Post by Coach Campbell on Mar 4, 2006 16:10:55 GMT
THE BIRTH AND
INFANCY OF THE NFL
George S. Halas, founder and long-time coach of the Chicago Bears, is often referred to as the "father of the NFL." Halas was there at its beginning, and there is no doubt that he exercised great influence in pro football circles for well over sixty years, but he does not deserve this title.
The men who conceived of and developed the first viable organization for pro football teams (they called it first a "conference" and then an "association") were several businessmen in northeastern Ohio. Chief among them was Ralph E. Hay, a twenty-nine-year-old Hupmobile auto dealer in Canton who took over management of the Canton Bulldogs from Jack Cusack in 1918. The Bulldogs did not play in that war year, and Cusack pulled up stakes in Ohio and entered the oil business in Oklahoma. Under the leadership of Hay and Jim Thorpe, the 1919 Bulldogs were undefeated and tied only by the Hammond All‐ Stars in a scoreless game. Naturally, they claimed the "U.S. Professional Football Championship." As owner—business manager of Canton, Hay was a power in pro football circles.
Vague talk about the need for a professional football league had been common in Ohio, and probably elsewhere, for fifteen years by the summer of 1920. The first step toward realization of the dream came on August 20 in the auto agency offices of Ralph Hay. Whether he or someone else suggested the meeting is not known. On hand were representatives of teams in Canton, Cleveland, Akron, and Dayton. The Canton Evening Repository reported the next day that they had formed the American Professional Football Conference with their four teams and had admitted teams from Buffalo and Rochester, New York, that had applied to join by letter.
INFANCY OF THE NFL
George S. Halas, founder and long-time coach of the Chicago Bears, is often referred to as the "father of the NFL." Halas was there at its beginning, and there is no doubt that he exercised great influence in pro football circles for well over sixty years, but he does not deserve this title.
The men who conceived of and developed the first viable organization for pro football teams (they called it first a "conference" and then an "association") were several businessmen in northeastern Ohio. Chief among them was Ralph E. Hay, a twenty-nine-year-old Hupmobile auto dealer in Canton who took over management of the Canton Bulldogs from Jack Cusack in 1918. The Bulldogs did not play in that war year, and Cusack pulled up stakes in Ohio and entered the oil business in Oklahoma. Under the leadership of Hay and Jim Thorpe, the 1919 Bulldogs were undefeated and tied only by the Hammond All‐ Stars in a scoreless game. Naturally, they claimed the "U.S. Professional Football Championship." As owner—business manager of Canton, Hay was a power in pro football circles.
Vague talk about the need for a professional football league had been common in Ohio, and probably elsewhere, for fifteen years by the summer of 1920. The first step toward realization of the dream came on August 20 in the auto agency offices of Ralph Hay. Whether he or someone else suggested the meeting is not known. On hand were representatives of teams in Canton, Cleveland, Akron, and Dayton. The Canton Evening Repository reported the next day that they had formed the American Professional Football Conference with their four teams and had admitted teams from Buffalo and Rochester, New York, that had applied to join by letter.