals. They played in seven games total, and had a 2-5 record. In 2017, there was a throwback game to celebrate football history that had the Universal Tractors play the Rock Island Independents. In their first ever game they played at Staley Field losing to the Chicago Staleys 0-20. The Tractors went home to Browning Field the following week to play the Clinton Indepedents. The Tractors won 20-0 in that matchup. The next few weeks were all road games. In their third game the Tractors lost 3-33 to the Chicago Cardinals. The Tractors lost the following week 8-14 to Rockford A.A.C.,  A couple weeks later the Tractors lost 0-7 to the Elgin American Legion. The following week at a neutral site the Tractors defeated the Kewanee Walworths 27-0. They finally would play a home game the next matchup but it ultimately would be the Moline Universal Tractors last game. They were defeated at home by a final score of 0-7 to the Moline Indians.

Who Were The Chicago Stayms?

The Chicago Stayms were an independent football team that was founded in 1917. They went on to play some football games in 1917, 1919, and 1920 (in 1919 were referred to as the Chicago Austin Stayms). In 1920. They played 11 games in 1920, including 9 home games at Pyott Park in Chicago. There first game was on the road against the Forest Park Tigers, the game resulted in a 0-0 tie. The following week they played the Kewanee Walworths and came out with a 6-0 victory at home. They played another eight straight home games after they defeated Kewanee. Chicago Stayms would shutout Chicago Opal A.A. by a score of 27-0. The following week they would play in a 0-0 tie against the Lake Forest Young Mens Club. The Stayms the following week would defeat Chicago Amos A.A. by a score of 7-0. The next two games they would split in 3-0 scores against the Chicago Thron-Tornadoes, losing the first and winning the second. Another victory would occur the following week against the Chicago Logan Square A.C. in a 7-0 score. They would play the Chicago Boosters the following week in 7-7 tie. All of these opponents were against independent squads but the last two games would be against the Chicago Cardinals of the APFA (later to be the NFL).  The first matchup was a 14-14 tie at Pyott Park. In the last game of the season they played at Normal Park where the Chicago Stayms lost to the Cardinals in a 0-6 defeat. The Stayms would fold before the 1921 season and would be mostly forgotten about in professional football history.

Kewanee Walworths - Only One Of Three Teams To Score Against The Staleys In 1920

The Kewanee Walworths were an American football team that played two seasons. They were an independent team. In 1920 they played one game against an APFA (later to named the NFL) team; they played a game against the Decatur Staleys. In 1919 they played 9 games and had a 8–1 record. Their head coach was John "Big Jack" Pollock. They played all of their games at their home stadium at Kewanee High School, Illinois. Their only loss was a game against "Moline Clubhouse". In 1920 they had a 2-4-2 record. In their 3rd game of the season they lost 7–25 against the Decatur Staleys in an official APFA game. This was the second game in the rich history of the Decatur Staleys/Chicago Bears history. They were one of three teams to score points against the Staleys. The owner of the Staleys, George Halas, would later sign the player who scored the touchdown. 1920 was their last season because they did not get enough fan support to meet their financial needs. They played their home games at the Fairgrounds (Kewanee High School).

Who Were The Rockford A.C.?

Similar to the Champaign American Legion, Rockford A.C. has little research and information on the team. They played one game against the APFA team in the Decatur Staleys (later to be the Chicago Bears). Rockford A.C. lost the game 0-29 at Kishwuakee Park. Other than this one game Rockford A.C. has no other information like who played for them or who else they played, if they even played any other games. The field where the game was played is now Beyer Stadium. Beyer Stadium, one mile from downtown in Rockford, Illinois, was the home of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's Rockford Peaches from 1943 to 1954.

It was a multi-purpose facility, as contemporary newspaper articles also report high school baseball and football games being played there. Its address in city directories was typically given as 311 15th Avenue. It began as Kishwaukee Park or simply Rockford Base Ball Park in about 1913 when the Rockford club of the Wisconsin-Illinois League moved into it from their previous home, Riverside Park. That club folded after the 1923 season and sold the ballpark to Rockford High School for use as their athletic field. By 1925 the venue was being called Rockford Municipal Stadium or 15th Avenue Stadium. In 1948 it was renamed in honor of Charles Beyer, long-time high school athletics coach.

Champaign (American) Legion - The Most Unexplored Team In Professional Football History

The Champaign Legion was a football team in 1920. Not much information is out there on this team but all is known is they played a game against the Decatur Staleys (later becoming the Chicago Bears) of APFA in 1920. In the game Dutch Sternaman ran for two touchdowns and threw one later in the football game to Pard Pearce. Sternaman also kicked two extra points to result in a 20-0 win for the Staleys. The only information of the game was it was played in Champaign, Illinois on McKinley Field. The field is still being used today but after many years of renovations it looks nothing like it did in 1920. Reportedly 500 people were in attendance for the game. Besides this game there is no other information on this team. We do not know who played for Champaign, who founded it or why they played one game then never played again. We also do not know what league, if any they were in. They just played one game, lost it to 0-20 on November 11th, 1920 and never played another game again from all that we know. In professional football history this might be the most unexplored teams in its history.

The Story And Significance Of George Marshall - Founder Of The Washington Football Franchise

George Preston Marshall was an American businessman who was the founder of the Washington Football Team of the National Football League, previously known as the Washington Redskins. He founded the team in 1932 as the Boston Braves and was its controlling owner until his death in 1969. Marshall, a supporter of racial segregation, was the last NFL owner to integrate African Americans onto a roster, only doing so in 1962 under pressure from the federal government who threatened to block the use of D.C. Stadium, which they owned, unless he did.

Marshall was born in Grafton, West Virginia, where his parents, Thomas Hildebrand ("Hill") Marshall and Blanche Preston Marshall, owned the local newspaper. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Washington D.C. after his father bought a laundromat business there. He attended Friends Select School, where he played baseball, and then briefly attended Randolph–Macon College before quitting school at age 18. He pursued acting and was an extra for a local theater but this pursuit was interrupted in 1918 when he was drafted into World War I, although he did not leave the country. He was discharged from the army in December 1918. Upon his father's death in 1919, he took over the 2-store laundromat business. In 1926, he financed the Washington Palace Five basketball team. The team folded in 1928.

In 1932, he and three other partners were awarded an NFL franchise for Boston. The team was known as the Boston Braves, as it played on the same field as baseball's Boston Braves. After the team incurred a $46,000 loss in its first season, Marshall's partners sold their interests to him.
In 1933, he moved the team from Braves Field to Fenway Park, which the team shared with the Boston Red Sox. He hired coach "Lone Star" William Henry Dietz, who claimed to be part Sioux and changed the team name from the Braves to the Redskins. Marshall said that he chose the name so that the team could keep its Native American logos.

In 1936, the team won the Eastern division and hosted the 1936 NFL Championship Game, which Marshall moved from Boston to the Polo Grounds in New York City. After a lack of support by fans despite winning the division title, he moved the team to Washington, D.C. for the 1937 season.
At the time, college football was more popular than the NFL. Marshall saw the NFL as not just a sport but as a form of entertainment and incorporated elements of college football, including gala halftime shows, a marching band, and a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins".

To increase scoring, along with Chicago Bears owner George Halas, Marshall successfully suggested allowing a forward pass to be thrown from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage, rather than at a minimum of five yards behind the line. He also suggested moving the goal posts from the end line to the goal line, where they were in Canadian football, to encourage the kicking of field goals. This change remained in place for about four decades until NFL goal posts were returned to the end line in the mid-1970s as part of an effort to lessen the influence on the game of kicking specialists.

Marshall also pushed to standardize the schedule so that each team played the same number of games, the teams were split into divisions with the winners meeting in a championship game, and game gate receipts were split between the home team and the visitor using by either a 60–40 split or a guaranteed amount of money, whichever was larger.

During the 1937 season, Marshall rented a train and brought 10,000 fans to New York City to watch the team play the New York Giants. In 1946, he sold the laundromat business, having grown it to 57 locations. In the 1950s, Marshall was the first NFL owner to embrace television. He initiated the first network appearances for any NFL team and built a television network to broadcast Redskins games across the Southern United States.

In 1960, Marshall opposed the addition of the Dallas Cowboys to the NFL, ending his team's stature as the only team south of the Mason–Dixon line. He only agreed to the addition after a rival acquired the rights to the fight song from the writer of the music and threatened to prohibit the team from playing it at games. In November 1960, Marshall sold 25% of the team to Jack Kent Cooke for $350,000. Marshall was extremely frugal and did not let the team spend money on travel expenses and salaries. He once berated Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney for driving up salaries by signing University of Colorado star Byron White for $15,800, the highest contract in football in the late 1930s. One sportswriter referred to Marshall as "the last of the small-time spenders.

He was elected to the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame class in 1963.

The Story And Significance Of Tim Mara - The Founder Of The New York Giants

Timothy James Mara was the founding owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). The Giants, under Mara, won NFL championships in 1927, 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, and 1958.

In 1925, the NFL was in need of a franchise in a large city that could be used to showcase the league. NFL President Joseph Carr traveled to New York to offer boxing promoter Billy Gibson a franchise. Gibson had owned the New York Brickley Giants, the NFL's last attempt to put a team in New York. While Gibson turned the offer down, he referred Carr to his friend Tim Mara. While Mara did not know much about football, Mara's friend, Dr. Harry March, did. March, a former physician for the Canton Bulldogs of the pre-NFL "Ohio League" and the future author of the first professional football history book Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs, soon became the club's first secretary.

This backing led Mara to purchase the NFL franchise for New York at a cost of $500. Mara and March even signed Jim Thorpe to play several half games in order to boost attendance. However many of the New York sports fans still took to college football and stayed away from the pro sport. During the Giants' first season, attendance was so poor that Mara lost over $40,000. To tap into New York's college football fans, Mara tried to sign ex-college football superstar Red Grange only to find that he already was a member of the Chicago Bears. However still looking for a way to cash in on Grange's popularity, Mara scheduled a game against the Bears to be played at the Polo Grounds. The gate receipts totaled $143,000 for that one game against Grange and the Bears, and Mara recovered all of his losses for the 1925 season.

In 1926, Grange and his manager, C. C. Pyle, formed the first American Football League with a franchise in New York, the Yankees, to compete with the Giants. At the same time, Giants coach Bob Folwell and star tackle Century Milstead, left to join the AFL's Philadelphia Quakers. This led Mara to increase the salaries of all his players by $50 a game to prevent them from leaving the Giants, too. He also signed many players to full-season contracts. Mara suffered $60,000 in financial losses that season. However all but four of the AFL franchises finished the 1926 season. Mara then challenged the AFL champion Philadelphia Quakers to a game and they accepted. In the first inter-league post-season confrontation, the seventh-place Giants defeated the AFL's champion, 31-0. The AFL folded soon after.
By now, Mara was now willing to admit the Yankees into the NFL, as the only survivor of the defunct AFL. He even allowed the team to play its home games at Yankee Stadium. However, Mara was able to dictate the Yankees' schedule. When the Giants were in the Polo Grounds, the Yankees were to be on the road.

The next year, the Giants went 11-1-1 and won their first NFL championship. At the end of the 1928 season, Pyle turned his Yankees' franchise over to Mara. In 1929, Dan Blaine, the owner of the Staten Island Stapletons, applied for an NFL franchise. However, he first needed permission from Mara to set up his franchise, because Staten Island was within Mara's exclusive territory. But Mara actually had an extra franchise since the Yankees folded after the 1928 season, so the franchise again went back to Mara and he passed those franchise's rights on to Staten Island.

In 1929, Mara was looking for a player who might approach Grange in fan appeal. He saw Benny Friedman of the Detroit Wolverines as the best option available. When he couldn't make a deal for Friedman, Mara simply bought the entire Detroit franchise for $10,000. For the next few years Mara had ultimate ownership of three NFL franchises; however, he never interfered with the management of any of the teams that operated under his leases.

During the Great Depression in 1930, New York Mayor Jimmy Walker approached Mara about playing a charity exhibition game, which he quickly agreed to do. The Giants defeated the Notre Dame All-Stars, which included the legendary Four Horsemen. The Giants easily outscored Notre Dame, 21-0. As a result of the game, Mara and the Giants raised $115,153 for the New York City Unemployment Fund.
In 1936 and 1937, Mara successfully battled for New York's pro football market against the Brooklyn Tigers and the New York Yankees of the second American Football League. He also successfully outlasted the New York Yankees of the third third American Football League.

However, from 1946 to 1949, Mara engaged in an all-out war with the All-America Football Conference. Mara and the Giants were faced with two AAFC opponents in the New York City area, the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Again Mara fought hard for New York's pro football fanbase and eventually won. When the two leagues partially merged after the 1949 season, Mara demanded and got the best players from the combined New York-Brooklyn franchise that had operated in 1949.

Tim Mara in 1963, was elected to the inaugural class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Story And Significance Joe Carr - The Man Who Established The NFL In The Early Years

Joseph Francis Carr was an American sports executive in American football, baseball, and basketball. He is best known as the president of the National Football League from 1921 until 1939. He was also one of the founders and president of the American Basketball League (ABL) from 1925 to 1927. He was also the promotional director for Minor League Baseball's governing body from 1933 to 1939, leading an expansion of the minor leagues from 12 to 40 leagues operating in 279 cities with 4,200 players and attendance totaling 15,500,000.

A native and lifelong resident of Columbus, Ohio, Carr worked in his early years as a machinist for the Panhandle Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and a sports writer for a Columbus newspaper. While working for the Panhandle Division, he founded the Famous Panhandle White Sox baseball team in approximately 1900. He also revived the Columbus Panhandles football team in 1907, manning the team with railroad employees. The Panhandles became one of the inaugural members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was renamed the National Football League (NFL) in 1922.

From 1921 until his death in 1939, Carr served as president of the NFL. He oversaw the growth of the league from is origins, principally in small or medium-sized cities in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois into a national league with teams in major cities. During his tenure, many of the NFL's premier franchises were established, including the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins. Called the "Father of Professional Football", Carr was one of the 17 inaugural inductees into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

In 1900, Carr organized a baseball team made up of employees of the railroad's Panhandle Division. The team, known as the Famous Panhandle White Sox, played in the Capital City League and the Saturday Afternoon League in Columbus for several years. According to the Chicago Tribune, Carr's Panhandle club "gained a reputation in semi-professional ranks throughout the country."
In 1907, Carr began a long association with the sport of football. He obtained permission from the Panhandle Athletic Club to reorganize the Columbus Panhandles football team, a team that had been formed in 1900 or 1901 and disbanded in 1904. He secured players from the railroad shop where he worked. The core of Carr's Panhandles teams were six Nesser brothers who worked at the shop and were excellent athletes. To save on expenses, the players, who were railroad employees, used their passes to ride the train for free and practiced during the lunch hour on the railroad yards. Over the next 13 years, the Panhandles became known as a traveling team, as Carr saved money on travel expenses and stadium rental by playing mostly road games. In 1921, the Fort Wayne Journal called the Panhandles the "most renowned professional football aggregation in the country."
Carr also continued his association with professional baseball while running the Panhandles, serving for several years as the secretary/treasurer and later president of the Ohio State League, a minor league baseball circuit.

As early as 1917, Carr was one of the leading advocates of a plan to develop a national professional football league. Sources are not in agreement as to what role, if any, he played in the formation of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which later became the National Football League. However, once the APFA was formed in 1920, Carr's Panhandles played in the league's inaugural season. The 1920 Panhandles team played only one home game and compiled a 2–7–2 record.
In 1900, Carr organized a baseball team made up of employees of the railroad's Panhandle Division. The team, known as the Famous Panhandle White Sox, played in the Capital City League and the Saturday Afternoon League in Columbus for several years. According to the Chicago Tribune, Carr's Panhandle club "gained a reputation in semi-professional ranks throughout the country."

In 1907, Carr began a long association with the sport of football. He obtained permission from the Panhandle Athletic Club to reorganize the Columbus Panhandles football team, a team that had been formed in 1900 or 1901 and disbanded in 1904. He secured players from the railroad shop where he worked. The core of Carr's Panhandles teams were six Nesser brothers who worked at the shop and were excellent athletes. To save on expenses, the players, who were railroad employees, used their passes to ride the train for free and practiced during the lunch hour on the railroad yards. Over the next 13 years, the Panhandles became known as a traveling team, as Carr saved money on travel expenses and stadium rental by playing mostly road games. In 1921, the Fort Wayne Journal called the Panhandles the "most renowned professional football aggregation in the country." Carr also continued his association with professional baseball while running the Panhandles, serving for several years as the secretary/treasurer and later president of the Ohio State League, a minor league baseball circuit.

As early as 1917, Carr was one of the leading advocates of a plan to develop a national professional football league. Sources are not in agreement as to what role, if any, he played in the formation of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which later became the National Football League (NFL). However, once the APFA was formed in 1920, Carr's Panhandles played in the league's inaugural season. The 1920 Panhandles team played only one home game and compiled a 2–7–2 record.

At the annual meeting of the APFA held in Akron, Ohio, on April 30, 1921, Carr was elected as the organization's president. He was re-elected president in January 1922, and he held that position for 18 years until his death in 1939.

Carr moved the APFA's headquarters to Columbus, drafted a league constitution and by-laws, gave teams territorial rights, developed membership criteria for the franchises, and issued standings for the first time, so that the APFA would have a clear champion. Carr also began cleaning up other problems. By 1925, he introduced a standard player's contract, fashioned after the ones being used in pro baseball, so players couldn't jump from one team to another. Carr also declared that players under contract from the previous season could not be approached by another team unless first declared a free agent, thus introducing the reserve clause to professional football.

In the early 20th century, college football was the dominant version of the sport, and professional teams would sometimes pay college players to play for them, often under assumed names. The practice was considered questionable ethically, resulting in taint being associated with the professional game. In order to remove the taint, and to engender peaceful relations with the college game, Carr made it one of his first goals as league president to impose a strict ban of the use of college football players. Indeed, at the same meeting at which Carr was elected president, the APFA adopted a rule prohibiting teams from using players who had not completed their college course.

Carr enforced the ban with vigor. During the 1921 APFA season, two or three college players from Notre Dame played for the Green Bay Acme Packers under assumed names. The incident resulted in the players losing their amateur status and being barred from further college football participation. In January 1922, Carr responded with the severest possible action, kicking the Packers out of the APFA. A few months later, a group headed by future Hall of Famer Curly Lambeau applied for and was granted the Green Bay franchise.

The 1925 Chicago Cardinals-Milwaukee Badgers scandal followed four years later. In December 1925, four high school students played for the Milwaukee Badgers in a game against the Chicago Cardinals. Carr responded by imposing stiff penalties. The Milwaukee club was fined $500 and given 90 days within which to "dispose of all its club assets at which time the management must retire from the league." The Cardinals were fined $1,000 for their prior knowledge of the violation, and Cardinal player Art Foltz was temporarily banned from the league for life for having "induced the boys to play".

The issue arose again when Red Grange, star halfback of the University of Illinois football team, signed with the Chicago Bears. Grange played his final college game on November 21, signed with the Bears the next day, and appeared in his first professional game on November 26. Two weeks later, Ernie Nevers signed a professional football contract for $50,000. To help ease tensions and promote the professional game in the college circles, Carr established a rule prohibiting college players to sign with professional teams until after their class had graduated. These decisions gave the NFL credibility and much needed support from the colleges and universities from across the country.

Carr faced numerous challenges as the league's president. One of the principal challenges was expanding the league to a national scope. In 1920, 11 of the league's 14 teams were located in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, including franchises in small cities such as Akron, Decatur, Rock Island, Canton, Hammond and Muncie. Carr believed that the league needed to model itself after Major League Baseball with teams in the country's largest cities. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, reflecting Carr's goal of building a professional football league that was national in scope.

Another challenge was fostering stability in the league's membership. In 1921, the APFA had 21 teams. Through the 1920s, NFL franchises were constantly setting up and then folding. From 1920 through 1932, 19 teams lasted one year and 11 teams lasted two years. During his tenure as league president, Carr sought to recruit financially capable owners to operate teams in the nation's largest cities. He oversaw the establishment of successful teams in the nation's largest cities, including the following:
In January 1922, George Halas was granted a franchise to operate the Chicago Bears at Cubs Park. Halas took over the franchise previously known as the Decatur Staleys, which under Halas' leadership had won the APFA championship and begun paying its home games in Chicago in October 1921. Halas acquired ownership of the club from A. E. Staley and remained the owner of the Bears until his death in 1983.

In 1930, he moved the Dayton Triangles to Brooklyn as the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Brooklyn team remained with the NFL through the 1944 season. In 1932, Carr oversaw the founding of the Boston Redskins under the ownership of George Preston Marshall. He also oversaw the move of the Redskins to Washington, D.C., in 1937. In 1933, he added the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFL with Bert Bell as owner. Bell would later follow Carr as NFL president. Also in 1933, Carr added Pittsburgh Steelers (originally called the Pirates) under the ownership of Art Rooney. As a testament to Carr's pursuit of stable ownership, the Rooney family continues to own the Steelers. In 1934, he oversaw the move of the Portsmouth Spartans to Detroit, where they were renamed the Detroit Lions. In 1937, the Cleveland Rams joined the NFL. (The Rams moved to Los Angeles nine years later.)

At the same time, many of the teams in smaller cities either moved or were dissolved altogether. One of the casualties was Carr's original team, the Panhandles. They were renamed the Tigers in 1923, and played for four more seasons before dissolving after the 1926 season. By 1937, the National Football League had reduced its membership to ten teams with nine of the ten teams located in major cities that also had Major League Baseball teams. Only Green Bay, Wisconsin, lacked a major league baseball team. By placing teams in big cities, Carr gave the NFL gained the foundation of stability it needed to survive during the Great Depression.

In 1925, the Pottsville Maroons, a first year NFL team, played an exhibition game against a team of former Notre Dame stars including the famous "Four Horsemen". The game was played at Philadelphia's Shibe Park, which was within the protected territory of the Frankford Yellow Jackets, who were playing a league game just a few miles away at Legion Field. On three occasions prior to the game, Carr reportedly warned the Pottsville management not to play the game, "under all penalties that the league could inflict". Ignoring Carr's warnings, the game went on as scheduled. However, the Maroons stated that Carr knew of the game and had allowed it to take place. For this act, the Pottsville Maroons were fined $500 and had their franchise forfeited; as a result, the team was stripped of their NFL title, which was given to the Chicago Cardinals. However Carr's decision and handling of the situation is still being protested by many sports historians, as well as by the people of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and controversy still lingers about who actually won the 1925 NFL Championship, since the Maroons had earlier beaten Chicago and were actually awarded the league championship before they were suspended.

In 1925, and after rejecting applications submitted by numerous candidates seeking to operate a franchise in New York City, Carr recruited Tim Mara to start a club in New York City known as the New York Giants. The Mara family became one of the leading families in the NFL over the next 80 years, as both Tim Mara and his son, Wellington Mara, having been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Carr was inducted into the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.