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History

In its earliest days shortly after the Civil War, football little resembled the game played

by the Dayton Triangles, and even less so the modern game. At that time, it was a blend of rugby

and soccer with the kicking game being the primary method of advancing the ball downfield,

which led to the name of the sport. When the game was just beginning in 1869 Boston, the men

who played this disorganized sport carried it with them to college, culminating in what is

recognized as the first collegiate football game in that year between Rutgers and Princeton.

After graduation, many of these early collegiate players wanted to continue playing the

game, which led to the formation of athletic clubs. These clubs were often coached by Ivy

League football coaches and were not attached to cities like most modern NFL teams. Football

eventually spread westward from Ivy League universities in New England to the more industrial

and working-class upper Midwest, particularly Ohio. In this region, company-sponsored teams,

the Dayton Triangles being one such team, were common. Company-sponsored teams drew from

employees, primarily in industrial cities and generated interest through rivalries with other

companies. One modern NFL team, the Green Bay Packers, began as a company team called the

Acme Packers.

The land on which the site is located was part of the Ed Best estate. Prominent Dayton

industrialists Edward Deeds and Charles Kettering purchased the real estate for use by

employees of National Cash Register for a company-sponsored football team.

Teams like the Dayton Triangles and the Acme Packers were a contrast to the Ivy League

players and teams that came before. Players in this region were working-class and few were

college educated, as opposed to the men from wealthy families who could afford to attend

prestigious Ivy League universities. The working-class players were easier for the average

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football fan to relate to, which helped the early sport to grow, though baseball would continue to

be the dominant spectator sport in the United States.

The beginning of the Dayton Triangles can be traced to 1912 when a group of former

basketball players for St. Mary’s (now called the University of Dayton) organized a football

team called the St. Mary’s Cadets, the same team name they played under as a basketball team.

During the following year, the team would add Lou Clark as its coach, who served in the same

capacity for the University of Dayton team. Another important addition to the team was Carl

Storck, who would be involved with professional football and the future NFL for the remainder

of his life.

After a brief time playing under the name Dayton Gym Cadets, the team settled on the

name of the Dayton Triangles in 1916. It was also a strong showing with a 9-1 record that season

that saw the Triangles defeat teams from Cincinnati, Detroit, Toledo and Pittsburgh. While they

challenged one of the best teams of the time, the Canton Bulldogs, to a game, the Canton team

ignored the challenge.

The 1917 season was the Triangles’ first at what is now Howell Field at Triangle Park.

The Triangles ended the season with a 6-0-2 record and added Dr. Dave Reese and Nelson

Talbott to the team. Reese was a standout athlete at Denison University and was employed by

Delco as the company dentist. Talbott was the new coach of the Dayton team, who was the

captain of the Yale football team in 1914.

The year 1918 saw the entry of the United States into the First World War and the

Triangles’ team secretary Mike Redelle left the team for military service. In his place, Carl

Storck stepped in and was responsible to travel and business arrangements. The war effort and

the resulting draft decimated the ranks of professional football as many players left for military

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service. The Dayton Triangles, however, were left mostly intact since all of the players were

employees in an industry that was considered essential to the war effort. They were largely

exempted from service in the armed forces for this reason. With their competition severely

depleted, this led to the Dayton team winning its first championship in 1918, though it was not

highly regarded due to the lack of competitive talent.

In July 1920, representatives from professional football teams in Ohio and one in New

York met in Canton, Ohio at Ralph Hay’s Hupmobile auto agency to organize the sport since

until that time, there were very few rules and almost no overall organization. At this meeting,

Carl Storck represented Dayton. These team representatives formed the American Professional

Football Association, which would change its name to the National Football League two years

later. The team representatives named the famous standout athlete and professional football

player Jim Thorpe as the first president of the A.P.F.A. The teams in this fledgling organization

wanted Thorpe as president to lend his fame and legitimacy to the organization and he was

mostly a figurehead. It is because of this first meeting in Canton that is the reason for that city

being chosen as the location for the present-day NFL Hall of Fame and Museum.

That October saw the first game between two teams in this newly-founded A.P.F.A in

Triangle Park between the hometown Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles. The Triangles

posted a record of 5-2-2 that year, though one of the highlights was a game against Canton which

ended in a 20-20 tie. During the game, Canton Bulldogs star player Jim Thorpe drop-kicked two

field goals at 45 and 54 yards to tie the game.

The Triangles began to falter in 1922, which would see the team post its last winning

record of 4-3-1. Professional football was growing rapidly and the competition intensified.

Professional teams were looking for top collegiate talent rather than looking to “homegrown”

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players. Dayton resisted this trend, though the team had serious financial hardships. They had

difficulty in filling the 5,000 seats at Triangle Park for home games, even with general admission

ticket prices reduced to $1.

By 1927, many of the original members of the Triangles such as Al Mahrt and Dr. Dave

Reese had left. One of the stars of the team at that time was Walter “Sneeze” Aichu, of Hawaiian

and Chinese descent, who was a running back for the team. By this time, most of the Dayton

team’s games were away from Triangle Park due to the poor ticket sales in Dayton.

In 1929, the Triangles posted a record of 0-6 and the team folded. By that time, interest in

the team had greatly waned and there was little mention of the team’s sale to Brooklyn

businessmen.

The Need for Interpretation

Currently, the only historical interpretation at Triangle Park is a sign erected by the Ohio

Historical Society in 2005 that reads:

On October 3, 1920 the first game matching two professional teams of the American

Professional Football Association, a league that would become the National Football

League (NFL), was held on this field within Triangle Park. In that game, the Dayton

Triangles defeated the Columbus Panhandles 14-0. The Triangle’s Lou Partlow scored

the first touchdown and George “Hobby” Kinderdine kicked the first extra point. Three

factories founded by Dayton businessmen Edward Deeds and Charles Kettering

sponsored the Dayton Triangles team. The factories were the Dayton Engineering

Laboratories Company (DELCO), Dayton Metal Products Company, (D.M.P. Co.), and

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Domestic Engineering Company (DECO), later called Delco-Light. They formed an

industrial triangle of plants in downtown Dayton.

Only current interpretation at the site

While this sign conveys a broad overview of the history of the Dayton Triangles and what is

recognized as the first NFL game held at the site, there is a great deal of information and context

that is left out.

For example, while this sign mentions the first touchdown and extra points scored, there

is no mention how the game was played and how it differs from modern professional football. If

a park visitor interested in the history of professional football or the Dayton Triangles saw only

this sign, he or she would likely assume that the game in 1920 was little different from 21st

century NFL football. This is not the case, as the forward pass was seldom used at the time,

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though it is common today. The safety equipment was crude and ineffective by modern

standards.

The sign is also missing the broader context of early professional football that played a

significant role in the history of the Dayton Triangles. There is no mention of how the game

developed from its origins in the 19th century nor is there any information regarding the men who

played the game, aside from the two players for the Dayton Triangles who scored the first

touchdown and extra point. Furthermore, there is little information about the important role

played by the Dayton Triangles organization in the formation of the modern NFL.

The Ohio Historical Marker provides the visitor with some information about the origin

of the football team, it fails to mention how and why the team fell apart or how long it lasted.

This is important as the reasons for the folding of the Dayton Triangles in 1929 shed light on the

growth and development of professional football.

Triangle Park is an important part of local history, as well as the history of professional

football in the United States. Without adequate interpretation at the site, this important story will

be forgotten by most people in the local area unless they perform more extensive research. Since

most in the general public will not do so, it is important to preserve and present the story of the

Dayton Triangles and the park to the public.

Vision:

The goal for interpretation is simple. An interpretation of Triangle Park will offer visitors

to the park a history of the site, emphasizing the Dayton Triangles and their role in shaping the

modern NFL. This interpretation will work alongside the existing recreational facilities to

enhance the experience of guests who will be able to use the park for outdoor recreation

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activities such as tennis, baseball and bicycling but will also be able to form a connection

between this site and the most popular spectator sport in the United States today, NFL football.

Furthermore, the interpretation will foster a greater appreciation for local history,

especially this part of largely-forgotten history that has been overshadowed by more well-known

local figures such as the Wright Brothers.

Major Themes

The Beginning of the NFL

The game mentioned in the existing marker is considered the first game in the league that

would become the modern NFL. The Dayton Triangles was one of the first teams in this league

with a representative present at the first meeting of the American Professional Football

Association in Canton, Ohio on September 17, 1920. The NFL recognizes this as the beginning

of that organization which is why the Hall of Fame is located in Canton.

At this meeting, team owners representing teams from Akron, Canton, Cleveland and

Dayton met with others from the states of New York, Indiana and Illinois. The following year,

Carl Storck of the Dayton Triangles was named secretary-treasurer of the new league and would

go on to become the acting president of the NFL on May 25, 1939 after the death of Joe Carr,

who had served as president since 1921.

The Dayton Triangles History

Important figures from the Dayton area shaped the history of the Dayton Triangles and

professional football. Men like George “Hobby” Kinderdine appear in the existing marker at the

site but the visitor will get a sense of who they were as individuals. They lived and worked in

Dayton and the surrounding communities even after leaving professional football. Giving visitors

an insight into the lives and personalities of the players and others involved with the Dayton

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Triangles will create a connection between visitors and the history of professional football in

Dayton.

Triangle Park and Audience

The park today is mainly used for outdoor recreation. The site of the football field where

the Dayton Triangles played home games is now a baseball field which was renovated in the

summer of 2015. The funding for the project came from All-Star Community Legacy program

within Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and the city of Dayton.

Several local schools hold baseball games at the field during the spring and summer months. The

park also hosts baseball tournaments and championship games.

Baseball brings a large number of people to Triangle Park, including the players, parents,

coaches and others. This audience should be retained, and the plan seeks to enhance their

experience at the park. Many of these visitors are not from Dayton and as such would not be as

aware of the park’s history as locals. This presents an opportunity for the park to reach a new

audience in a new way. While many of the players, coaches, parents, etc. may only visit the park

now for baseball games, if they were introduced to the football history located there, they would

be inspired to come back another time or to explore more of Dayton’s history at other sites such

as Carillon Historical Park.

Another important audience that currently uses the park is locals who visit to walk their

dogs or visit with their children and families. Interpretation will enhance their experience by

adding a historical aspect to the park that they may not know exists. People will see the park as

both a place for outdoor recreation and a place to learn about an important part of local history.

Learning that Dayton played a significant part in the founding of the NFL will foster a sense of

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civic pride in people who live in and around Dayton as well as encourage fans of professional

football from elsewhere to visit the city.

The Plan

Interpretive Signs

The interpretation will be concentrated on Howell Field and the surrounding area, where

the historic football games took place. There is an asphalt pathway leading from the parking lot

to the baseball field. Interpretive signs along this path will supplement the existing Ohio

Historical Marker by providing more context and detail about the Dayton Triangles and their

history.

A large sign at the beginning of the path, near the parking lot, will welcome visitors to

Triangle Park and give a broad overview of the history of the team in the form of a timeline of

important events. The timeline will span from the beginning of what would be the Triangles,

then called the Cadets, through the team’s folding in 1929.

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Proposed site of introductory sign near parking lot

After that there will be signs along the side of the path giving context to the Triangles by

outlining the early history of professional football, about which most people know little. Also,

individual stories about prominent figures on the Dayton Triangles team will be featured on

interpretive signs.

The first sign, nearest to the parking lot will welcome visitors to the site and give a brief

overview of the history that they will learn about during their visit. A draft of the text is as

follows:

Welcome to Triangle Park, home of one of the first charter members of the NFL. Several

former University of Dayton basketball players formed a new football team called the St.

Mary’s Cadets in 1912. The Cadets were an amateur, unorganized “sandlot” team. Such

teams formed all around the Midwest and Northeast United States in the early 20th

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Century. The Triangles and other teams like them played football primarily for fun and

competition.

As visitors continue along the path towards Howell Field, they will encounter the current

Ohio Historical Marker. On the other side of the path from the marker, an interpretive sign will

give more detail about one of the figures mentioned, George Kinderdine. A sample of the text for

this panel is:

Many Triangles players, since they worked for a Dayton company, came from Dayton

and the surrounding area. One such player was George “Hobby” Kinderdine from

Miamisburg, Ohio. Hobby got his unusual nickname from an ankle injury he suffered

during practice which caused him to hobble. His teammates started to call him “Hobby”

which stuck for the rest of his career. Despite his injury, he continued to play for the

Triangles until the team was sold in 1929.

This will help the visitor relate to one of the important figures in the history of the team as well

as provide a unique, memorable detail about him that will lead some visitors to want to learn

more about the Dayton Triangles.

Furthermore, other interpretive signs along this asphalt path will give visitors the context

in which the Dayton Triangles existed. They will make the team relevant to visitors by relating

the game that the Triangles played to the modern NFL, of which the majority of park visitors will

at least be familiar.

In its early years, football more resembled rugby than the popular college and

professional game today. Even though the forward pass was legalized in 1906, it was still

seldom used until much later. Most players and owners regarded the forward pass as a

“gimmick play” and preferred simple, fast, aggressive rushing to advance the ball.

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Interpretation such as this draws a connection between the professional football game of the

Dayton Triangles and the professional game of today. This also allows visitors to see the Dayton

team and others like it as an integral part of the evolution of the game they know today.

Other interpretive panels will inform visitors of the relationship that existed between

professional football and college football in this early time. In the early 20th century, universities

and professional teams grappled with issues of amateurism that are still controversial today. A

sample of this interpretation will include:

As professional football grew and became more competitive, teams tried to entice the

best college players to their ranks. While other professional teams at the time disregarded

the rules against college athletes taking money to play football, the Dayton Triangles

never recruited collegiate talent.

Finally, the sign along the path nearest to the entrance to Howell Field will tell visitors

about the end of Dayton’s time with a professional football team:

In Dayton, interest in the Triangles declined as the 1920s wore on. Home games often

failed to fill the 5,000 seats available at Triangle Park at the time even with ticket prices

reduced to $1. Finally, in 1929, the team was sold to Brooklyn businessmen William B.

Dwyer and John C. Depler who moved the team there and renamed it the Dodgers.

For the visitor reaching this panel, if he or she has read them all to this point, will have learned

about the entire history of the Dayton Triangles. Upon reaching the end of the path, along with

the end of Dayton’s professional football team, visitors will see the modern baseball field at the

site. This will create a sense of the past and the present meeting since even though the Dayton

Triangles no longer exist, the place where they played is still maintained and used for sports and

recreation. The visitor will also understand the important role that Dayton played in the

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formation of what would become today’s NFL and will gain an appreciation for the men who

played the game at great personal risk for a paltry amount of money compared to modern NFL

athletes.

In addition to interpretive text, these panels will include period photographs taken at the

park or of the individuals mentioned. Using photographs will help visitors to visualize what

Triangle Park looked like during the 1920s as well as what the players would have looked like at

that time. Photographs like this will help the visitors connect the ground on which they are

standing to people and events that occurred on that ground decades earlier. In the holdings of

Dayton History, several photographs exist, some of which have been digitized, which will be

used to enhance the interpretive panels at the park.

Live Interpretation

Since football is an active, fast-paced and dynamic sport, there will be live interpreters to

bring the game of the 1920s to life for visitors. A small group of men in period football uniforms

will visit the park to talk with visitors about the Triangles and their history. They will

demonstrate the equipment as it was used in the early years of professional football and show

visitors how it was the same, and how it was different from the modern game.

For safety concerns, game action would have to be carefully scripted and slowed.

However, the baseball field will be marked in the gridiron pattern for football to help visitors

visualize what a football game at the park would have looked like. Since Howell Field is

currently used for baseball games in the spring and summer, these demonstrations would take

place at times coinciding with the football season in the fall and early winter.

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These demonstrations will be scheduled in advance with city officials working with local

schools to organize field trips to Triangle Park for students to learn about local history in a

dynamic and unique way. Using sports such as football to teach history will reach students in a

way that makes the past relevant to them by linking it to something many, if not all, of them are

already familiar with, NFL football.

An example of re-enactments of early football exists today in Mansfield, Pennsylvania in

which the first night football game was played on September 28, 1892. About 100 years later, the

town started a tradition every fall in which volunteers re-enact that game as closely as possible

with uniforms and equipment from 1892. While the form of football re-created in Mansfield is

different from the game the Triangles played, it provides a useful example. Scripted plays are

used and, while the action is still physical, it is greatly slowed down to prevent injury.

Demonstrations at Triangle Park will take the form of team practice sessions in which the

team will run plays from the 1920s. As the forward pass was rarely used in the time of the

Dayton team’s existence, most of the plays would be rushing. An example of a common play run

during this time period was the Double-Wing. This was a “deep” formation in which the center

snapped the ball directly to a receiver or running back rather than the quarterback. While the

direct snap is still used today, there were still some rule differences in the game that few people

today would be familiar with. Passing plays could be run in which the ball lands incomplete in

the end zone, resulting in the defense taking possession of the ball. Also during passing plays,

any offensive player could go downfield so the defense was responsible for determining who the

eligible receivers were. Gameplay and rule differences such as these could be demonstrated to

visitors in a scripted, slowed down way to help visitors understand what is happening as well as

to minimize the likelihood of injury.

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Period costumes and equipment will be another significant part of the live interpretation

at Triangle Park. During the 1920s, there were few regulations around uniforms in professional

football. Teams issued wool jerseys and socks to their players who had to supply their own

protective equipment. As such, the type and amount of protective equipment varied widely

among players with some opting to wear leather helmets while others grew out their hair to

protect their heads from impacts. Pants worn during games were usually plain brown canvas.

Leather shoulder pads and rubber nose guards were also sometimes used. The football itself was

also very different at that time. Compared to modern footballs, the ball during the 1920s was

shorter and wider and also made of leather.

Also, individual interpreters, costumed or not, will lead group tours of the park, which

could be either adult visitors or students from local schools. The city should charge a nominal fee

to help with the associated costs but this would attract new users to the park who have an interest

in local history as well as the history of professional football.

Volunteers will be well-suited to the task of live interpretation with the Dayton

Clodbusters Base Ball Club serving as an excellent example of volunteers interpreting a sport

with historic rules and equipment. They will require training as would volunteer interpreters in

any other area. Dayton History as an organization has extensive experience in training

interpreters and would be able to assist in training any volunteers.

Since Howell Field is currently used for baseball, no football demonstrations would take

place during the baseball season in the spring and summer months. When baseball season ends,

however, the field will be marked with the “gridiron” pattern for football demonstrations in the

fall and early winter which will be removed when baseball season resumes. An example of

baseball and football teams sharing a field can be found at the professional level with the

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Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and the Oakland Raiders of the National Football

League.

The Coliseum in Oakland used for baseball and football

In keeping with historical accuracy, Howell Field would look different from the modern

example pictured above. The markings on football fields of the 1920s were much simpler, with a

chalk outline of the field and lines on a regular interval with no numbers or hash marks as are

seen on modern NFL fields. Goal posts were also set in front of the end zone and were wider at

that time. Should issues such as cost or safety concerns prohibit this, the goal posts could be

omitted from the park without significantly impacting the historic interpretation.

Using Howell Field for football demonstrations will ensure that the field, and Triangle

Park, will be put to use during a larger portion of the year. Due to cooler weather, most people do

not use outdoor parks as much during the fall and winter. Historic football demonstrations and

tours will entice people to visit the park during these usually slow times of the year.

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Another benefit of holding these live re-creations during the fall is that it coincides with

the current football season so there will already be widespread interest in football. This will

make it easier for interpreters to draw connections between professional football as played by the

Dayton Triangles and modern NFL.

Development and Recommendations

Generally, Triangle Park is exceptionally well-maintained. There are, however, some

facility improvements to be made in order to draw in more visitors and enhance their experience.

The first such improvement is simple. The lines in the parking lot at the park have been worn

away so that they are nearly invisible. This makes a poor first impression upon the visitor,

especially for someone who has never before been to Triangle Park. The solution is to paint new

lines for parking in yellow paint. This is an easy, inexpensive way to improve the visitor

experience as soon as he or she arrives at the park.

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Current parking lot, no lines visible

Another area that is of greater concern is the aging brick walkway located above the

bleachers.

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Large hole in walkway presents hazard to visitors

While the example of the disrepair of the brick walkway pictured is the most severe, there are

other cracks and uneven areas that are potentially hazardous to visitors. The walkway will need

to be replaced both for safety concerns and for aesthetics. The brick walkway will continue to

deteriorate as time passes, increasing the safety risk to visitors, therefore, this is an important part

of the interpretation at Triangle Park.

Installing a new brick walkway and removing the current one will prove one of the more

costly areas of improvement. In order to defray these costs, the city can “sell” new bricks to

members of the community and engrave a custom message that will become a permanent part of

the park. Not only will this provide financial benefits, allowing people in the community to leave

a lasting mark will foster a sense of ownership of Triangle Park by the people who use it and

lead to them feeling invested in its success.

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Furthermore, the restroom facilities near Howell Field are located at the top of a steep hill

which is only accessible by a long set of stairs. Some visitors with physical impairments will find

it difficult or impossible to reach these facilities. Therefore, a ramp will be built extending from

the brick path to the top of the hill to extend access to the park to a broader audience.

Long, steep staircase to restroom facilities

Potential Future Development

During the Dayton Triangles’ existence as a professional football team, Triangle Park

could accommodate up to 5,000 spectators. While it is unlikely that the park will be able to hold

that number of spectators again, there is room for expansion of the bleachers if it becomes

necessary, while leaving the existing seating intact.

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Existing seating with room for more if necessary

If the demonstrations held at Triangle Park prove successful, other cities in Ohio may re-

create their own long-defunct professional football teams. If this were to happen, the Dayton

Triangles could participate in competitive games with other teams of the period. Safety concerns

would dictate that the game action be slowed but having the Dayton re-enactors participate in

games against teams from elsewhere rather than demonstrating 1920s football plays would add a

unique, competitive dimension to the game that would be otherwise impossible. Such games

would not be scripted and as such would more closely resemble actual football games.

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Appendix

Bair, Nick. “Wednesday Night Lights: The Birth of Night Football.” Fall 2010.

<http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/NightFB.html>

Becker, Carl M. Home and Away: The Rise and Fall of Professional Football on the Banks of

the Ohio, 1919-1934. Athens, Ohio: Ohio UP, 1998.

Before the League, Time Warner Cable Sports Channel, November 2015.

Collett, Ritter. Sports in Dayton: A Bicentennial Retrospective. Dayton, Ohio: Landfall Press,

1996.

<http://www.daytontriangles.com/>

“From Rugby to Wrigley.” <http://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/history-of-

football/>

Harrigan, Joe and John Thorn eds. The Pro Football Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book: Where

Greatness Lives. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2012.

McDonough, Will, Peter King, Paul Zimmerman, Vic Carucci, Greg Garber, Kevin Lamb, Joe

Gergen, Harold Rosenthal, C.W. Nevius, Ed Bouchette, Ted Brock, Tom Barnidge, Phil

Barber. 75 Seasons: The Complete Story of the National Football League 1920-1995.

Atlanta: Turner Publishing, 1994.

Oriard, Michael. King Football: Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels,

Movies and Magazines, the Weekly and the Daily Press. Chapel Hill: North Carolina UP,

2001.

Professional Football Researchers Association Research. “Associating in Obscurity: 1920,”

PFRA.

Professional Football Researchers Association Research. “A War Year: 1918,” PFRA.

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Willis, Chris. The Columbus Panhandles: A Complete History of Pro Football’s Toughest Team,

1900-1922. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2007.

Willis, Chris. Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio, 1920-1935. Lanham,

Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005.

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