1.
Frankford Yellow Jackets
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The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926. The team played its games from 1923 in Frankford Stadium in Frankford. The Frankford Athletic Association was organized in May 1899 in the parlor of the Suburban Club, the cost of purchasing a share in the association was $10. However, there were also contributing memberships, ranging from $1 to $2.50, the Association was a community-based non-profit organization of local residents and businesses. In keeping with its charter, which stated that all profits shall be donated to charity, the beneficiaries of this generosity included Frankford Hospital, the Frankford Day Nursery, the local Boy Scouts, and the local American Legion Post 211. The officers of the Association never received a salary or compensation for their work on behalf of the team, the associations clubhouse was originally located at the current site of Frankford High School. The field at this site, known as Wistar Field, became the first official home of the Yellow Jackets, several years later, when the construction of the current high school was proposed, the team moved to Browns Field. The Association initially fielded a team, however soccer and football clubs were also formed. The original Frankford Athletic Association apparently disbanded prior to the 1909 football season, several of the original players from the 1899 football team kept the team together, and they became known as Loyola Athletic Club. In keeping with Yellow Jackets tradition, they carried the Frankford name again in 1912, in the early 1920s, the Frankford Athletic Associations Yellow Jackets gained the reputation as being one of the best independent football teams in the nation. In 1922, Frankford absorbed the Philadelphia City Champion team, the Union Quakers of Philadelphia and that year Frankford captured the unofficial championship of Philadelphia. During the 1922 and 1923 seasons the Yellow Jackets compiled a 6–2–1 record against teams from the National Football League and this led to the Association being granted an NFL franchise in 1924. The Yellow Jackets assembled in September 1924 under coach Punk Berryman to begin preparing for the upcoming season, the team included players Harry Dayhoff, Russ Stein, Joe Spagna, Whitey Thomas, Al Bedner, and Bob Jamison. The team often played 15 to 20 games a season, frequently, they would schedule two games on the same weekend, typically one at home on Saturday and, because of Pennsylvanias blue laws, an away game on Sunday. In their very first game as a member of the NFL, Frankford finished the season with an overall record of 17–3–1, with an 11–2–1 record in league play. They finished third in league standings only behind the Cleveland Bulldogs and Chicago Bears, under modern standings tabulation procedures, after a 9–0–1 start, Frankford lost several key players, including Chamberlin, to injuries. After a 49–0 defeat to the Pottsville Maroons, Frankfords captain Bull Behman was suspended indefinitely from the team for indifferent play and he was accused of not giving his best during the past few weeks because of some dissension with other players. The move helped improve the team, which posted a 13–7 record in league play, the Yellow Jackets had a part in the 1925 NFL Championship controversy
2.
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
3.
Hartford Blues
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The Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season, with a record of 3–7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the East Hartford Velodrome, the Blues began as the Waterbury Blues and were owned by George Mulligan, the leading sports promoter in Connecticut during the 1920s. He hired local men, both college players and walk-ons, at a per game wage. The players practiced once a week, on Sunday morning, just before each game, in 1925 Mulligan set his sights on signing Harry Stuhldreher, the quarterback of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. He immediately accepted Mulligans offer to play for the Blues for $7,500, Waterburys other top backs at the start of the 1925 season were Ken Simendinger, from Holy Cross, and Dutch Forst, from Villanova. The line featured two other Notre Dame alumni, ed Hunsinger played with the Four Horsemen in 1924 and rejoined Stuhldreher as an end in Waterbury. Art Garvey, a tackle, had played pro ball for several years since leaving Notre Dame in 1922. He had received some All-League mention as a Chicago Bear in 1923, another lineman, Dick McGrath, doubled as captain and coach. The Blues opened their season on September 27 by whipping a team from Yonkers, soon after, Mulligan signed Jim Crowley, another ex-Horseman, to join Stuhldreher in the backfield against Adams, Massachusetts. Crowleys regular job was assistant coach at the University of Georgia, the Blues put on a good show by driving to a 34–0 triumph, with Crowley scoring three touchdowns and Stuhldreher booting two field goals and three extra points. Crowley picked up his check after the game and left the team, in their only NFL contest of 1925, the Blues beat the Rochester Jeffersons 7–6. Soon after the Blues closest rival in Connecticut, the West Siders franchise, soon folded and George Mulligan immediately picked up the lease on Clarkin Field, according to the Hartford Courant, Waterburys poor support of the team prompted the move. The same article reported that Mulligan had already posted entrance money with the NFL, the new Hartford Blues debuted on November 8,1925 by beating the Rochester Jeffersons, 8–6, in a rematch. Stuhldreher suffered a concussion during the game, held in bad weather before a disappointing crowd of 2,000. On Thanksgiving Day however, the Blues didnt schedule a game because a number of key players, the reinforced Blues dominated the circuit ensure its claim on the state championship. However, instead of ending the season George Mulligan had other plans and he booked a game for December 6 at Clarkin Field against Pere Marquette, probably the strongest pro team in Boston. The Blues beat Pere Marquette, 12–0, Mulligan had attempted to schedule the Blues against Red Grange and the Chicago Bears. However, the Bears had already booked a game against the Providence Steam Roller, however, shortly after Mulligan booked a final season game at Clarkin Field
4.
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
5.
Akron Pros
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The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. Fritz Pollard, the first black coach in the NFL. Paul Robeson played for the team in 1921 as well and he was among the earliest stars of professional football, before football became segregated from 1934 to 1946. In 1926, the name was changed back to the Akron Indians, due to financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and surrendered its franchise the following year. Prior to 1908, several semi-pro and amateur teams dominated the Akron football scene, the most dominant of these was a team known as the Akron East Ends. The East Ends dominance of Ohio football went unmatched until the Massillon Tigers paid several ringers from the recently disbanded Pittsburgh Stars to defeat the East Ends in 1903, the Akron Indians date as far back as 1908. The early Indians teams went on to win Ohio League championships in 1908,1909,1913 and 1914, the team was always referred to as the Indians by the fans. From 1908–1913, the Indians had a reputation of playing more of a style of football seen at the level than that of the early athletic clubs. For example, the Indians preferred passing the ball as opposed to running. The team tied for the Akron city title in 190 Before the 1912 season, Peggy Parratt, a football star with the Massillon Tigers, Franklin Athletic Club. He made the move realizing that he could make more money in the large football market that Akron provided. When he arrived in Akron, his first move was to change the name from the Akron Indians to Parratts Indians. With Peggy as player, coach, and owner-manager, the Indians split their series with Shelby and twice defeated Canton, however they were defeated by the unheard of Elyria Athletics, who then took the Ohio championship. The Athletics were mostly former Blues players who formed a team in Elyria after Parratt left for Akron, the following season, Parratt brought most of Elyrias 1912 championship team to Akron, and adding them to his roster. The Indians then beat Shelby and Elyria and they also managed to tie the rapidly improving Canton Pros. However, the game was cancelled due to snowstorm, a week later when the Blues returned to Akron, the Indians were prepared with newly recruited talent that was viewed as even superior to that of Shelbys. The Indians won the game 20–0 and brought the Ohio title back to Akron, for his 1914 recruiting efforts, Parratt signed the usual big-name players, which consisted of a lineup that changed from week to week, with just enough stars on hand to guarantee a win. By late season, the left side of his Akron Indian line was from Notre Dame
6.
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
7.
Buffalo (NFL)
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Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The franchise, which was experiencing problems in 1928, did not participate in league play that season. Buffalo operated a professional football circuit from at least the late 1800s onward. Among notable predecessors to the team discussed here were the Buffalo Oakdales, whose heyday was in the years 1908 and 1909 and these teams played each other and teams from nearby cities. The All-Stars played from 1915 to 1917 under the leadership of Eugene F. Dooley, in 1917, Dooley, along with Barney Lepper, took the team on a barnstorming tour of midwestern pro football teams. In 1918, the teams were not allowed to play outside the area because of the 1918 flu pandemic, Dooley. Shoe salesman Warren D. Patterson, at the time as this, formed a new team known as the Buffalo Niagaras. As the Niagaras, the team won a championship in 1918, going undefeated with a 6–0–0 record. The two teams tied the Thanksgiving Day game, but Buffalo handily defeated Rochester 20–0 the following Sunday, Patterson held on to the Prospects name and put together a lower quality team that played through 1923, including a 1922 game against the All-Americans themselves. Like the 1990s-era Buffalo Bills seven decades later, the 1918–21 All-Americans team is considered one of the best professional teams to have never won an NFL championship. Even though they didnt officially win any championships, there are two championships that are disputable, in 1920 and 1921, unique for a professional football team, the All-Americans had a sharing agreement with the Union Club of Phoenixville, a side project managed by All-Americans player Heinie Miller. Miller would take himself and seven other All-Americans to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to play games on Saturdays, five All-Americans left the team to play for the Quakers full-time, Buffalo had the pickings of the then-defunct Detroit Tigers to replenish their roster. In 1920, the Akron Pros held the Buffalo All-Americans to a tie in front of only 3,000 fans. At the game, Akron owners, Frank Nied and Art Ranney agreed to sell Bob Nash to Buffalo for $300 and five per cent of the gate, along with the Decatur Staleys and Akron Pros, Buffalo claimed a share of the 1920 league title. That same season the Pros held the best record in the league, meanwhile, Buffalo and the Staleys had to win in order to capture the AFPA Championship. The Pros were able to hold the Staleys to a tie at Cub Park. However the Pros still had to play the All-Americans who were fresh from a 7–3 win over the Canton Bulldogs at New York Citys Polo Grounds, despite Buffalos confidence going into the match, the Pros also held the All-Americans to scoreless tie. Both the All-Americans and the Staleys complained about the championship, arguing that Akron had only tied, however, Joseph Carr moved at the leagues meeting in April 1921 to give Akron the sole title and the rights to the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup
8.
Los Angeles Wildcats
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The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois. Coached by Jim Clark, the team was designed to be a showcase for University of Washington star back George “Wildcat” Wilson. Compared to most traveling teams in football, the Wildcats were successful, compiling a 6-6-2 record in the only season of the team’s –. The existence of the Wildcats began with the 1926 formation of the American Football League by C. C, Pyle, a sports agent who represented star back Red Grange. Pyle’s application for a National Football League franchise in New York was rejected as Tim Mara, armed with a five-year lease at Yankee Stadium, Pyle subsequently announced the formation of the American Football League as a showcase for his client. The league was also a showcase for another Pyle client who was an All-American on the West Coast and his solution was novel, establish a traveling team nominally representing Los Angeles and headed by Wilson. The team would be based in Moline, Illinois and would have no home stadium, virtually all of the players of the team attended colleges sited west of the Rocky Mountains. The team was owned by C. C, Pyle and Red Grange, who also owned another AFL team and had stock in a third. The three teams and league champion Philadelphia Quakers were the four teams still in existence at the end of league play on December 12,1926. Upon the completion of a tour, the Wildcats closed up shop after only one year of existence. As the team began play, it became evident that Wilson was not the only weapon that the Wildcats had. Furthermore, no fewer than four Wildcats handled the job at one time or another. Immediately after tying the Chicago Bulls in Comiskey Park, the team trekked to Toronto’s Maple Leaf Stadium for a game with the New York Yankees, which also played games on back-to-back days. It was not the first weekend in which the Wildcats played on consecutive days, only two official AFL games were left to play in December 1926. With the dissolution of the American Football League, the Wildcats ceased to exist after the game in San Francisco, wildcat Wilson joined the Providence Steam Roller for the 1927 NFL season. He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976
9.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
10.
Southern United States
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The Southern United States, commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America. The South does not fully match the geographic south of the United States, arizona and New Mexico, which are geographically in the southern part of the country, are rarely considered part, while West Virginia, which separated from Virginia in 1863, commonly is. Some scholars have proposed definitions of the South that do not coincide neatly with state boundaries, while the states of Delaware and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia permitted slavery prior to the start of the Civil War, they remained with the Union. However, the United States Census Bureau puts them in the South, usually, the South is defined as including the southeastern and south-central United States. The region is known for its culture and history, having developed its own customs, musical styles, and cuisines, the Southern ethnic heritage is diverse and includes strong European, African, and some Native American components. Since the late 1960s, black people have many offices in Southern states, especially in the coastal states of Virginia. Historically, the South relied heavily on agriculture, and was rural until after 1945. It has since become more industrialized and urban and has attracted national and international migrants, the American South is now among the fastest-growing areas in the United States. Houston is the largest city in the Southern United States, sociological research indicates that Southern collective identity stems from political, demographic, and cultural distinctiveness from the rest of the United States. The region contains almost all of the Bible Belt, an area of high Protestant church attendance and predominantly conservative, indeed, studies have shown that Southerners are more conservative than non-Southerners in several areas, including religion, morality, international relations and race relations. Apart from its climate, the experience in the South increasingly resembles the rest of the nation. The arrival of millions of Northerners and millions of Hispanics meant the introduction of cultural values, the process has worked both ways, however, with aspects of Southern culture spreading throughout a greater portion of the rest of the United States in a process termed Southernization. The question of how to define the subregions in the South has been the focus of research for nearly a century, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the United States includes sixteen states. As of 2010, an estimated 114,555,744 people, or thirty-seven percent of all U. S. residents, lived in the South, the nations most populous region. Other terms related to the South include, The Old South, the New South, usually including the South Atlantic States. The Solid South, region largely controlled by the Democratic Party from 1877 to 1964, before that, blacks were elected to national office and many to local office through the 1880s, Populist-Republican coalitions gained victories for Fusionist candidates for governors in the 1890s. Includes at least all the 11 former Confederate States, Southeastern United States, usually including the Carolinas, the Virginias, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. The Deep South, various definitions, usually including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, occasionally, parts of adjoining states are included
11.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
12.
Southwestern United States
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The population of the area is around 11 million people, with over half that in Arizona, the most populous cities are Phoenix, El Paso, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, and Tucson. Most of the area was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in the Spanish Empire before becoming part of Mexico and it became part of the United States through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase. The deserts dominate the southern and western reaches of the area, the two major rivers of the region are the Colorado River, running in the northern and western areas, and the Rio Grande, running in the south. Formed approximately 8000 years ago, the Chihuahuan Desert is a dry desert. The Chihuahuan Desert spreads across the portion of the region, covering from southeastern Arizona, across southern New Mexico. While it is the second largest desert in the United States, only a third of the desert is within the United States, El Paso is the major city in this desert, with other smaller cities being Las Cruces and Roswell in New Mexico. The Chihuahuan is a rain shadow desert, formed two mountain ranges which block oceanic precipitation from reaching the area. The most prolific plants in this region are agave, yucca and creosote bushes, when people think of the desert southwest, the landscape of the Sonoran Desert is what mostly comes to mind. Rainfall averages between 4–12 inches per year, and the deserts most widely known inhabitant is the saguaro cactus and it is bounded on the northwest by the Mojave Desert, to the north by the Colorado Plateau and to the east by the Arizona Mountains forests and the Chihuahuan Desert. The portion of the Sonora Desert which lies in the Southwestern United States is the most populated area within the region. Six of the top ten major population centers of the region are found within its borders, Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, also within its borders are Yuma and Prescott Arizona. The most northwest portion of the American Southwest is covered by the Mojave Desert, bordered on the south by the Sonoran Desert and the east by the Colorado Plateau, its range within the region makes up the southeast tip of Nevada, and the northwestern corner of Arizona. In terms of topography, the Mojave is very similar to the Great Basin Desert, the Mojave is the smallest, driest and hottest desert within the United States. The Mojave gets less than six inches of rain annually, the most prolific vegetation is the tall Joshua tree, which grow as tall as 40 feet, and are thought to live almost 1000 years. Other major vegetation includes the Parry saltbush and the Mojave sage, the Colorado Plateau varies from the large stands of forests in the west, including the largest stand of ponderosa pine trees in the world, to the Mesas to the east. Although not called a desert, the Colorado Plateau is mostly made up of high desert, the Plateau is characterized by a series of plateaus and mesas, interspersed with canyons. The most dramatic example is the Grand Canyon, but that is one of many dramatic vistas included within the Plateau, which includes spectacular lava formations, painted deserts, sand dunes, and badlands. One of the most distinctive features of the Plateau is its longevity, the Plateau can be divided into six sections, three of which fall into the Southwest region
13.
1926 Chicago Bears season
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The 1926 Chicago Bears season was their seventh regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 12–1–3 record under head coach George Halas earning them a finish in the team standings. This years Bears may have been the most talented to date, with most of their veterans still playing well, the Bears opened their season with 13 undefeated games. The showdown came on December 4 at Frankford, neither team scored for the first three quarters of this game, the tie was broken when Senn burst through the Frankford line for a 62-yard touchdown run. Driscoll missed the PAT, leaving Frankford a chance, Frankford proceeded to complete two long passes, the second for a score. Their kicker, Ernest Hamer, made the point after and Frankford won the game, due to more victories, Frankford was the champion. The Bears were second yet again, Driscoll was easily Chicagos best player in 1926, scoring 5 TDs, kicking 11 field goals, and converting 14 PATs. Senn scored 7 rushing touchdowns and Frank Hanny had 4 touchdown catches to lead the Bears, pro Football Archives,1926 Chicago Bears season
14.
Al Nesser
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Alfred Louis Nesser was a professional American football offensive lineman. He won NFL Championship titles with the Akron Pros in 1920, during his career, Nesser played against Charlie Copley, Fritz Pollard and Jim Thorpe. Although he didnt play football, prior to the formation of the NFL, Nesser played in the Ohio League for the Columbus Panhandles. He was one of the seven Nesser Brothers who played professional football and he became the last Nesser brother to retire from the game, when he ended his playing career in 1931. He was the last football player to play without having to use a mandatory helmet, although none of the Nessers have been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Al was elected to the professional branch of the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1952. In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the associations second HOVG class Peterson, Robert W. Pigskin, a Colorful Game, Names are in the Book
15.
Frank Nied
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Francis Theodore Nied was a founder of the American Professional Football Association, as well as the owner of the Akron Pros and, as the team became known as in 1926, the Akron Indians. Nied lived in Akron on South College Street and operated a store in the six-story Hamilton Building at Main. It was a place for athletes and fans, and filled with sports memorabilia. The building was demolished in 1929 to make room for the 28-story building now known as FirstMerit Tower, Nied reopened the cigar store in the new building, but closed out his interests in 1947, selling to drugstore owner William J. Balaun. Nied retired to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he died there in 1955 at the age of 61. However the date of his death is listed by Pro Football Reference as being much later, after experiencing financial losses from 1912 to 1919, The Akron Indians was sold to Neid and Art Ranney, an Akron businessman and former football player at the University of Akron. The 1919 Indians finished the season 5-5-0 and lost money despite the presence of one of the countrys best breakaway runners, the new owners soon dropped the Indian moniker and adopted the new name the Akron Pros, hoping to inspire better results, or at least better attendance. The teams home field Akrons League Park was laid out by Nieds father, Lew, in 1906 at the corner of Carroll, Ranney and Neid attended the August 20,1920 and September 17,1920 meeting that set up the NFL. The minutes for the September 17,1920 meeting were kept on the stationary of the Akron Pros football team by Ranney, the Pros won the very first APFA championship. On April 1921 the league voted to award the title and the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup to Akron on the basis of an undefeated record, the decision was protested by the Decatur Staleys and the Buffalo All-Americans, who had tied Akron during the season. Neid and Ranney picked up the trophy and, according to league records, after a third-place finish in 1921, the Pros began to decline. In 1926, their name was changed back to the Indians, Neid coached the team for 6 games that ended in a dismal 1-3-2 record. Due to financial issues, Neid suspended team operations in 1927, in the 1940s, Fritz Pollard allegeded that several of the owners attempted to raise the issue of a color barrier in pro football. According to Pollard, Doc Young of the Hammond Pros as well as Akrons Neid and they could not understand why a player could not be considered a player without his color being brought into account. Pollard also stated that Neid and Ranney befriended him and feared for his safety as an African-American, Neid would allow Pollard to dress for home games at his cigar store and drive him to and from the game. Neid also made Pollard the first African-American coach in the NFL, Pollard states that Neid told every Akron player that if they didnt want to listen to me, they could leave right then
16.
Punk Berryman
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Robert Norman Punk Berryman was an American football player and coach. He played as a halfback at Pennsylvania State University and was selected as third-team All-American in 1915, Berryman served as the head football coach at Gettysburg College in 1916 and at Lafayette College in 1917. He was subsequently an assistant football coach at the University of Iowa, in 1922 and 1923 Berryman was an assistant coach at Colgate University under fellow Penn State alumnus, Dick Harlow. In 1924, he coached the Frankford Yellow Jackets, newly enfranchised to the National Football League, to a record of 11–2–1, the following season, Berryman coached the Millville Football & Athletic Club. In 1926, he coached the Brooklyn Lions to a record of 3–8 in their season with the NFL. Berryman was born on May 18,1892 and he attended the Northeast Manual Training School in Philadelphia. Punk Berryman at the College Football Data Warehouse Punk Berryman at Pro-Football-Reference. com
17.
Buffalo Bisons
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The Buffalo Bisons are a professional minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Bisons play at Coca-Cola Field in downtown Buffalo. The Bisons did not play from June 1970 through the 1978 season, in 2016, Forbes listed the Bisons as the 15th-most valuable Minor League Baseball team with a value of $34 million. Organized baseball in Buffalo had been around since at least 1859, when the Niagara baseball club of the National Association of Base Ball Players played its first season. The first professional team to play in Buffalo began in 1877, it was this team that was invited to become a league club, the Buffalo Bisons of the National League. In 1886, the Bisons moved into minor league baseball as members of the original International League, then known as the Eastern League. This team joined the Western League in 1899, and was within weeks of becoming a league team when the Western League announced it was changing its name to the American League in 1900. However, by the start of the 1901 season, Buffalo had been bumped from the league in favor of the Boston Americans, the Bisons returned to the minors and the Eastern League that year. In 1969, Héctor López became the first black manager at the Triple-A level while managing Buffalo Bisons—six years before Frank Robinson became the first black manager in Major League Baseball. After stops in Winnipeg and Hampton, Virginia, the team was suspended after the 1973 season to make way for the Memphis Blues, again with Barron leading the effort, the league awarded the extra franchise to Buffalo, and the Bisons returned to the field. After six seasons in the Eastern League, the Bisons rejoined the Triple-A ranks in 1985, when, as part of a reorganization of Triple-A baseball, the American Association folded after the 1997 season, Buffalo joined the International League. Since their return to Triple-A baseball in 1985, the Bisons have qualified for the several times. In 2004, although the Bisons were 10 games behind the team in June. Buffalo won its first-round playoff, against the Durham Bulls, and advanced to the Governors Cup Finals, the remnants of Hurricane Ivan caused major flooding problems in Richmond and the entire series was played in Buffalo. The Bisons defeated the Braves in four games and won the Governors Cup for the time since 1998. In 2005, Buffalo won the North Division and played the Indianapolis Indians in the first round, with many of its players shuffled to the Cleveland Indians throughout the final months of the season, the Bisons failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2006. In 2007, Buffalo again failed to clinch a playoff spot, after the 2008 season, Buffalo parted ways with Cleveland, as the Indians signed an affiliation agreement with the Columbus Clippers beginning in 2009. The Bisons then signed an agreement to be the top home for New York Mets prospects
