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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.
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 early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from 1915 to 1917, Buffalo Niagaras in 1918, the Buffalo Prospects in 1919, Buffalo All-Americans from 1920 to 1923, Buffalo Bisons from 1924 to 1925 and in 1927 and 1929, and the Buffalo Rangers in 1926. The franchise, which was experiencing financial problems in 1928, did not participate in league play that season.
Detroit had four early teams in the National Football League before the Detroit Lions. The Heralds played in 1920, and had played as an independent as far back as 1905. The Tigers, a continuation of the Heralds, played in 1921, folding midseason and sending their players to the Buffalo All-Americans. The Panthers competed from 1925 to 1926 and the Wolverines in 1928.
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 Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before folding after one season. Three years later, the team tried again, playing in the Ohio League from 1907 to 1919, not winning a championship, before becoming charter members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) which became the National Football League (NFL).
The Hammond Pros were an American football team from Hammond, Indiana that played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated the first National Football League game on September 26, 1920 at Douglas Park. The Independents were founded in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. Hence, the team was named the "Independents."
The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural season of the American Professional Football Association, renamed the National Football League in 1922. An agreement to form a league was made by four independent teams from Ohio on August 20, 1920, at Ralph Hay's office in Canton, Ohio, with plans to invite owners of more teams for a second meeting on September 17, 1920. The "American Professional Football Conference" (APFC) was made up of Hay's Canton Bulldogs, Akron Pros, the Cleveland Tigers and the Dayton Triangles, who decided on a six-game schedule to play each other at home-and-away, an agreement to respect each other's player contracts, and to take a stand against signing college students whose class had not yet graduated.
Berlin Guy "Champ" Chamberlin, sometimes misspelled Guy Chamberlain, was an American professional football player and coach. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team.
Joseph Napoleon "Big Chief" Guyon was an American Indian from the Ojibwa tribe (Chippewa) who was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School from 1912 to 1913 and Georgia Tech from 1917 to 1918 and with a number of professional clubs from 1919 to 1927. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll was an American football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall players in the early years of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
Paul Raymond "Shorty" Des Jardien was an American football, baseball and basketball player. He played for the University of Chicago where he was selected as the first-team All-American center in both 1913 and 1914 and also pitched a no-hitter for the baseball team. He later played professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians and professional football for the Cleveland Indians (1916), Hammond Pros (1919), Chicago Tigers (1920) and Minneapolis Marines (1922). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
The 1920 Akron Pros season was the franchise's inaugural season with the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and twelfth total season as a team. The Pros entered the season coming off a 5–5 record in 1919 as the Akron Indians in the Ohio League. The Indians were sold to Art Ranney and Frank Nied, two businessmen, to help achieve a better record and crowd. Several representatives from the Ohio League wanted to form a new professional league; thus, the APFA was created.
Cedric Crawford "Pat" Smith was an American football fullback who played for the University of Michigan (1915–1916), the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, and the Buffalo All-Americans. He was either the second or third leading scorer in the inaugural season of the National Football League (NFL), then known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA).
Ralph Edward Hay was the owner of the Canton Bulldogs from 1918 through the 1922 season. However, he is mostly recognized for organizing the first meeting of teams that would later form the American Professional Football Association, later called the National Football League (NFL).
Alvah (Alva) Andrew "Doc" Young was a founder of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the owner of NFL's Hammond Pros from 1920 until 1926. He was also a respected medical doctor and sports trainer.
Walter Harrison Flanigan was an American football player and owner of the Rock Island Independents. He was also one of the co-founders of the National Football League (NFL).
Christopher O'Brien was a Chicago, Illinois house painter and plumber who became a pro football franchise owner. He is mostly known as the owner of the Chicago Cardinals, and has been called the "Father of Professional Football in Chicago". O'Brien was also a co-founder of the American Professional Football Association by representing the Cardinals at the September 17, 1920, league meeting at Ralph Hay's Hupmobile dealership in Canton, Ohio.
Karl Hilmer "Pike" Johnson was a professional football player in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) for the Akron Pros. In 1920 he and the Pros were awarded the very first NFL Championship.
William Charles "Charlie" "Chili" Carman was an American football player. He played college football for Vanderbilt University and professional football at the guard position for the 1920 Detroit Heralds and the 1921 Detroit Tigers.
References
- ↑ "Frank Rydzewski". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Frank Rydzewski Joins U.S. Army". The Binghamton Press. December 15, 1917. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.