Category: Early Pro American Football Leagues (1890-1919)

Ohio League Champions 1903-1919

Ohio League Champions 1903-1919

YearChampionsWLT
1903Massillon Tigers810
1904Massillon Tigers700
1905Massillon Tigers1000
1906Massillon Tigers1010
1907All-Massillons701
1908Akron Indians801
1909Akron Indians900
1910Shelby Blues?0
1911Shelby Blues?0
1912Elyria Athletics800
1913Akron Indians812
1914Akron Indians821
1915No Clear Winner
1916Canton Bulldogs901
1917Canton Bulldogs910
1918Dayton Triangles800
1919Canton Bulldogs901

Reference: [1]

Note: * The Shelby Blues team of 1910-1911 was undefeated.

Bob Nash, E-T, Who was born in Collinstown, Co. Meath, played End & Tackle for the Massillon Tigers from 1917-1919. [Reference: 2]

Report

The Ohio League, while not a formal league, was the top Professional American Football League from 1903 to 1919, and the first to openly pay its players. Teams scheduled matches against both other Ohio teams and teams from other States. Bob Nash, who was born in Collinstown, Co. Meath, Ireland, played End and Tackle for the Massillon Tigers from 1917 to 1919. Masillon were one of the top teams in the League and vied for the Championship most seasons with Shelby Blues and Canton Bulldogs.

In 1920, with rising wage costs due to players continually jumping from one team to another across state lines, the top four teams in Ohio, along with the top teams in Upstate New York, New York City , New York / New Jersey and Pennsylvania Leagues joined forces to form the American Professional Football Association, which in 1922 changed its name to the National Football League. The importance of the Ohio League is noted by the National Football League in its’ placing of the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

References

Websites

[1] Braunwart, Bob & Carroll, Bob (1981) The Coffin Corner (1981) Professional Football Researchers Association.3 (7) https://web.archive.org/web/20140822043543/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-07-068.pdf [Accessed 20 July 2018]

[2] Pro Football Archives (2019) Bob Nash [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/playern/nash00200.html [Accessed 11 October 2019]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Richard Declan Mulcahy, Nora Mulcahy, Brigid Kingston, Michael Tully & Mary Tully

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 3 January 2021

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2018-2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.

World Series of Football 1902

Results

DateWinning TeamRunners-Up
Quarter-Finals
28.12.1902All-Syracuse6New York0
29.12.1902New York Knickerbockers11Warlow AC6
Semi-Final
30.12.1902All-Syracuse36New York Knickerbockers0
Final
31.12.1902All-Syracuse36Orange AC0
World Series of Professional Football Results 1902

Report

The first National Football League of 1902 was formed by three teams: The The Phillies and Athletics of Philadelphia, and the Stars of Pittsburgh. All three played matches against each other as well as teams not from the League, but had tangled their League standings so much it was impossible to tell which had actually won. The fourth power at the time Watertwon Red and Blacks from Upstate New York had already claimed to be “World Champions”.

With a large Arena to fill for New Years Eve, and so many other attractions in New York at the time, Tom O’Rourke, the famed Irish-American Boxing Promoter, who was manager of Madison Square Garden at the time decide to hold the first “World Series” of Professional Football. He invited both the Phillies and Athletics from Philadelphia, and the Watertown Red and Blacks, but declined to invite the Stars of Pittsburgh, as he thought New Yorkers would not go the see a team from Pittsburgh.

The Phillies and Athletics combined to enter one team, although the team was named “New York” for the occasion. The Watertown team declined to take part, so to pad out the schedule, Syracuse Athletic Club, from Upstate New York were invited, as were Orange Athletic Club from New Jersey, and Warlow Athletic Club from New York. The Hometown Knickerbockers were also invited, Both the Knickerbockers and Warlow were expected to be a big Hometown draw. The Syracuse team added players from Watertown Red and Blacks, also Upstate New York, so could also with some justification consider themselves a Major Football Team like the “New York” team of Phillies and Athletics. The team called itself All-Syracuse for the occasion.

The scheduling was a problem, and with a six-team tournament, Orange AC were given a bye to the Final game. The first game on 28 December 1902 was between the two teams who could likely have contested a World series Final: All-Syracuse and New York, which All-Syracuse won 6-0 depriving Tom O’Rourke of his big draw for the Final. In the other preliminary match New York Knickerbockers beat Warlow AC 11-6. They lost to All-Syracuse in the knockout second round, or Semi-Final, 36-0. This deprived O’Rourke of another big hometown draw for the Finale on New Years Eve. In this match All-Syracuse again won 36-0 against inferior opposition in Orange AC.

Pennsylvania and Upsate New York were the big football regions at the time and scheduling them for the first match rather than keeping them apart until the Final is bizarre. Another aspect of the series that was unusual was the field: Indoors in Madison Square Garden, and only 70-yards between the goalposts rather the 110-yard field that was standard at the time. It has gone down on record as the first Indoor Professional Football match. The field was laid with earth after the wooden floorboards were taken up, but it described as “sticky and holding” which meant speed and cleverness were neutralized and the games were about size and strength eve more than usual. One football player knocked himself silly running into the walls in the opening kickoff of the first game and never took part in the rest of the game.

An interesting footnote to the the Series to Irish readers is that a Gaelic Football match was played as a curtain-raiser to the main event on New Years Eve.

References

Bibliography

[1] National Football League (2014) “Chronology of Professional Football” 2013 NFL Record & Fact Book. pg. 353

[2] Professional Football Researchers Association | Wayback Machine (2010)  The Coffin Corner Annual Volume 2 (1980)  The First Football World Series Experiment in the Garden https://web.archive.org/web/20101127053946/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-An-054.pdf [Accessed 20 May 2020

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mom Tully.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 20 May 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.

World Series of Pro Football 1902-1903

WSPF Champions 1902-1903

YearChampions
1902Syracuse AC (New York State)
1903Franklin AC (Pennsylvania)
World Series of Pro Football Champions 1902-1903 [Ref: 1]

Report

The World Series of Pro Football was a brief attempt at determining the “World Champions” of American Football that lasted two seasons from 1902 to 1903. It was played as a tournament rather than league, featuring four to five teams.

The first World Series featured five teams: Syracuse AC, New York Knickerbockers, Warlow AC, Orange (New Jersey) AC and a team named New York that was actually made up of players from the Phillies and Athletics from Philadelphia. Syracuse AC won the Series.

The second World series in 1903 was won by Franklin AC of Pennsylvania, with the Oreos AC (Asbury Park, New Jersey), Watertown Red and Blacks and Orange AC the other competing teams.

References

Bibliography

[1] National Football League (2014) “Chronology of Professional Football” 2013 NFL Record & Fact Book. pg. 353

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mom Tully.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 15 April 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.