1.
Jimmy Conzelman
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James Gleason Dunn Conzelman was an American football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was selected in 1969 as a quarterback on the National Football League 1920s All-Decade Team. A native of St. Louis, Conzelman played college football for the 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets team that won the 1919 Rose Bowl, in 1919, he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference quarterback for the Washington University Pikers football team. He was also an owner in Detroit and, as player-coach. He served as coach of the NFLs Chicago Cardinals from 1940 to 1942. He led the Cardinals to an NFL championship in 1947 and Western Division championships in 1947 and 1948 and he was also an executive with St. Louis Browns in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1945. Conzelman was born James Gleason Ryan Dunn in St. Louis, Missouri and he was the son of James Dunn and Marguerite Ryan, though his father died when he was still a baby. In 1902, his mother married a dentist, Oscar Conzelman, Conzelman attended Loyola Academy and later Central High School in St. Louis. He began playing football as a halfback at Central High in 1914, after a realignment of high school districts in 1915, Conzelman attended McKinley High School. He led the 1915 McKinley football team to a league championship, Conzelman enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis in 1916. He played freshman football that year but enlisted in the United States Navy when the United States entered World War I in 1917 and he was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station north of Chicago. During two years of service, he played for the Naval Stations football, baseball, and basketball teams and he also took up boxing while in the Navy and won a championship in the middleweight division. He was the quarterback of the 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team that defeated previously undefeated Navy, Conzelmans teammates on the 1918 Great Lakes team included George Halas and Paddy Driscoll, all three of whom were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After the war, Conzelman turned down offers to become a professional boxer and he played for the 1919 Washington Pikers football team that compiled a 5–2 record and outscored opponents 127 to 30. Conzelman was selected as the All-Missouri Valley Conference quarterback for 1919 and he also was the catcher for the 1920 Washington University baseball team and organized an orchestra, played banjo, and wrote songs while attending Washington University. During the spring semester of 1920, Conzelman lost his eligibility to play due to academic deficiencies. His father had died in May 1919, and he withdrew from school to help support his mother and younger siblings. In June 1920, Conzelman announced that he would not return to Washington University in the fall and he spent the summer leading an orchestra in Arkansas
2.
Borchert Field
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Borchert Field was a baseball park in the United States in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the field for several professional baseball clubs for most of the years from 1888 through 1952. It was made obsolete by the new County Stadium in 1953 and was demolished later that year, the site is now covered by Interstate 43. The park was built on a block bounded by North 7th, 8th, Chambers. This was a used by a number of ballparks in the late 19th. The best-known example of this design is likely the Polo Grounds in New York City. Originally known as Athletic Park, the park opened for baseball 129 years ago in May 1888, during winter, it was flooded and served as an ice hockey rink. The ballfield replaced the Wright Street Grounds, the ballpark operated as the home of the Milwaukee Creams of the Western League, later renamed the Brewers. The Creams/Brewers played there through the 1894 season, the ballfield was also sublet to the Milwaukee Brewers club of the major league American Association for the last part of the 1891 season, replacing the disbanded Cincinnati Kellys Killers. 1891 was the last year of the AA as a major league, the AA merged into the National League for 1892, and the Milwaukee franchise was dropped. Louis as the St. Louis Browns in 1902 and that team became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. A new minor version of the American Association formed in 1902. Meanwhile, another new minor league club, the Creams, began play in a new version of the Western League, Milwaukee was too small to support two ballclubs, and the Western League entry folded after 1903. The Western League and the AA formed a rivalry, and would maintain business relations through the years. The AA Brewers would play for 51 seasons before displaced by the Milwaukee Braves, during the 1920s, the ballpark had been unofficially dubbed Borcherts Orchard by the media. Borchert Field was also home to Milwaukees short-lived entries in the Negro Leagues and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the Chicks won a pennant in their only year of operation. One of the more times for the stadium occurred during the early 1940s when Bill Veeck owned the team. The screen was on wheels, so any given day it might be in place or not, there was no rule against that activity as such, so he got away with it
3.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
4.
Oorang Indians
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The Oorang Indians /ˈuːˌræŋ/ were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio. The franchise was a novelty team put together by Walter Lingo to market his Oorang dog kennels, all of the Indians players were Native American, with Jim Thorpe serving as its leading player and coach. The team played in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923, of the 20 games they played over two seasons, only one was played at home in nearby Marion. With a population well under a thousand people, LaRue remains the smallest town ever to have been the home of an NFL franchise, or probably any professional team in any league in the United States. In 1919 Oorang Kennel owner, Walter Lingo, met and became friends with Jim Thorpe of the Canton Bulldogs, Lingo had had a deep passion for the Airedales, which he raised, and for Native American culture. LaRue, Ohio, was once the site of an old Wyandot village, Thorpe first came to Lingos defense after neighboring farmers accused Lingos Oorang Kennels of raising a nation of sheep killers. Thorpe came to Lingos aid by testifying that he knew an Oorang Airedale that had saved the life of a 6-year-old girl, named Mabel. Afterwards, Lingo and Thorpe became friends and soon began hunting together, in 1921, Lingo invited Thorpe and Pete Calac, who was a teammate of Thorpes at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, to his plantation in LaRue to hunt for opossum. It was on this trip that the men agreed on a way both to advertise Airedales and to employ Thorpe, whose career was now on the decline, Lingo would purchase a franchise in the young National Football League, and Thorpe would run the team. At the time, the cost of purchasing an NFL franchise was $100, meanwhile, just one of Lingos Airedales sold for $150. Lingo saw the idea of a franchise as a way of touring the countrys leading cities for the purpose of advertising his Airedales. Therefore, he placed two conditions on the team, the first was that Thorpe had to field an all-Indian team. Secondly, Lingo wanted the team to run his kennels in addition to playing football. Thorpe and Calac agreed to both terms, finally, Thorpe would be paid $500 a week to coach, play, and manage the kennels. In June 1922, Lingo, who served as the teams business manager, traveled to Canton, Ohio. He named his team the Oorang Indians, after his kennels, the name stood out to sports and dog fans alike. Lingo originally wanted the team to play out of LaRue, the issue led to the club performing almost exclusively on the road as a traveling team, where it could draw the biggest crowds and best advertise the dogs. However, Thorpe and Lingo also felt that it would be nice to keep the Indians at home once or twice a year, the nearest town with a suitable football field was Marion, Ohio, which served as the location for the Indians home games
5.
Columbus Panhandles
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The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroads and they were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before folding after one season. The Panhandles are credited with playing in the first NFL game against another NFL opponent and they have zero NFL championships, but Joseph Carr, the teams owner from 1907 to 1922, is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his work as NFL president. The earliest existence of the Panhandles was in 1900, the Columbus Press-Post reported Jack Walsh creating the Panhandle railroad team consisting of big hardy railroad men, no other articles in 1900 were written about the Panhandles. A game was scheduled for October 19 of next year, however, in 1901, managed by William Butler of the Ohio Medical University, the Panhandles played two games against the Columbus Barracks, a team consisting of local soldiers. The results were split, the first was a 2–6 loss while the second was a 12–6 win, Butler left the Panhandles for unknown reasons, and the new manager for the 1902 season was Harry Greenwood. Greenwood placed advertisements in every newspaper he could in order to schedule games against local opponents and his ad read The Panhandle Athletic Club has organized a football team and would like to play any college, high school or manufacturing team on Saturday or Sunday. As a result, the Panhandles scheduled four games in 1902, again, the Panhandles got a new manager for the 1903 season, E. E. Griest. Griest needed help with the team, so he hired Ben Chamberlain to coach the team, after an exhibition game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Panhandles won their first game of the season, a 38–0 victory over Neil Avenue Athletic Club. This victory gave the team some unexpected press, the Columbus Citizen wrote the first article praising the team, the Panhandles 1903 season ended with a 5–3 record. In 1904, Joseph Carr, who was a writer for the Ohio State Journal and manager of the railroads baseball team the Famous Panhandle White Sox. However the Panhandles didn’t take off and the team played just two games, Carr tried again three years later in 1907. One of the first things Carr did when he became the owner of the Panhandles was to one the railroads policies. Since most of the players were employed by the railroad. Because of this perk, Carr was able to schedule mostly road games, eliminating the expenses of stadium rental, game promotion, and security for the field. However, while the team did play the majority of their games on the road as a traveling team, the Panhandles adopted an amateur sandlot mentality for their playing style. Since the team was composed mainly of workers, the scenario gave the players limited time to practice. The Panhandles did the majority of their preparation during their lunch breaks, workers had a one-hour break during a normal workday, and the players on the team usually took the first 15 minutes to eat lunch and used the remaining 45 minutes to practice football
6.
Green Bay Packers
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The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. They are also the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, organized and it is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States. Home games are played at Lambeau Field, the Packers are the last vestige of small town teams common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of todays NFL, the Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine NFL titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowl victories. They won the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968 and were the only NFL team to defeat the American Football League prior to the AFL–NFL merger. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is named after the Packers head coach of the same name and their two further Super Bowl wins came in 1997 and 2011. The Packers are long-standing adversaries of the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, the Bears–Packers rivalry is one of the oldest in NFL history, dating back to 1921. The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11,1919 by former high-school football rivals Earl Curly Lambeau, Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor, the Green Bay Packers have played in their original city longer than any other team in the NFL. On August 27,1921, the Packers were granted a franchise in the new pro football league that had been formed the previous year. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was forfeited within the year, before Lambeau found new financial backers and these backers, known as the Hungry Five, formed the Green Bay Football Corporation. After a near-miss in 1927, Lambeaus squad claimed the Packers first NFL title in 1929 with an undefeated 12–0–1 campaign, among the many impressive accomplishments of these years was the Packers streak of 29 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record which still stands. The arrival of end Don Hutson from Alabama in 1935 gave Lambeau, credited with inventing pass patterns, Hutson would lead the league in receptions eight seasons and spur the Packers to NFL championships in 1936,1939 and 1944. An iron man, Hutson played both ways, leading the league in interceptions as a safety in 1940, Hutson claimed 18 NFL records when he retired in 1945, many of which still stand. In 1951, his number 14 was the first to be retired by the Packers, after Hutsons retirement, Lambeau could not stop the Packers slide. He purchased a large lodge near Green Bay for team members, rockwood Lodge was the home of the 1946-1949 Packers, though the 1947 and 1948 seasons produced a record of 12-10-1, and 1949 was even worse at 3-9
7.
Rock Island Independents
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The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional teams, they were founded in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925 and they joined the first American Football League in 1926, but folded along with the league in 1927. They played in Douglas Park and Browning Field, Walter Flanigan owned the team from 1915 to 1923, Dale Johnson took over and owned the team until 1926, when the team eventually folded. The Independents overall NFL record was 26–14–9, with five winning seasons in six years, the Independents were first formed in 1907, when a group of men formed an independent team with no athletic club affiliation, no social club ties and no corporate company backing or sponsorship. As a result, the team was named the Independents, the team went undefeated and unscored upon in five games. Many of the players from that 1910 team reunited in 1912, under the leadership of John Roche. In 1913 Walter Flanigan joined the Independents as a backup end, by 1915, Flanigan was the owner of the team. During his tenure, Flanigan promoted the Independents by scheduling two games in 1917 against the Minneapolis Marines, who were considered one of the toughest teams in the Midwest and this contest helped the Independents gain national attention. Rock Island lost to the Marines by a score of 7–3, however they were defeated by a wider margin, 33–7, in the second game at Minneapolis. Flanigan then brought in players from outside the Rock Island area to build on the team, in 1919, he hired Rube Ursella of the Marines to serve as a player-coach. Ursella brought several other Minneapolis players with him and these new players would later help get the team an invitation to join the NFL. The Independents lost only to the Hammond Pros, led by George Halas in 1919, Flanigan then challenged the Canton Bulldogs to a championship game, offering a $5,000 guarantee if they would come to Rock Island for the game. But Canton, which had won the Ohio League championship by defeating their arch-rivals. However the Independents still had defeated the Columbus Panhandles 49–0 and the Indians 17–0 that season, in 1919, prior to the establishment of the National Football League, they claimed to be Champions of the USA. Flanigan eagerly joined the new American Professional Football Association and he was present at the September 17,1920, meeting at Ralph Hays Hupmobile dealership which established the league. Flanigan made his team a charter member of the league. On September 26,1920, the first game featuring a team from the APFA was played at Douglas Park, the Independents were victorious as they defeated the St. Paul Ideals 48–0
8.
Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos
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Duluth, Minnesota, hosted a professional football team called the Kelleys from 1923 to 1925 and renamed as the Eskimos during the two seasons of 1926 and 1927 in the National Football League. After being a team during most of their time as the Eskimos. This meant that Duluth either played unusually short seasons or had to play on the road, duluths best season came in 1924, when the Kelleys went 5–1. Under modern NFL tiebreaking procedures, the Kelleys would have won a share of the NFL title with the league champion Cleveland Bulldogs, the contemporary percentage used to rank teams in the era, wins divided by the sum of wins and losses, put the Kelleys in fourth place. The Kelleys lost their sponsorship in 1926, but signed star running back Ernie Nevers. The team renamed themselves Ernie Neverss Eskimos in response to these developments, the Eskimos joined in on the trend, becoming a traveling team and allowing themselves to play a far longer season than the Kelleys did. After one home game at the beginning of the 1926 season, the team finished in the middle of the NFL standings in 1926, prompting the Eskimos to continue the traveling team setup. In 1927, the results were far more negative, winning one game. When Haugsrud did this, part of the deal gave him first rights for any future NFL team in Minnesota and he passed on buying a stake in the Minneapolis Red Jackets in 1929. However, when the NFL voted to expand in 1960 to the Twin Cities, due to various transactions, the Kelleys/Eskimos have a tenuous link to the modern NFL. Edwin Simandl, a promoter in Orange, New Jersey, bought the franchise for the 1929 season. The NFL, however, did not consider the Tornadoes to be the successors of the Eskimos, the Tornadoes moved to Newark for the 1930 season before going back to the minors. When Simandl handed the rights back to the league, it was understood that the first new expansion team of the 1931 season would receive the Tornadoes old franchise. Because of the Great Depression, no buyer was found, in 1932, a Boston group received the next expansion franchise, strong circumstantial evidence indicates that it was awarded the assets of the failed Tornadoes/Indians organization. This group used it to start the Boston Braves, in 1933, the team was renamed the Redskins, and in 1937 it moved to Washington, D. C. where it still plays as the Washington Redskins. The film Leatherheads is partially based on the story of the Duluth Eskimos and it is unclear if their proposal was ever formally submitted to the NFL. Walt Kiesling John Blood McNally Ernie Nevers
9.
Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships and one Super Bowl and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFLs founding. The team played games at Wrigley Field on Chicagos North Side through the 1970 season, they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side. The Bears have a rivalry with the Green Bay Packers. The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, the Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur and this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward Dutch Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, the 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL. The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys, under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100. In 1922, Halas changed the name from the Staleys to the Bears. The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, as with several early NFL franchises, the Bears derived their nickname from their citys baseball team. Halas liked the bright colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois. The Staleys/Bears dominated the league in the early years and their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL, was key in four out of the first six league titles. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts, the Bears rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921. The franchise was a success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921
10.
History of the Chicago Cardinals
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The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois. This article chronicles the history during their time as the Chicago Cardinals from 1920 to 1959. In 1898, Chicago painting and building contractor Chris OBrien established an amateur Chicago-based athletic club football team named the Morgan Athletic Club, OBrien later moved them to Chicagos Normal Park and renamed them the Racine Normals, since Normal Park was located on Racine Avenue in Chicago. In 1901, OBrien bought used maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago and it was then that the team changed its name to the Racine Cardinals. The original Racine Cardinals team disbanded in 1906 mostly for lack of local competition, a professional team under the same name formed in 1913, claiming the previous team as part of their history. As was the case for most professional teams in 1918, the team was forced to suspend operations for a second time due to World War I. They resumed operations later in the year, and have operated continuously. At the time of the founding of the modern National Football League, in 1920, the team became a charter member of the American Professional Football Association, for a franchise fee of $100. The person keeping the minutes of the first league meeting, unfamiliar with the nuances of Chicago football, recorded the Cardinals as from Racine, the team was renamed the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 after a team actually from Racine, Wisconsin entered the league. That season the team moved to Comiskey Park, the Staleys and Cardinals played each other twice in 1920 as the Racine Cardinals and the Decatur Staleys, making their rivalry the oldest in the NFL. They split the series, with the team winning in each. In the Cardinals 7-6 victory over the Staleys in their first meeting of the season, each scored a TD on a fumble recovery. The Cardinals defeat of the Staleys proved critical, since George Halass Staleys went on to a 10-1-2 record overall, 5-1-2 in league play. The Akron Pros were the first ever champions, they finished with an 8-0-3 record, 6-0-3 in league play. Since the Pros merely had to tie the game in order to win the title, had the Staleys not lost to the Cardinals, they would have gone into that fateful game with an 11-0-1 record, 6-0-1 in league play. As it was, it all but assured that the Staleys/Bears, in 1922, the Staleys, now renamed the Bears, went 9-3-0, losing to the Cardinals twice. The Bears still edged the Cardinals for 2nd place in the league, in 1923 and 1924, the Bears got the better of the Cardinals all three times the two teams played. But in 1925, the Bears went 0-1-1 against the Cardinals with the tie meaning the Cardinals were only a ½ game in front of the Pottsville Maroons heading into their fateful 1925 showdown
11.
1923 Chicago Bears season
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The 1923 Chicago Bears season was their fourth regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 9–2–1 record under head coach/player George Halas earning them a finish in the team standings earning. As was normal for those days, the Bears played a few games on the road at the beginning of the season, the Bears started very slow, losing 2 of their first 4 games and scoring only 6 points during those games. After losing 6–0 to eventual champion Canton Bulldogs in week 4, just like in 1922, the Sternaman brothers starred, scoring 5 touchdowns,6 field goals, and 8 PATs between the two of them. Johnny Bryan emerged as a threat as well, running for 4 scores. Most notably, in week 6s game against the Oorang Indians, note, Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972
