Who Were The Zanesville Mark Grays?

The Zanesville Mark Grays were a independent professional football team that existed from 1916 to 1922. They participated in the inaugural regular season of the National Football League which was called the American Professional Football Association in 1920 by playing the Columbus Panhandles twice. The Mark Grays never joined the APFA. The team played home games in Zanesville, Ohio at Mark Athletic Field. The Mark Greys' history has mostly been lost in time but the team was believed to go 3-1-2 in 1920 only losing to the Columbus Panhandles.

Who Were The Youngtown Patricians?

The Youngstown Patricians were a semi-professional football team based in Youngstown, Ohio. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the professional football championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core of the National Football League.

The football team was organized in 1911 by the Patrician Club, a men's organization connected to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic parish, on the city's south side. As sports historian Vic Frolund observes, the Catholic lay organization was designed "to advance the moral, social, and physical welfare of its members". Nevertheless, by 1914, the team associated with the Patricians Club had become a highly competitive enterprise that aggressively recruited some of the top athletic talent in the region. Shortly after the team's founding, its 18 players faced an eight-game schedule among other semi-professional and sandlot teams in Ohio and Pennsylvania. After scoring seven wins and one loss, the Patricians embraced a longer and tougher schedule of nine games.

Faced with more experienced teams like the Canton Bulldogs, the McKeesport Olympics, the Pitcairn Quakers, and the Washington Vigilants, the Patricians increased their squad to 25 men and began to actively recruit well-established players. As Frolund writes: "Contracts were practically unheard of in the early days of the pro game. Consequently, a player could be with a different team every Sunday. His services were open to the highest bidder each week". In this competitive environment, the Patricians managed to secure seasoned players including Ray Miller (University of Notre Dame), Elgie Tobin (Pennsylvania State University), Russell "Busty" Ashbaugh (All-American mention at Brown University), and George Vedernack (Carlisle). This power-house team was led by player-coach Ray L. Thomas, a former star athlete at Youngstown's Rayen School.

Led by manager Joe Ormier and coach Thomas (fresh from the West Virginia University football team), the Patricians entered the 1915 season with a confidence that was soon reflected in the local media. In October, when the "Pats" faced off with a rival club from Barberton, Ohio, one newspaper account stated: "It is no wonder the Patricians have aimed at the state titular emblem this season. With such a grand organization; one that so admirably combines weight speed, courage, and sheer ability, it is even to their discredit that do not go in quest of the titular honors of several states or the country at large". The article added: "The maroon and gray [the Patricians' colors] need fear no professional football team".

The news report proved prophetic. That season, the Patricians won eight games and tied one. The most unexpected victory was a 13-7 win over the Washington, D.C., Vigilants. As Frolund writes: "Over a span of nine years, the Vigilants had won 90 games, lost but three, and had one tie. The Vigilants had claimed the World's Championship of professional football since 1907, defeating such teams as the famous Philadelphia Blues, Jersey City Pros, Harrisburg Giants, Altoona All-Stars, Maryland and New York Pros, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Reading, Pennsylvania, and Georgia". As Frolund observes, the victory enabled the Patricians to lay claim to the World's Championship.

The following season, however, the Patricians faced predictably tough competition as other semi-professional teams sought to challenge their unofficial but widely acknowledged championship. While the Patricians won a slim victory over the Washington Vigilants, they closed the season with a crippling 0-13 loss to the Columbus Panhandles. Their season record was a less-than-stellar 7-4.

The Patricians entered the 1917 season determined to win back the championship title and assembled a powerhouse team that appeared equal to the task. The team featured five All-Americans. Standouts included Stan Cofall (University of Notre Dame), Tom Gormley (Georgetown University), Franklin "Bart" MacComber (Illinois), Gil Ward (Notre Dame), Jim Barron (Georgetown), and Freeman Fitzgerald (Notre Dame). Ernest "Tommy" Hughitt, while at the same time playing for a team in Buffalo, moonlighted as a quarterback for Youngstown.

The opening contest of the 1917 season was against Jim Thorpe and his Canton Bulldogs. The game, which took place at Canton's Wright Field, drew a crowd of 7,000 fans. As Frolund notes, player-manager Thorpe, "who very seldom played a full game, played every minute of this one". He adds that the Bulldogs won a narrow victory in a contest where "the lineups read like a who's-who of post-graduate football, circa 1917". As sports historian Keith McClellan writes: "Although the Canton Bulldogs gained 168 yards with their rushing attack and passed for an additional eighty-two yards, they could not cross Youngstown's goal for a touchdown. The Youngstown defense was outstanding whenever Canton threatened to score. Howard 'Cub' Buck's drop kick from the fifteen yard line in the first period produced the only points of the game. Three times, Bart Macomber tried to tie the score with a field goal but failed each attempt. Canton won 3-0". McClellan adds that the game was characterized by "head-to-head competition" between the teams' two centers, Robert Peck (Youngstown) and Ralph "Fats" Waldsmith. According to McClellan, legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne listed Peck "as the best center for the first quarter of this century".

In the wake of this narrow defeat, the Patricians secured a victory over the Ohio Tigers, with a score of 14-6. In another contest with the world-champion Bulldogs later that season, however, the Patricians suffered a devastating loss of 13-0. Canton achieved this victory without the help of Thorpe, who was sidelined by a leg injury. Worse yet, the Youngstown team lost several of its brightest stars, including Cofall, to the Massillon Tigers. Sports historian McClellan observes that "a season that began with such high hopes ended with an unseasonable snowstorm and a modest 4 and 3 record". Meanwhile, the wave of recruitment that came with America's entry into World War I, along with a flu pandemic that led to restrictions on travel and large gatherings, temporarily slashed the ranks of the nation's professional and semi-professional teams.

The Patricians' effort to regroup under coach-manager Thomas unraveled in the wake of a 27-0 defeat at the hands of the Massillon Tigers on October 5, 1919. Yet, Patrician alumnus Russell "Busty" Ashbaugh (football coach of Youngstown's South High School and father of Notre Dame standout Russell "Pete" Ashbaugh) headed up a semi-professional team in Youngstown that fared well in regional contests. As Frolund notes, a team that was to be managed by another Patricians alumnus, Elgie Tobin, received a National Football League franchise, which had a schedule laid out for the 1922 NFL season. The project collapsed without explanation, and the team never played. While the area saw a brief revival of semi-professional football in the 1970s, with the organization of the Youngstown Hardhats, the Patricians club at least during its peak years was the closest that Youngstown would come to producing a nationally competitive professional football team.

Hughitt went on to the Buffalo professional football club, where he played from 1918 to 1924. During his time in Buffalo he won two state titles, and nearly won two NFL titles (1920 and 1921) as the team's coach and quarterback. Much of the rest of the team ended up with the brand-new Cleveland Panthers in 1919; thanks in large part to their connections to Hughitt, the Panthers played primarily New York-based teams.

Who Were The Windber Football Team?

Windber was an independent football team in 1920 that played home games at Windber, Pennsylvania. The team played only four regular season games. The first of which was played on October 17, 1920 against Altoona Techs in Windber, where the Windber football team won 13-0. Windber would then travel to Altoona, Pennsylvania to Cricket Field on October 23, 1920. The game resulted in a scoreless tie against the Altoona Techs. On October 31, 1920 the South Fork Olympics traveled to Windber where the Olympics lost 7-0 to Windber with reportedly 2000 in attendance. In the last game of the season the Windber football team traveled to McKeesport, Pennsylvania to play McKeesport Olympics at Cycler Park on November 13, 1920. Windber lost 7-0 to the McKeesport Olympics.

Who Are The Watertown Red and Black Football Team?

The Watertown Red & Black is a semi-professional American football team based in Watertown, New York. Founded in 1896, the team is the oldest semi-pro football team in the United States. Because of this, the team has the most wins (565), losses (268), ties (43) and games played (876) of any semi-professional team; their overall win percentage is .670.

Watertown did not participate in the first World Series of Pro Football, instead loaning its entire backfield to the Syracuse Athletic Club for its entry into the tournament. Watertown participated in the 1903 tournament, finishing second to the Franklin Athletic Club, to whom the Red & Black lost, 12-0. During the 1903 season, the Red & Black defeated a team from Cortland, New York by a score of 142-0, the second-highest in football history (behind only a 148-0 win by the Massillon Tigers over a team from Marion, Ohio a year later). In 1919, the team participated in the New York Pro Football League playoffs, losing in the regional quarterfinals ("Central New York Championship") to Syracuse.

The team currently plays in the Empire Football League and has won the league's title twice, in 1980 and 2009.

It was in 1902 that Watertown Athletic Association became known as the Red & Black Professional Football Team. Though it declined participation in the first World Series of Pro Football, it loaned players to the Syracuse Athletic Club to participate in that contest, the first ever attempted national professional football championship. (The enhanced Syracuse team, which included Pop Warner, won the tournament in an upset.) Football enthusiasm reached a peak locally in 1903, a year which included a 142-0 rout of a team from Cortland (which still stands as the second-biggest blowout in pro football history, behind the Massillon Tigers' 148-0 win over a team from Marion in the Ohio League a year later). The 1903 season ended with the Red & Black participating in the second (and as it would turn out, the final) World Series of Pro Football. Watertown lost the championship to the super-team Franklin Athletic Club of Pennsylvania by a 12-0 score; J. B. Wise, Mayor of Watertown and the Red & Black's business manager lost $8,000 in bets during this contest.

The Red & Black team, mostly located too far from pro football's core in Ohio and western Pennsylvania to play an extensive schedule against other fully-professional teams, then dropped back to the semi-professional level in 1904 and has played with semi-pro status ever since. This allowed the scheduling of teams located within what was then a reasonable travel distance of Watertown. Several teams during the decades of the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s brought the semi-professional championships of New York State home to Watertown. Alex Duffy wore the colors for 17 seasons, the last 15 as captain during the 1910s and 1920s. During the 1923-1925 seasons, the team won 31 games, losing only to Binghamton, 6-0. The 1927 squad was undefeated. In 1935, the Red & Black was reorganized under George (Buzzy) Gibson and produced several outstanding teams.

Jake Devito and Rocco Canale guided the team when it was a member of the Eastern Professional League in the late 40's and early 50's. In 1950, the Red & Black went undefeated until losing the championship game to Hudson Falls at the Fairgrounds in Watertown.

In 1954, after a two year hiatus, the Red & Black was reorganized by Dick Doe and Budjo Alteri, assisted by Earl Cole. Johnny Marra was the sponsor. Boots Gaffney coached the team, assisted by Joe Guardino and Nelson Sholett. In four seasons, beginning in 1954, the team won 28 games, lost one and tied two. In these four seasons, the defense allowed but 50 points. Sadly the team once again became only a fond memory after the 1959 season.

In 1969, Carmen Scudera, Francis Lyng and John Morgia headed efforts to revive the Red & Black. Pat Killorin was selected as coach and the team had a successful season of four wins, three losses. It was not only competitively successful but financially successful as well. Crowds of 5000 to 6000 were reported at the games.

In 1971 and 1974, the Red & Black went undefeated. In 1980, the team reached its pinnacle of modern history, nearly comparable to that of the 1903 team. The team, playing under the direction of Jim Powers and Tom LaDuke won the Empire Football League Championship and was ranked second in the nation by Pro Football Weekly.

The Red & Black have their own showcase in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as being the oldest semi-pro team in the nation. It is the very first showcase.

From 1980 until 1991 the team was under the direction of several different coaches. In 1991 to present, George Ashcraft took over as the head coach. Mike Britton was the offensive coordinator from 1992 through the 2000 season starting his own semi-pro team, the St. Lawrence Trailblazers in 2002. The Red and Black have made the playoffs every year since 1993. The team briefly played in the New York Amateur Football League (now the Northeastern Football Alliance) in the late 1990s, but a few years later, moved back to the EFL. In 2003 they won the Northern Division Championship.

In 2005 agency producers contacted several AFA member teams regarding use of players and coaches to give their TV commercials the professional football appearance they are looking for. One such Chunky soup commercial, featuring Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb did just that. Several Empire League football players were used in the production of that popular TV spot. The agency relied heavily on the coaching experience of AFA Hall of Famer George Ashcraft from the EFL's Watertown Red and Black team. Ashcraft provided the agency with the technical football advice (and several EFL players) they needed to make the McNabb/Chunky soup commercial convincing to the viewers. It is the Red and Black players and other EFL players wearing the Cleveland Browns uniforms.

In 2006 the Red and Black was the floater team for the EFL. They played all of the teams once. They were the only floater team, but were still considered a Northern Division team. They won the Northern Division Championship game against the Vermont Ice Storm and lost to the Albany Metro Mallers in the EFL championship game.

In 2007 the team finished with a 12-4 overall record. They were the 2007 Western Division Champs and lost in the EFL championship game to the Vermont Ice Storm 9-8. They went on to play in the National Tournament at Watertown High School. Before the game there was a tribute in memory of a fallen coach and soldier, Dave Connell, who lost his life in Iraq. The Tenth Mountain Division at Fort Drum landed a helicopter on the field before the game to deliver the game ball. Four members of the Watertown Red & Black team returned home from Iraq that week and played in the game. They were Ben Pritchard, Lorenzo Sanchez, Gregory Duckson, and Mike Jester. The team lost to the Monroe County Sting of the New York Amateur Football League 21-6. Monroe went on to win the National Championship game. Long-time veteran Earnie Wash also returned home from Iraq earlier in the season to finish the year.

The 2008 season saw Thomas Schultz of Sports Partners Inc. claim that he "bought" the team, with intentions to move it back to the Northeastern Football Alliance. The owners of the Red & Black denied this, and a court settlement eventually led to Schultz being barred from using the "Red & Black" name. Schultz's team took to the field as the Watertown Revolution for the NFA, with no further connection to the Red & Black. The original Red & Black played in the EFL and finished with a 4-7 overall record.

The Red & Black rebounded in 2009 to win the Empire Football League championship over the Plattsburgh North Stars 6-0 at the Alex Duffy Fairgrounds. Almost 3000 fans packed around the field to watch the team win its first EFL Championship since 1980. The Team finished with a 13-1 overall record. The Red and Black did go to Florida and played the Carolina Express in the Orange Blossom Bowl in January. After a hard fought battle the Red and Black came up short and lost 7-6. Running back Anthony Noel and LB Dustin Houppert received honors for the team for their outstanding play. The team finished with over 3800 yards in offense. The defense posted seven shutouts. The Red and Black was ranked 20th in the nation on October 13th.

To start the 2010 season the Watertown Red & Black traveled to Florida to play in the Orange Blossom Bowl. The Red and Black played The Carolina Express. It was a hard fought battle but the Red & Black came up short losing 7-6. Dustin Houppert and Anthony Noel received honors for the team for their great play. The Red & Black took the field in June with no choice but to defend their title. The team finished with a 12-3 overall record making it to their second championship in two years. The team lost to the Plattsburgh Northstars in the Championship game 13-10. The R&B missed a field goal with 22 seconds left that would have put the game in overtime. The Red and Black finished another great season. Running backs Brian Williams and Joe Brennan led the offense both rushing over a thousand yards. This was the first time since 1902. Also Mike Dumaw led the defense receiving all league honors becoming the second player on the Red & Black team to be the EFL Iron man of the year.

In 2011 the team finished 6-6. After starting the season 1-4 the Red and Black regrouped and surge into the playoffs beating the Glenns Falls Greenjackets on the road for the first round of playoffs. The team will never forget that day after the events that led up to the game. Being the true underdogs the Red and Black pulled out a 17-10 victory after trailing 10-0. A week later the team lost to the Syracuse Shock in a hard fought battle to finish the season 6-6. The team also earned many EFL honors at the end of the season.

In 2012 the Red and Black finished with a 9-5 overall record falling to the Plattsburgh North Stars in  the second round of the EFL Playoffs. The Red and Black had some very bright moments in 2012 defeating Leauge Champs the Monore County Sting and previously Leauge runner up the Syracuse Shock. The team once again finished with many players receiving EFL honors.

In 2013 the team finished with a 4-7 overall record. Unable to keep momentum do to bye weeks the Watertown footballers had some very bright moments. Beating the Northstars at home for the first time since the 2009 EFL Championship and Winning on the Road in a non league game vs the Impact who later went on to win the NFA Championship. The record does not indicate how good the team really was with 2014 looking to be a brighter year.

In 2014 the Red and Black made there way back to the EFL Title game in Plattsburgh falling 6-0 to the North Stars.  The Red and Black finished the season with a 10-3 overall record and once again proving to be a strong EFL contender.

In 2015 the Red and Black fished with a 8-4 record. The team lost to the Syracuse Strong 14-6 in the EFL Championship game. The team had to big road wins to start the season in New Jersey and Syracuse. The team also won big at home vs the Plattsburgh North Stars shutting them out 35-0. Another great season in the books for America's oldest semi pro football team.

The Red & Black Football Association has always shown a unique ability to draw players, fans, workers and supporters from all social and economic backgrounds. It is from this unique ability that the organization has drawn its strength throughout its long history and developed a deep sense of pride that can only come from working with such an organization.

The Red & Black Football Association has always shown a unique ability to draw players, fans, workers and supporters from all social and economic backgrounds. It is from this unique ability that the organization has drawn its strength throughout its long history and developed a deep sense of pride that can only come from working with such an organization.

Who Were The Union Club of Phoenixville?

The Union Club of Phoenixville was a professional football team based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. 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 14-7, in 1920. The team however would fold 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 experience 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 sever 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 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 team defeated several local teams, including their rivials, 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 12, 1920 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 would go on to win the game 14-7.

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.

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 5-2-0 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 Shenandoah Yellow Jackets?

The Shenandoah Yellow Jackets were an Anthracite League football team that played during the league's two years of existence in the 1923 and 1924 football seasons.

They played twelve games in the 1923 football season finishing the season with five wins, six losses and a tie. Their actual league record was three wins, three losses and a tie as the other wins and losses were with teams outside the Anthracite Football League. Nevertheless they still finished third in the overall league standings with a tally of 24 points scored for to 26 points against.

The Yellow Jackets returned for the 1924 football season to complete eight games, going 4–4 for a .500 winning percentage, but two of those games were non league related, giving the Yellowjackets three wins, three losses and no ties, with a points tally of 27 points scored for and 30 points against. They finished second behind the leading Pottsville Maroons with six wins, no losses and a tie in the five-team league.

Who Were The Shelby Blues?

The Shelby Blues were an American football team based in Shelby, Ohio. The team played in the Ohio League from 1900 to 1919. In 1920, when the Ohio League became the APFA (now known as the National Football League), the Blues did not join but continued to play against APFA teams, only to later suspend operations. The Blues returned to play as an independent between 1926 and 1928.

The team was named for their blue uniforms, that were worn in their first year. In 1905, the Blues replaced the Shelby Athletic Club as the top football team in town. A year later the team was the runner-up for the Ohio League title, behind only the Akron Indians. The Blues won Ohio League championships in 1910 and 1911, with Peggy Parratt, an early pioneer and master of the forward pass, at quarterback. In 1904, the Blues are credited with signing the first black players in American professional football, halfback Charles Follis

Who Were The Ravenna Sentries?

The Ravenna Sentries were a group of local players who had played in 1916 as the Ravenna Cubs. Most of them signed up for military service in 1917 and serviced together in the 136th Machine Gun Battalion Company C from Massillon, Ohio in the Great War. While at Camp Sheridan they formed a company team that beat all their opponents. When they returned a new team was formed using the name Sentries. The team leader was quarterback Clarence Baxter (blockingback in the singlewing which they played) who called the plays and was the leading receiver. William Trexler, founder of Trexler Rubber Company was one of the halfbacks. The Sentries finished the 1919 season 8-0-3, scored 149 points to 13 and finished with eight straight shutouts. They were a light (average weight of 140 pounds per player) team that used the modern passing game. In a 1920 contest against the Williams Warren Tire squad posted a 133-0 victory. That season they had a 7-2-2 record and out scored opponents 353-25.Their final season appears to have been in 1926.

Who Were The Pine Village Football Team?

Pine Village professional football started in 1898 and was located near the town fire station. The local team was important Indiana precursor to modern professional football organizations. Clinton Beckett introduced football to Pine Village High School 1898. Town and high school teams played on bottomland, northwest of here, starting local football tradition. Town team, the Villagers, managed by C.J. Shackleton and later by Claire Rhode. Team became "professional" 1915, claiming state and regional championships. Jim Thorpe, All-American, played for Villagers in 1915 Thanksgiving Day game against Purdue All-Stars: Villagers won 29 to 0. Team was a founder of Indiana Football League 1917. Following World War I, the Villagers played intermittently until 1927. The team compiled a 46-16-11 record over its life span.

Who Were The Muncie Offers More Athletic Club?

The 1920 Muncie Offers More AC were a new team in 1920, but proved to be one of the strongest teams in the Gas Belt region. Scheduling their first 7 games on the road, due to the APFA Muncie Flyers having already booked Walnut Park for their games, the OMAC's returned back to Muncie having won 4 games and tied 1 other game.

In their brief 2-year history, the OMAC's won 11 games, lost 4 games and tied 1 game. They beat some of the stronger teams in the state, such as Jonesboro, Elwood, Indianapolis Ferndales and Huntington. Their 4 losses being to the strong Sheridan and Muncie Flyers in 1920 and to the Indianapolis Football Club and Kokomo teams in 1921.

Who Were The Masillon Tigers?

The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become "All-Massillons" to win another title in 1907. The team returned as the Tigers in 1915 but, with the reemergence of the Bulldogs, only won one more Ohio League title. Pro football was popularized in Ohio when the amateur Massillon Tigers, hired four Pittsburgh pros to play in the season-ending game against Akron. At the same time, pro football declined in the Pittsburgh area, and the emphasis on the pro game moved west from Pennsylvania to Ohio.

The team opted not to join the APFA (later renamed the NFL) in 1920; it remained an independent club through 1923, when the Tigers folded. During their time as an independent, the Tigers never played against any team in the NFL, even though several other independent teams did. The Massillon Tigers team name was transferred to Massillon Washington High School, who still uses it today.

The Massillon area had fielded several amateur football teams featuring only local players since the early 1890s. However while some had performed well, the others were more likely to be defeated when they played their cross-county arch-rival, Canton. Therefore a group of 35 area businessmen meet on September 3, 1903, at the Hotel Sailor in Massillon to form the area's first professional football team. Jack Goodrich, who expected to play halfback for the new team, was named manager. Meanwhile Ed J. Stewart, a young and ambitious editor of the city newspaper The Evening Independent, was named as the team's first coach. Stewart had playing experience while attending Western Reserve College and Mount Union College. Apart from being the team's coach, he later appointed himself as the team's quarterback.

J.J. Wise, who was the Massillon Clerk of Courts, led a committee to secure the necessary funds for a new football and jerseys that were nearly the same color. The local venders only had a sufficient quantity of one jersey style to outfit an entire team. Those jerseys imitated the orange and black striped attire of the Princeton Tigers. So the new Massillon team was christened the "Tigers."

When the Tigers began play in 1903, several of the expected starters hadn't touched a football in eight or more years. According to locals belief, Baldy Wittman, 32-year-old proprietor of a local cigar store and a spare-time police officer, had never played the game at all. Charles "Cy" Rigler, who later became a famous major league baseball umpire started at tackle. Wittman opened at an end and was elected the team captain. Meanwhile Stewart lined himself up at quarterback. The Tigers first game against Wooster College ended in a 6-0 defeat. A biased official was the excuse for the loss. The Tigers followed their first ever game with a 16-0 victory over Stewart's alma mater, Mount Union College, a 6-0 victory over the Akron Imperials, and a 38-0 over the Akron Blues. After a 34-0 victory over the Dennison Panhandles, the Tigers prepared for their cross-county rivals, a sandlot team from Canton. Betting on the games, during the early 1900s was common. It is believed that over $1000 was risked on the game's outcome. The Tigers held on to a 16-0 score to win the first game between the two clubs.

After the Canton-Massillon game, the Tigers began to look at winning the mythical "Ohio League" championship. On Thanksgiving Day 1903, the Tigers avenged their only loss of the season against Wooster College with a 34-0 score. This outcome gave legitimacy to the belief that the Tigers were robbed by a corrupt official in their inaugural game. On December 5, an agreement was signed by Massillon and the Akron East Ends to play. The contract called for a 75-25 split of the gate, with the winner taking the 75% of the gate. However Massillon soon found itself in a troubling situation due to injuries to several of their star players. The team's management decided to replace the injured players with "ringers". Several pro football players from the Pittsburgh area soon traveled to Ohio to play for Massillon. Among them was Bob Shiring and Harry McChesney, who played in 1902 with the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League. These player developments did not sit well with the Akron media, most notably the Akron Beacon-Journal. Massillon would go on to the win the championship game 12-0, however the Akron Beacon-Journal later stated that most of Massillon's 75% gate money went to the Pittsburgh ringers. Plans were soon in the mix for spending $1,000 on a 1904 Tigers team.

In 1904 the Tigers repeated as Ohio League champions. It was during this time that a least seven teams in Ohio began hiring players for games. Most of these "ringers" were from Pittsburgh. Many players were hired on a per game basis and were never signed to any written contract. Ted Nesser, of the infamous Nesser Brothers, played for the Shelby Blues until he was hired to play one game for the Tigers. For the next two season he remained in the Tigers lineup. However after the Tigers began the 1904 season, many Massillonians were bored with the ease of the Tigers' wins, even at this early stage. That season the Tigers defeated a club from Marion 148-0. Also keep in mind that a touchdown counted only five points until 1912. However under the rules of the time, the team that scored turned around and received the next kickoff (traditionally, onside kicks were far more commonplace—and easier—at this time, but Marion chose not to use them for reasons unexplained). During the game a Massillon end named Walt Roepke ran a punt back for a touchdown. Marion never got another chance to handle the ball, as Massillon took kickoff after kickoff and moved down the field to touchdown after touchdown.

The Tigers defeated the Akron East Ends again (now renamed the Akron Athletic Club) 6-5 after Akron's Joe Fogg missed an extra point kick on the last play of the game.

By 1905 the Tigers were considered one of the top three teams in the country, along with the Latrobe Athletic Association and the Canton Bulldogs. Both teams were constantly fighting for the best players in football. In fact the Bulldogs, or Canton Athletic Club as it was called at the time, formed their football team in 1905 with sole objective of beating the Tigers, who had won every Ohio League championship since 1903.

Both teams spent lavish amounts of money to bring in ringers from out of town. The teams first played each other twice in 1905, with Massillon winning the first game 14-4. The second game saw a 10-0 Massillon win, however the win drew protests from Canton coach Blondy Wallace, who argued against a 10-ounce ball used by Massillon during the game, instead of the regular 16-ounce ball. The 10-ounce ball was provided to the Tigers by their owner, a Massillon newspaper editor. The protest fell on deaf ears, and Massillon was named the 1905 Ohio League champions.

In the off-season prior to the 1906 season, a news story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer alleged that the Canton Athletic Club was financially broke and could not pay its players for that final game. The club denied the allegation and insisted that every dollar promised had indeed been delivered. Many Canton followers believed the story had originated in Massillon as a trick to discredit their team and make it tougher for Canton to recruit players for 1906. Massillon coach, Ed Stewart, who had newspaper connections was believed by Canton to have planted the story. However, while Canton was in fact losing money in 1905, a group of area businessmen shouldered the losses.

In a counter-charge, Canton insisted that the Tigers were also deeply in debt. However, a statement by the Tigers showed $16,037.90 in receipts and only $16,015.65 in expenditures. The only problem with Massillon's figures was that they only listed salaries, including railroad fare, at $6,740.95, which means the players were getting only about $50 per game. However, it is believed, like with Canton, that Massillon's area boosters picked up whatever losses the Tigers accured during 1905.

For the 1906 season, Canton coach Wallace signed the entire backfield of the Tigers to the Canton team. While in Massillion, Ed Stewart was promoted from head coach to manager. Sherburn Wightman, who played under Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago, was named the team's new coach.

However, by 1906, the Bulldogs and Tigers were involved in a game-rigging scandal that effectively killed both teams. was the first major scandal in professional football. It was more notably the first known case of professional gamblers' attempting to fix a professional sport. It refers to an allegation made by the Massillon Independent newspaper charging the Bulldogs coach, Blondy Wallace, and Tigers end, Walter East, of conspiring to fix a two game series between the two clubs. The scandal called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon was to win the second, forcing a third game-with the biggest gate-to be played legitimately, with the 1906 Ohio League championship at stake. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to damage the club's reputation. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the second game, the scandal tarnished the Bulldogs and Tigers names and reportedly helped ruin professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s. To this day the details of the scandal consist of charges and counter-charges.

A reorganized "All-Massillons" played in 1907, after which professional football in Massillon effectively stopped. The team was made up of many of the former Tigers players and was managed by Sherburn Wightman. The team defeated the Columbus Panhandles, with the Nesser Brothers in the line-up, 13-4, and celebrated its fifth consecutive state championship. Because of the game's importance, Massillon brought in two ringers, Peggy Parratt and Bob Shiring.

In 1911 a Canton-Massillon game was hyped beforehand as a return of the 1905-06. However after seeing the 57-0 Canton victory, it became apparent that this Massillon team bore little resemblance to the Tigers' teams of the past. However the Massillon lineup did consist of Tigers greats Baldy Wittmann and Frank Bast.

During the summer of 1914, members of the Massillon Chamber of Commerce asked Jack Cusack, the manager of the re-organized Canton Bulldogs, to attend a secret meeting to discuss a proposed new Massillon Tigers football team. Cusack believed that a game against a strong Massillon team and a restart of the historic Canton-Massillon rivalry was bound to bring in fans to Canton. However in order to get the team fielded, Massillon planned to raid the Akron Indians roster of its key players. Because of this, Cusack refused to help Massillon restart their club. In 1914, an unwritten agreement existed among Ohio League managers that refrained them from raiding other teams. Also a raid of players would start a bidding war, raise players' salaries for all teams, and destroy the fragile profit margin already established. Cusack refused to provide a Canton-Massillon game if players from the Indians were raided. Plans for a new "Tigers" were put on hold until 1915.

The Tigers returned to the Ohio League in 1915. They were backed by local businessmen, Jack Donahue and Jack Whalen. Massillon did end up raiding the Indians team of their top players. In turn Cusack took in the Akron players, and raided the Youngstown Patricians, hoping to improve his team. Massillon hired new ringers for a new bidding war with Canton, however Cusack signed the legendary Jim Thorpe to his squad. The Tigers ended their 1915 season with a share of the 1915 championship with Canton. Both teams finished the season 5-2-0. One anonymous Massillon official revealed it had taken between $1,500 and $2,000 to bring in the Tigers lineup that opposed Canton in the final game. This would be Massillon's last "Ohio League" title, and a disputed one at that—the very Patricians squad that the Tigers had raided earlier in the season had racked up an even more impressive 9-0-1 record against lesser talent, including a win against the Washington Vigilants, one of the East Coast's top professional teams, leading many observers to give Youngstown the title instead.

The Tigers rebirth, saw the team incorporate many of the top players of the era. For example Knute Rockne, Charles Brickley, Gus Dorais, Bob Nash, Stan Cofall, and, future Hall of Famer, Greasy Neale. The 1916 season saw the Tigers end up in second place of the "Ohio League" standings behind the Canton Bulldogs. However despite record crowds for two Bulldog-Tigers match-ups, Massillon lost money on the season, while Canton barely made a profit. Most of the Midwestern major teams were running into debt. Since every player knew Jim Thorpe was being paid $250 a game, many players of considerably less talent were holding out for $100 or $125 a game. Team managers had to produce stars to draw crowds, but the crowds could never be big enough to pay for the stars. Teams desperately needed something like the old "Ohio League" sub-rosa agreement where the managers agreed to not raid other team rosters. Only that sort of agreement could hold salaries at a responsible level.

In 1917, Bob Nash promised an "Ohio League" championship to the fans in Massillon. In doing so he put together an offensive line that included Charlie Copley at tackle and Al Wesbecher at center. However after storming out to a 4-0 start, the Tigers were defeated by Stan Cofall and the Youngstown Patricians 14-6. However later that season Cofall and Bob Peck decided to play for Massillon which prematurely ended the Pats 1917 campaign. However despite their winning seasons and star talent, Massillon was still losing money. One reason for the disparity is that Massillon was smaller than Canton, meaning it had a smaller fan base to support its football team. The Tigers had highly devoted following, however they weren't enough of them. Also the city lacked a decent ballpark. as a result many of the Tigers' biggest home games were undersold. The only way to make the Tigers profitable was to use Peggy Parratt's old Akron scheme of bringing in just enough high-priced stars to win. Even then, the Tigers would have probably operated at a loss, but one small enough that it could be made up for by the team's backers. However Massillon did upset the Bulldogs in their second game of the season series 6-0, behind two field goals kicked by Cofall. But despite the upset, Canton was regarded as the U.S. champion; Massillon couldn't make a serious claim. The Tigers had lost their first game with the Bulldogs by a larger margin and dropped two other games to lesser opponents. It had not been a good season for Massillon. They lost three games on the field, and their backers dropped $4,700 at the gate. After the season, a "Cleveland critic" chose an all-pro team from among the four major northeastern Ohio teams. The Massillon players listed on the all-pr listing were Bob Nash, Bob Peck, Pike Johnson, Charley Copley, and Stan Cofall. One of the teams Massillon would play (and defeat soundly) in 1917 was the Buffalo All-Stars, who would later join the NFL as the Buffalo All-Americans in 1917.

The team suspended operations in 1918 due to a flu pandemic and the Great War, but returned in 1919.

Many of the top teams of the "Ohio League" returned to action in 1919. At a meeting on July 14, 1919, the managers held a "get-together" at Canton's Courtland Hotel. The managers decided on a pay scale for officials and agreed to refrain from stealing each others players for the upcoming season. However the big surprise came when Massillon backer Jack Donahue refused to go along with a proposal to limit salaries. Massillon had trouble with the increasing cost of players and would profit more by a salary cap than anyone else. Donahue insisted, "If a manager wants to pay $10,000 for a player, that's his business."

The Tigers were set to begin their 1919 season in New York City against the New York Brickley Giants, organized by the same Charles Brickley that had played for Massillon in 1917. However due to a dispute over the application of New York's blue laws, that prohibited playing football on Sundays, Brickley's Giants were forced to fold. (The Giants team would however regroup and play in the National Football League in 1921 and as an independent until 1923; a second, unrelated New York Giants would join the league for 1925 and this is the New York Giants team that is in the NFL today.) The Tigers did play well in 1919, however once again the came in second to Canton in the "Ohio League" standings. The team's backers then decided to fold the team after losing over $5,000 during the season. Stan Cofall also abandoned the Tigers after the season. He and many of the now former-Tigers players left to play for the Cleveland Tigers.

During the August 20, 1920 the first meeting aimed at establishing the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922), there was hope that F.J. Griffiths, of the Massillon steel industry, would resurrect the franchise, but the meeting passed with no word from Griffiths. During late August and early September of that same year, Ralph Hay and Jim Thorpe tried without success to find a backer for a new Massillon team. While the Tigers consistently lost money for themselves, they were always a good draw for others. In fact it was a strong rivalry with Massillion that helped lead Jim Thorpe to Canton. Cupid Black, an All-America guard from Yale, was also rumored to restart the Tigers franchise, however he later turned down the offer.

On September 17, 1920 at Ralph Hay's Hupmobile dealership in Canton, the charter members of the future NFL formally established the new league. During that meeting, the first order of business was to decided the future of the Massillon franchise. It was then that the managers were confronted by Vernon Maginnis, the manager of the unsuccessful Akron Indians in 1919, who wanted to field a traveling team and call it the "Massillon Tigers". Hay and the other managers turned down the offer because they didn't feel the franchise would pan out and because nobody wanted to see the proud Massillon Tigers name taken in vain and made a road attraction. The current Akron owners, now renamed the Pros, Art Ranney and Frank Nied were also associated with Maginnis during his ownership of the team in 1919, and had many problems with him during that season.

Maginnis' representative was not admitted to the meeting, however the Massillon Tigers were counted as present at the charter meeting of the NFL. Hay, who'd tried to get a real Massillon team restarted, considered himself as their spokesman. Once the meeting started, he stood up and announced that Massillon was withdrawing from professional football for the season of 1920. And to resure that Maginnis wouldn't try to reestablish a Massillon "franchise", Hay told the American Professional Football Association managers: "Do not schedule any `other' Massillon team".

The 10 teams represented at the September 17 meeting are considered charter members of the AFPA, and, by extension, of the National Football league. Massillon is usually counted on a technicality. The team, under Hay, were there, they just never played in the new league.

Who Were The Louisville Breckenridges?

Louisville, Kentucky had two professional American football teams in the National Football League: the Breckenridges (or Brecks for short) from 1921 to 1923 and the Colonels in 1926. The NFL intended for the Brecks to be a traveling team, however the team played a series of "home" games. All Brecks home games were played at Eclipse Park, until the stadium caught fire and burned to the ground on November 20, 1922. Meanwhile, the Colonels played all of their games on the road. While the Colonels were really a traveling team out of Chicago they are usually accepted as a continuation of the Brecks franchise.

The Brecks dated their beginnings back to 1899. Officially the name of the team was the Louisville Breckenridge Club. The club was located in Louisville at corner of Fifth and St. Catherine Streets at what was then the city's perimeter. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported in 1922 that the Brecks dated "back fifteen years, springing from a boys neighborhood team, the Floyds and Brecks, that has kept itself intact probably longer than any independent team in the country." At first the team was considered an amateur team, made up of mostly neighborhood boys. However by 1919, the team was considered professional, although evidently still made up of local players.

The Breckenridge's were named for former Vice President from Kentucky, John C. Breckenridge.

The team's first ever professional football game was held on November 16, 1919. The game resulted in a 17-0 Brecks victory over the New Albany Calumets. That win allowed the Brecks to claim the mythical "Falls Cities" title. While a champion was declared, no "league" existed at this time.
Brecks owner, Aaron Hertzman, sent a $25 franchise fee to the NFL on February 21, 1921. The Official NFL Encyclopedia confirms that although officials from Louisville failed to attend the April 1921 league meeting, the NFL did receive a letter requesting a franchise from the Breckenridges. As a result, Hertzman beat out many of the other professional and semi-pro football team in the Louisville area. In 1920, there were at least nine independent teams in the area, including the Brecks and the Evansville Ex-Collegians.

NFL President Joseph Carr liked the idea of having professional football in cities with strong baseball traditions. This may answer why he granted Hertzman and the Brecks their franchise in 1921. Unlike today, the announcement of Louisville being granted an NFL franchise, was widely ignored by the Louisville press. However in 1920, only a little attention had been paid the league.

The Brecks were one of eight teams that joined the NFL (then called the American Professional Football Association) in 1921. Carr had intended to use the Brecks a traveling team to fill in open dates in the schedules of the more "established" teams. However the Brecks did not operate like one. The team played only two league games in 1921, one at home and one on the road, hardly justify the Brecks as a road team. But they were all Louisville born or raised in Louisville. And unlike most road teams, the Brecks' two league games were not with established teams but with the struggling Evansville Crimson Giants and the Columbus Panhandles, another road team.

Hertzman managed the Brecks. The team played split schedules between league games and local, independent games.

The Louisville Breckenridge Club first organized a football team at the turn of the century. The Breckenridge club was named after former Vice President John C. Breckinridge, who served under James Buchanan the 15th President of the United States. Breckinridge from Kentucky also served in Congress and the Senate and later was the Confederate Secretary of War. At first the Brecks were an amateur team, but later they became professional, claiming the Falls Cities Title in 1919.

Despite missing out on the American Professional Football Association’s league meeting, Owner, Aaron Hertzman was able to get the Louisville Brecks into the league by pay a $25 franchise fee, beating out several other local teams. The Brecks would split their schedule between local semi-pro teams and the APFA. The Brecks would begin the season with a 21-0 loss to the Evansville Crimson Giants on October 2nd. It would be two months before their next league game a 6-0 loss to the Columbus Panhandles at Eclipse Park on December 4th. A November 6th game against the Cincinnati Celts was cancelled as the Celts failed to fulfill their contract. Despite their 0-2 league record the Brecks would post a record 4-4-1 overall.

The APFA would change its name to the National Football League as the Louisville Brecks suffered a trying season. Playing a tough early road schedule the Brecks were outscored 134-0 in losses to the Canton Bulldogs, Toledo Maroons and Racine Legion. The Brecks would break through and defeat the Evansville Crimsons Giants 13-6 in their first home game. The Brecks had two additional games scheduled at Eclipse Park cancelled after the stadium was destroyed by a fire. The Brecks would have been able to break even financially if they could have finished the season, instead they posted a 1-3 record and lost money.

After the destruction of Eclipse Park, the Brecks would use Parkway Field. However, they could only draw one home game, and played just three games overall and failed to score in any game posting a 0-3 record while being outscored 90-0. The Brecks were going to play an additional game against the Akron Pros, but the game was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The Brecks lone home game against the Oorang Indians on December 9th would be notable as it would feature the first halftime show. The Brecks would lose the game 19-0 as Walter Lingo provided the entertainment to promote the sale of his Airedale Terriers.

The Brecks would pull out of the NFL playing their final season as members of the Fall Cities Football Federation. Owner Aaron Hertzman would go on to serve as the NFL’s sergeant of arms.

The Louisville Colonels were created in 1926 to fill the schedules of the expanded NFL, but they were a traveling team that operated out of Chicago. That season, the NFL added several semi-pro teams to their ranks, mostly to keep them out of the rival American Football League. While the Colonels were really a traveling team out of Chicago, they are usually accepted as a continuation of the Brecks franchise. Bill Harley, the former owner of the Toldeo Maroons, was granted the right to manage the Louisville Colonel operation out of Chicago, while Hertman still owned the team.

The NFL would nominal return to Louisville in 1926, with team known as the Louisville Colonels. Despite having no official connection to the Louisville Brecks, the NFL record books would consider them a continuation of the original Brecks franchise. The 1926 season saw the NFL expand to 22 teams to prevent a startup league called the American Football League from taking a foothold. The Colonels would operate out of Chicago and play all their games on the road. Much like the Brecks in their final season, the Colonels failed to score any points, posting a 0-4 record under Coach Lenny Sachs as they were outscored 108-0. The NFL would not return to Kentucky, as its close proximity to Cincinnati and market size has never made a viable professional sports market.

The Colonels failed to register an NFL victory during the 1926 season. The team's first game resulted in a 13-0 loss to the Canton Bulldogs, while their second game resulted in a 47-0 loss to the Detroit Panthers. Louisville's final two NFL games came on November 7, 1926 (Chicago Bears 34, Louisville Colonels 0) and November 14, 1926 (Green Bay Packers 14, Louisville Colonels 0). The team went 1-12 against APFA/NFL opponents when in the league.

The Brecks-Colonels franchise is the last team from the four currently extant major professional sports leagues of North America to play its home games in Kentucky, although the Kentucky Colonels played in the American Basketball Association from 1967 until the ABA-NBA merger brought the ABA into the National Basketball Association after the 1975-76 season. Only five of 38 different players played NFL football outside of Louisville.