1.
Akron Pros
–
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
2.
California
–
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
3.
Southern United States
–
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
4.
Southwestern United States
–
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
5.
Canton Bulldogs
–
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917,1918 and 1919 Ohio League championships. They were the NFL champions in 1922 and 1923, in 1921–1923, the Bulldogs played 25 straight games without a defeat, which as of 2016 remains an NFL record. As a result of the Bulldogs early success along with the league being founded in the city, Jim Thorpe, the Olympian and renowned all-around athlete, was Cantons most-recognized player in the pre-NFL era. In 1924, Sam Deutsch, the owner of the NFLs Cleveland Indians, bought the Canton Bulldogs and took the Bulldogs name and its players to Cleveland and named his franchise the Cleveland Bulldogs. He then offered to sell the Canton franchise back to the city of Canton to play in the 1924 season, however there were no interested in the team. The Canton Bulldogs were however re-established in 1925, and the NFL considers the 1925 to 1926 Canton Bulldogs to be the team as the 1920 to 1923 incarnation. All in all, this version of the Cleveland-Canton-Philadelphia Bulldogs played from 1961 to 1966, another Canton Bulldogs team was slated to begin play in the Stars Football League in 2012, although that team never materialized. The Bulldogs name is also in use at Canton McKinley High School, prior to the debut of professional football in the city, an amateur team from Canton was mentioned as being a superior team in Stark County, Ohio. Until about 1902, this team competed with the Akron East Ends for the Ohio Independent Championship, when the Massillon Tigers arrived on the scene and went professional, Canton, as an amateur team, was no longer competitive. The Canton Bulldogs were officially established on November 15,1904 as the Canton Athletic Club, the statement stated that the football team was to be a professional organization, complete with a professional coach. The team was given the goal of beating the rival Massillon Tigers, to do this, Canton went out and offered money to the best players on all the other Ohio League teams. Bill Laub, a player, team captain and coach of the Akron East Ends, was hired as the teams first-ever coach, the team began its 1905 season, with a 7–0 record. The Bulldogs then traveled to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to play the Latrobe Athletic Association, Latrobe was not only the current Pennsylvania champions, but had gone undefeated for the last three seasons. Latrobe were also considered the only pro team capable of competing with Canton and Massillon, Canton would go on to lose its 1905 game to Latrobe, 6–0. However, the worst part of the loss came when coach Bill Laub became injured and was unable to finish the season, Blondy Wallace, a former All-American for the Penn Quakers, was then named as Laubs successor and team captain. Two weeks later, the team would lose the Ohio League championship game to the Massillon Tigers, sometime during the 1906 season, the Canton team became known as the Bulldogs although no one is quite sure how it came to be affixed to the Canton team. It wasnt called that in 1905, nor through most of the 1906 season, as late as November 4, R. C
6.
Chicago Bears
–
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
7.
National Football League
–
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
8.
Texas
–
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
9.
George Halas
–
George Stanley Halas Sr. nicknamed Papa Bear and Mr. Everything, was a player, coach, and owner involved with professional American football. He was the founder and owner of the National Football Leagues Chicago Bears and he was also lesser known as an inventor, jurist, radio producer, philanthropist, philatelist, and Major League Baseball player. He was one of the co-founders of the National Football League in 1920, Halas was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a family of Czech-Bohemian immigrants. His parents were migrants from Pilsen, Austria-Hungary, George had a varied career in sports. In 1915, Halas worked temporarily for Western Electric, and was planning on being on the SS Eastland and he was running late, however, as he was attempting to gain weight to play Big Ten football and missed the capsizing. He also became a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and he helped Illinois win the 1918 Big Ten Conference football title. Serving as an ensign in the Navy during World War I, he played for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, and was named the MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Halas played minor league baseball, eventually earning a promotion to the New York Yankees, however, a hip injury effectively ended his baseball career. The popular myth was that Halas was succeeded as the Yankees right fielder by Babe Ruth, later that year, Halas played for the Hammond Pros and received about $75 per game. After one year with the Pros, Halas moved to Decatur, Illinois to take a position with the A. E. Staley Company, a starch manufacturer. He served as a sales representative, an outfielder on the company-sponsored baseball team. Halas selected his alma maters colors—orange and navy blue—for the teams uniforms, in 1920, Halas represented the Staleys at the meeting which formed the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio. After suffering financial losses despite a 10–1–2 record, company founder, Halas moved the team to Chicago and took on teammate Dutch Sternaman as a partner. Halas was given a $5,000 bonus for the move to Chicago provided that he keep the Staleys franchise name for the 1921 season, the newly minted Chicago Staleys maneuvered their schedule to win the NFL championship that year. They took the name Bears in 1922 as a tribute to baseballs Chicago Cubs, Halas was not only the teams coach, but also played end and handled ticket sales and the business of running the club. However, severe financial difficulties brought on by the Great Depression put the Bears in dire financial straits even though Jones led them to the NFL title in 1932, Halas returned as coach in 1933 to eliminate the additional cost of paying a head coachs salary. He coached the Bears for another ten seasons and his 1934 team was undefeated until a loss in the championship game to the New York Giants. Every other team in the league immediately began trying to imitate the format, the Bears repeated as NFL champions in 1941, and the 1940s would be remembered as the era of the Monsters of the Midway
10.
History of the Chicago Cardinals
–
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.
Frankford Yellow Jackets
–
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
12.
Pete Henry
–
Wilbur Francis Pete Henry was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League. He later worked for more than 20 years as director and occasional football coach at Washington & Jefferson College. Henry attended Washington & Jefferson College, where he played for the Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team and he was recognized as a first-term All-American at tackle in 1917, and a consensus All-American in 1918 and 1919. In 1919, the national champion Pittsburgh Panthers argued that Henry was an ineligible college player. A gentlemans agreement among all college teams generally allowed players, like Henry, in fact, Pitt played several other teams with similarly situated players on several teams without complaint. The Panthers stand caused an outcry among the press and the Pitt alumni. In the end, Pitt won the game 7–6, in his later years, Henry was not one to keep souvenirs, but he did keep the program from that game. Henry signed with the Canton Bulldogs on September 17,1920, despite his size and abilities at blocking, Henry was also considered one of the greatest kickers of his era. Statistics for kicks were imprecise at best during that time, however one accurate statistic was that of a 45-yard drop kick field goal kicked by Henry on December 10,1922 and he set a professional football record with that kick that stood for twelve years. Many claimed that both Jim Thorpe and Paddy Driscoll had beaten that record, both supposedly drop-kicking field goals at 50 yards, Driscoll was alleged to have kicked two from 50 yards in one game on September 28,1924. However, these claims could not be supported by any verifiable records, Henry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. In 1931, Henry was hired as the director for Washington & Jefferson College. As the college and football team struggled during World War II, as AD, he wanted every student to participate in some form of athletics and required every student to know how to swim. He personally raised substantial funds for the Gambolier Fund to pay for scholarships and he continued to work, even after losing a leg to diabetes. Henry was inducted into the Dapper Dan Clubs Pittsburgh Sports Hall of Fame in 1967 and he is also enshrined in the Helms Sports Hall of Fame as well as the College Football Hall of Fame. Upon his death, Henry was eulogized in W&Js college newspaper, the Red & Black, as capturing the very spirit of Wash Jeff and, for many people was the College
