People are amazed at the success of professional sports. By many measures, the National Football League is the most successful of all sports leagues in the United States. Fans may focus on player contracts, ticket prices, and the price of a beer and hotdog--all seem to go higher and higher. But they might be surprised at the humble beginnings of the NFL. Those beginnings go back to September 17, 1920.
Canton, Ohio is "hallow ground" for football fans. It is the home of the National Football Hall of Fame. It is also the place where the National Football League got its start. The existence of the "Pros," football teams that paid at least some of their players, goes back to the 1890s. Without any organization to speak of, play among teams must have been a Wild West kind of affair in those early days. In 1920, one of the most competitive markets for football was found in Ohio. A number of "professional" teams were competing with each other for fans and gate receipts-competition was stiff. Some attempt to organize a group of Ohio teams was taken up in August that year. An Ohio "conference" was created that included the Canton Bulldogs, Akron Pros, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles. Likely, even the men who signed on to the conference knew that its influence would be slight in the large galaxy of teams that were playing at the time.
It was Ralph Hay, a Canton automobile dealer and Canton Bulldogs football club owner who scheduled a formal meeting of teams on a broader geographical scale. Some say it was George Halas of Chicago who suggested the meeting to Hay. Invitations were sent out to many teams for a meeting on September 17, 1920 at Hay's dealership in the Odd Fellows building in Canton. Hay's Bulldogs featured the famous Jim Thorpe and his team was well known. Many were "called" and 14 men showed up at the meeting representing 10 football organizations. Even 14 was a crowd for Hay's dealership office so the men sat around the dealership floor. George Halas reported that he found a running board for his seat. The men agreed on a number of points and created the American Professional Football Association. Teams represented were Canton, Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, Rochester, Hammond, Rock Island, Muncie, Decatur and Chicago. Of those original teams, only the teams representing Decatur and Chicago exist today.
The Decatur Staleys were originally owned by the A.E. Staley Starch Company. They were organized and managed by Staley employee George Halas who would become Papa Bear George Halas. Halas played football at the University of Illinois. He also served in World War I as a recreation officer at the Great Lakes Training School. Those experiences would help him develop remarkable organization skills as well as a good understanding of football talent. The Staleys, with Halas as its owner, would move to Chicago and play in Wrigley Field after the Staley Starch Company could no longer afford to field it. With financial help from A. E. Staley, the team would become the Chicago Staleys for one year and then the Chicago Bears. The Halas family (Halas-McCaskey's) still own the Bears.
The Chicago Team was called the Racine Cardinals named after a street in Chicago where the club originated. From its earliest days, people wrongly assumed that the team originated in Racine Wisconsin. Even the original minutes for the Canton meeting added "Wisconsin" next to "Racine Cardinals." The Racine Cardinals would become the Chicago Cardinals and exist today as the Arizona Cardinals. In the first year, the original teams of the Canton charter played teams outside those originally listed. Fans from teams outside the original list who played that year have suggested that their teams were original to the league. History purists point out that a team was either on the original charter or not on it. Images of the original September 17, 1920 Meeting Minutes can be seen at the Pro Football Hall of Fame website at ( http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2005/1/1/nfl-founded-in-canton ). In June of 1922, the league's name would be changed to the National Football League. For pro football fans, September 17 is a great day to remember the men who started it all on the showroom floor of Hay's automobile dealership in Canton, Ohio.
Canton, Ohio is "hallow ground" for football fans. It is the home of the National Football Hall of Fame. It is also the place where the National Football League got its start. The existence of the "Pros," football teams that paid at least some of their players, goes back to the 1890s. Without any organization to speak of, play among teams must have been a Wild West kind of affair in those early days. In 1920, one of the most competitive markets for football was found in Ohio. A number of "professional" teams were competing with each other for fans and gate receipts-competition was stiff. Some attempt to organize a group of Ohio teams was taken up in August that year. An Ohio "conference" was created that included the Canton Bulldogs, Akron Pros, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles. Likely, even the men who signed on to the conference knew that its influence would be slight in the large galaxy of teams that were playing at the time.
It was Ralph Hay, a Canton automobile dealer and Canton Bulldogs football club owner who scheduled a formal meeting of teams on a broader geographical scale. Some say it was George Halas of Chicago who suggested the meeting to Hay. Invitations were sent out to many teams for a meeting on September 17, 1920 at Hay's dealership in the Odd Fellows building in Canton. Hay's Bulldogs featured the famous Jim Thorpe and his team was well known. Many were "called" and 14 men showed up at the meeting representing 10 football organizations. Even 14 was a crowd for Hay's dealership office so the men sat around the dealership floor. George Halas reported that he found a running board for his seat. The men agreed on a number of points and created the American Professional Football Association. Teams represented were Canton, Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, Rochester, Hammond, Rock Island, Muncie, Decatur and Chicago. Of those original teams, only the teams representing Decatur and Chicago exist today.
The Decatur Staleys were originally owned by the A.E. Staley Starch Company. They were organized and managed by Staley employee George Halas who would become Papa Bear George Halas. Halas played football at the University of Illinois. He also served in World War I as a recreation officer at the Great Lakes Training School. Those experiences would help him develop remarkable organization skills as well as a good understanding of football talent. The Staleys, with Halas as its owner, would move to Chicago and play in Wrigley Field after the Staley Starch Company could no longer afford to field it. With financial help from A. E. Staley, the team would become the Chicago Staleys for one year and then the Chicago Bears. The Halas family (Halas-McCaskey's) still own the Bears.
The Chicago Team was called the Racine Cardinals named after a street in Chicago where the club originated. From its earliest days, people wrongly assumed that the team originated in Racine Wisconsin. Even the original minutes for the Canton meeting added "Wisconsin" next to "Racine Cardinals." The Racine Cardinals would become the Chicago Cardinals and exist today as the Arizona Cardinals. In the first year, the original teams of the Canton charter played teams outside those originally listed. Fans from teams outside the original list who played that year have suggested that their teams were original to the league. History purists point out that a team was either on the original charter or not on it. Images of the original September 17, 1920 Meeting Minutes can be seen at the Pro Football Hall of Fame website at ( http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2005/1/1/nfl-founded-in-canton ). In June of 1922, the league's name would be changed to the National Football League. For pro football fans, September 17 is a great day to remember the men who started it all on the showroom floor of Hay's automobile dealership in Canton, Ohio.
Larry Norris, President of Sporting Chance Press (http://www.sportingchancepress.com) and publisher of Chicago Bears Senior Director Patrick McCaskey's "Sports and Faith: Stories of the Devoted and the Devout," J. D. Thorne's "The 10 Commandments of Baseball: An Affectionate Look at Joe McCarthy's Principles for Success and Life," and Mike Cameron's "Public Bonehead, Private Hero: The Real Legacy of Baseball's Fred Merkle."
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