The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. Fritz Pollard, the first black head coach in the NFL, co-coached the Akron Pros in 1921. Paul Robeson played for the team in 1921 as well. 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, after the earlier semi-pro team. Due to financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and surrendered its franchise the following year.
Terry Wilson Bowden is an American college football coach, currently the head coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Bowden was previously head coach at Salem University (1983–1985), Samford University (1987–1992), Auburn University (1993–1998), the University of North Alabama (2009–2011), and the University of Akron (2012–2018). He is a son of former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden and a brother of Tommy Bowden, former head football coach at Clemson University, and Jeff Bowden, the former offensive coordinator at Florida State who served as Terry's special teams coordinator at Akron.
The Blue and Gold Wagon Wheel, now known simply as the Wagon Wheel, is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Zips of the University of Akron and the Golden Flashes of Kent State University. The trophy is, as the name implies, the wheel from a horse-drawn wagon that is painted blue and gold, the school colors for both universities. It was first contested in 1946 when the rivalry resumed after World War II.
Harold Jonathan Iddings was an American football player and coach of football, basketball and track and field. A 1909 graduate from the University of Chicago, he served as head football coach at Miami University from 1909 to 1910, at Simpson College from 1911 to 1913, at Otterbein College in 1916, and at Penn College—now known as William Penn University—in Oskaloosa, Iowa in 1921, compiling a career college football record of 16–26–1. Iddings was also the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky (1910–1911), Simpson (1911–1914), Otterbein (1916–1917), and the Carnegie Institute of Technology (1920–1921).
The Akron Zips football team is a college football program representing the University of Akron in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Akron plays its home games on InfoCision Stadium on the campus of the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The Zips compete in the Mid-American Conference as a member of the East Division.
Richard George Babcock was an American football player, coach and athletic director. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1923 to 1925 and served as the head football coach at the University of Akron in 1926 and at the University of Cincinnati from 1927 to 1930. He also served as the University of Cincinnati's athletic director from 1927 to 1932.
InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field is a college American football stadium in Akron, Ohio and the home field of the Akron Zips football team at the University of Akron. New for the 2009 football season, the official ground-breaking ceremony for the stadium was held on April 4, 2008, and it opened on September 12, 2009, for a sold-out game between the Akron Zips and the Morgan State Bears. The stadium was constructed to replace the Rubber Bowl, which was the prior home of the University of Akron Zips football team. Four companies hold naming rights to various parts of the stadium.
Paul Preston "Pepper" Sheeks was an American football and basketball player and coach. He played professional football with the Akron Pros of the National Football League (NFL) in 1922 and 1923. Before he joined the NFL, Sheeks played college football and college basketball at the University of South Dakota.
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become "All-Massillons" to win another title in 1907. The team returned as the Tigers in 1915 but, with the reemergence of the Bulldogs, only won one more Ohio League title. Pro football was popularized in Ohio when the amateur Massillon Tigers hired four Pittsburgh pros to play in the season-ending game against Akron. At the same time, pro football declined in the Pittsburgh area, and the emphasis on the pro game moved west from Pennsylvania to Ohio.
William John Laub was the Mayor of Akron, Ohio, 1916–17, and an early professional American football player-coach. Laub was the first head coach of the Canton Bulldogs and a player-coach for the Akron East Ends.
Alfred Russell Cobb was an American college and professional football player. Cobb played college football for Syracuse University, and later played professionally in the National Football League (NFL).
The 1916 Akron football team represented the University of Akron, formerly Buchtel College, in the 1916 college football season. The team was led by head coach Fred Sefton, in his second season. Akron was outscored by their opponents by a total of 90–183. In their first game of the season, a 53–0 win over Baldwin-Wallace, the team recorded its 50th win in program history.
The 1941 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron as an independent during the 1941 college football season. In its first season under head coach Otis Douglas, the team compiled a 5–3–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 114 to 76. Andy Maluke was the team captain. The team played its home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio
The 1933 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 1933 college football season. In its seventh season under head coach Red Blair, the team compiled a 5–3–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 97 to 50. Wilson Sparhawk was the team captain.
The 1934 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 1934 college football season. In its eighth season under head coach Red Blair, the team compiled a 3–4–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 65 to 48. Don Lindsay was the team captain.
The 1935 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) during the 1935 college football season. In its ninth and final season under head coach Red Blair, the team compiled a 6–3 record, finished fourth in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 81 to 70. Right guard Earl Hensal was the team captain.
The 1942 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron as an independent during the 1942 college football season. In its second and final season under head coach Otis Douglas, the team compiled a 0–7–2 record and was outscored by a total of 186 to 26. The team played its home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio.
The 1946 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron as an independent during the 1946 college football season. In its first season under head coach Paul Baldacci, the team compiled a 5–4 record and was outscored by a total of 134 to 122. The team played its home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio.
The 1947 Akron Zippers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron as an independent during the 1947 college football season. In its second season under head coach Paul Baldacci, the team compiled a 2–6 record and was outscored by a total of 162 to 44. The team played its home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio.
