Evansville Crimson Giants
Encyclopedia
The Evansville Crimson Giants were a professional American football
team based in Evansville, Indiana
and were a part of the National Football League
in 1921 and 1922. The Giants home games were played at Bosse Field
. According to the Evansville Courier and Press in 1921, 'they surprised local fans in developing a winning team' and 'the Giants' one-sided victories over inferior non-league teams has had good fan reaction.' However the team did not succeed mostly due to scheduling mistakes, and management problems. Evansville's local sporting enthusiasts also failed to respond favorably and attend the home games.
team, the Evansville Ex-Collegians, who began play in 1920. The Ex-Collegians played and followed the typical semi-professional template of the era. The team employed mostly local players almost exclusively. They paid those players a small sum based on gate receipts
and on a game-by-game basis. The team also operated without any real management oversight, meaning that the players looked after the team's finances, and scheduled games haphazardly. In 1920, group of local businessmen tried to purchase the Ex-Collegians, however the investors and the players failed reached a compromise.
After the initial two victories over modest opponents, the Ex-Collegians bragged of possibly playing, the most celebrated pro football team in the nation, the Canton Bulldogs
on Christmas Day 1920. While the chances of the game taking place between Evansville and Canton were slim, the rumour of a Canton game was really a marketing scheme to draw attention to the newly established Ex-Collegians. The team would finish their 1920 season with a 7-1 record.
, Fullback
for the Ex-Collegians and Mark Ingle
, an offensive lineman with the team, left the Ex-Collegians to create a new corporation known as the "American Football Association", which would own a new professional team soon nicknamed the Crimson Giants. Fausch served as team's president and general manager, while Ingle served as vice-president. The two men put together an ownership group that included Evansville's leading businessmen and professionals. Evansville's mayor, Benjamin Bosse
, and the vice-president of City National Bank
were included in this group. The city's Chamber of Commerce was also heavily involved in promoting the Crimson Giants.
, at first refused to join Fausch and Ingle. The Ex-Collegians wanted instead to continue playing independently. However Fausch need many of those Ex-Collegian players, in order to creat his new team. He came to an agreement with Guy Morrison
, a popular baseball
pitcher
with the Evansville Evas of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
. With Morrison, Fausch arranged for a benefit game that would provide funds for the construction of a World War I
veterans' memorial. By doing this the Crimson Giants secured the exclusive use of the only suitable stadium in Evansville, Bosse Field. Lindsey tried to challenged the Giants to a contest in the benefit game, however Fausch refused to respond.
Many professional football players soon flooded to the Crimson Giants. Bourbon Bondurant
, an insurance agent with prior pro football experience with the Fort Wayne Friars
; Joe Windbiel
, a local high school coach who played professionally with the Detroit Heralds; architect Earl Warweg
, who had played semi-pro football for five years in Indianapolis; cigar company traffic manager Clarence Specht; and June Talley, an insurance adjuster also with college football experience, soon joined the team.
After finding no other venue to play in Evansville, many of the Ex-Collegians joined the Crimson Giants. Soon Doc Gorman
joined the Crimson Giants, becoming the first Ex-Collegian, other than Fausch and Ingle, to defect. Within a week, Lindsey and Clarence Spiegel
, two main pillars of the Ex-Collegians' organization, jumped to the Crimson Giants.
.
, 14-0. However the Crimson Giants lost to the Hammond Pros
3-0 the very next week. That win was Hammond's first win in the league. During that game, Herb Henderson
, later stated that the Hammond players met with him during the game and asked if he could tone down his hits, because the Hammond players still needed to be healthy for work on Monday. Henderson, a high school football coach, refused and stated that he needed to show his players, who were sitting in the stands watching him, "how tackling was done".
However the team, lost a lot of money when it suffered through a series of scheduling mishaps in the second half of November. As a result of the eleven games originally scheduled, only five were actually played. Furthermore, only half of the ten games ultimately played by the Giants were against league opponents. In early November, the Crimson Giants travelled to Green Bay, Wisconsin
, to face the APFA's Green Bay Packers
at Hagemeister Park
. Although Fausch intended to play every game in Evansville, he chose at this point to receive a guaranteed sum from the Packers' organization rather than risk losing more money at Bosse Field, where attendance had been disappointing. With several players unable to leave Evansville for the weekend, Fausch found replacements, but the revamped Crimson Giants were defeated in Green Bay, 43-6.
Fausch then scheduled a pair of non-league opponents to the schedule. The first game which was to take place in Chicago was cancelled due to heavy snow, while the other game was cancelled by the opposing team. Fausch quickly added a game against the Cincinnati Celts
. However when faced with poor field conditions and two days of heavy rain, Fausch made a last-minute cancellation. Rather than play before another small crowd and lose more money, he decided not to play at all.
The Crimson Giants had now cancelled their last three games, one of which was to be played on Thanksgiving Day, the biggest football day of the year. As a result, the players received no money, and Fausch had to pay rent for an unused Bosse Field.
Fausch made sure the next game would be played. The Cincinnati Celts were re-scheduled and Fausch informed the press that the game would be played "rain or shine." He then stated that three more games, two against AFPA opponents, would be played in Evansville. The Celts game was played on Bosse Field, which was damaged due to heavy rains. The Crimson Giants won their sixth game of the season, 48-0, however the team still took a financial loss due to poor attendance. A scoreless tie against a non-AFPA opponent, two weeks later, ended the 1921 season for the Crimson Giants.
.
However Fausch lost his players. Several former Giants announced they would play for the local Knights of Columbus
squad instead. Then Menz Lindsey re-formed the Ex-Collegians and named Herb Henderson the team's coach. Lindsey's club then secured the financial backing of the Evansville Baseball Fans' Association. Johnny Nee
, manager of the Evanston Evas, became the team's business manager. The team was then dubbed the Fans' Association team.
Fausch attended the APFA's meeting in Columbus, Ohio
, and posted a $1,000 bond to secure his claim to the franchise. It was at this meeting that Chicago Bears
owner, George Halas
, suggested that the APFA be renamed the NFL. The Crimson Giants' membership in the NFL, meant that the Fans' Association team could not play league teams. Thus the team would be forced to play teams that were considered second-rate opponents. However the Fans' Association team had secured an exclusive lease to Bosse Field for the entire football season, leaving the Crimson Giants with no park for the 1922 season
. The Fans' Association team also signed many key players from the 1921 Crimson Giants team. Around this time Johnny Nee renamed the Fans' Association team the Evansville Pros and attempted to schedule games against the Hammond Pros
, Dayton Triangles
, and the Louisville Brecks. However a letter from NFL President Joseph Carr
, stated that Johnny Nee's Evansville Pros were not members of the NFL and NFL league clubs would only be allowed to play Fausch's Crimson Giants.
, Rock Island Independents
and Louisville Brecks.
The wins by the Brecks and Maroons, became the first in Louisville and Toledo franchise history. Meanwhile the Rock Island Independents became only the second team with two 100 yard rushers in their 60-0 win over Evansville. Jimmy Conzelman ran for five touchdown
s during that game, setting an NFL record that would remain in place until 1929, when Ernie Nevers scored 40 points alone against the Chicago Bears. The Independents also became the first NFL team to rush for 300 yards in that Evansville game. The Independents almost made it to 400, with 66 carries for 396 yards. The Crimson Giants had the ball for only 26 plays, and seven of those were punts.
, however he never made an effort to restart the team. Several of the Crimson Giants went on to play professional football for other NFL teams. While the Evansville Crimson Giants were the only league team to go under between the end of the 1922 season and the beginning of the 1923 season, few teams other than the Bears saw profits from football.
backgrounds. Only a few blue collar
workers played professional football in Evansville in the early 1920s. Of every players whose occupation could be determined, almost all of them were white collar
workers. The 1921 Crimson Giants even included three lawyers, one physician, and one dentist. It is believed that the blue collars workers were excluded from football in Evansville due to a lack of leisure time.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and were a part of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in 1921 and 1922. The Giants home games were played at Bosse Field
Bosse Field
Bosse Field, is a baseball stadium located in Evansville, Indiana. Built in 1915, it is the third oldest ballpark used for professional baseball on a regular basis in the country, surpassed only by Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago.It is the current home of the Frontier League...
. According to the Evansville Courier and Press in 1921, 'they surprised local fans in developing a winning team' and 'the Giants' one-sided victories over inferior non-league teams has had good fan reaction.' However the team did not succeed mostly due to scheduling mistakes, and management problems. Evansville's local sporting enthusiasts also failed to respond favorably and attend the home games.
Ex-Collegians
The Crimson Giants history is rooted in Evansville's first significant semi-proSemi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
team, the Evansville Ex-Collegians, who began play in 1920. The Ex-Collegians played and followed the typical semi-professional template of the era. The team employed mostly local players almost exclusively. They paid those players a small sum based on gate receipts
Gate receipts
Gate receipts is the sum of money taken at a sporting venue for the sale of tickets.Traditionally, gate receipts were largely or entirely taken in cash. Today, many sporting venues will operate a season ticket scheme, which will mean they allocate a proportion of season ticket moneys when...
and on a game-by-game basis. The team also operated without any real management oversight, meaning that the players looked after the team's finances, and scheduled games haphazardly. In 1920, group of local businessmen tried to purchase the Ex-Collegians, however the investors and the players failed reached a compromise.
After the initial two victories over modest opponents, the Ex-Collegians bragged of possibly playing, the most celebrated pro football team in the nation, the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
on Christmas Day 1920. While the chances of the game taking place between Evansville and Canton were slim, the rumour of a Canton game was really a marketing scheme to draw attention to the newly established Ex-Collegians. The team would finish their 1920 season with a 7-1 record.
Formation of the Crimson Giants
In 1921 the same unnamed businessmen who failed to takeover the Ex-Collegians in 1920 decided to form their own team. Frank FauschFrank Fausch
Franklin Leo Fausch was a professional football player-coach for the Evansville Crimson Giants of the National Football League in 1921 and 1922. He was also the owner, co-founder, president and general manager of the Crimson Giants during their brief time in the NFL...
, Fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
for the Ex-Collegians and Mark Ingle
Mark Ingle
Mark B. Ingle was an attorney as well as a professional football player in the early 1920s. Ingle played in the National Football League in 1921 for the Evansville Crimson Giants. He was also a co-founder of the team, along with Frank Fausch, and served as the team's vice-president.Prior to...
, an offensive lineman with the team, left the Ex-Collegians to create a new corporation known as the "American Football Association", which would own a new professional team soon nicknamed the Crimson Giants. Fausch served as team's president and general manager, while Ingle served as vice-president. The two men put together an ownership group that included Evansville's leading businessmen and professionals. Evansville's mayor, Benjamin Bosse
Benjamin Bosse
Benjamin Bosse was the mayor of Evansville, Indiana, from 1912 until his death in 1922. During his term as mayor Bosse oversaw that the horse drawn fire carriages were replaced, the Evansville Police Department moved into a separate Police Station, the paving of most downtown streets were paved...
, and the vice-president of City National Bank
City National Bank
City National Bank is an American financial institution headquartered in Los Angeles, California, owned by City National Corporation , with total assets of $21.8 billion . As of 2011, it is the 25th largest bank in USA...
were included in this group. The city's Chamber of Commerce was also heavily involved in promoting the Crimson Giants.
Merger of the Ex-Collegians and Crimson Giants
The remaining Ex-Collegians, led by their quarterback and captain, Menz LindseyMenz Lindsey
Ellis Menzies Lindsey was an attorney as well as a professional football player in the early 1920s. Lindsey was a quarterback for the Evansville Crimson Giants of the National Football League in 1921. He was also a co-manager of the semi-pro Evansville Ex-Collegians in 1920, before joining the...
, at first refused to join Fausch and Ingle. The Ex-Collegians wanted instead to continue playing independently. However Fausch need many of those Ex-Collegian players, in order to creat his new team. He came to an agreement with Guy Morrison
Guy Morrison
-References:***...
, a popular baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
with the Evansville Evas of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League
The Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League was a minor league baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 years, mostly in those three states. It was popularly known as the Three-I League and also sometimes jokingly as the Three-Eye League....
. With Morrison, Fausch arranged for a benefit game that would provide funds for the construction of a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans' memorial. By doing this the Crimson Giants secured the exclusive use of the only suitable stadium in Evansville, Bosse Field. Lindsey tried to challenged the Giants to a contest in the benefit game, however Fausch refused to respond.
Many professional football players soon flooded to the Crimson Giants. Bourbon Bondurant
Bourbon Bondurant
Bourbon Patch Bondurant was a professional football player during the early 1920s. He played in the early National Football League for the Evansville Crimson Giants and the Chicago Bears. Before joining the Evansville Crimson Giants Bondurant worked as an insurance agent...
, an insurance agent with prior pro football experience with the Fort Wayne Friars
Fort Wayne Friars
The Fort Wayne Friars were an early professional football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team, which was also known as the Friars Athletic Association, consistently fielded good and noteworthy teams...
; Joe Windbiel
Joe Windbiel
Joseph C. Windbiel Jr. was a professional football player who played in the early 1920s in the National Football League . He played for the AFPA's Evansville Crimson Giants during the 1921 season. He also reportedly played for the Detroit Heralds before the team joined the NFL in 1920...
, a local high school coach who played professionally with the Detroit Heralds; architect Earl Warweg
Earl Warweg
Earl Oscar Warweg was a professional football player during the early 1920s. He played in the early National Football League for the Evansville Crimson Giants in 1921. Prior to playing in the NFL, Warweg played semi-pro football for five years in Indianapolis, Indiana. Outside of pro football,...
, who had played semi-pro football for five years in Indianapolis; cigar company traffic manager Clarence Specht; and June Talley, an insurance adjuster also with college football experience, soon joined the team.
After finding no other venue to play in Evansville, many of the Ex-Collegians joined the Crimson Giants. Soon Doc Gorman
Doc Gorman
Otho Addison "Doc" Gorman was a professional football player during the early 1920s. He played in the National Football League, in 1921 and 1922, for the Evansville Crimson Giants. Gorman also played halfback at the college level for St. Louis University.Gorman also played football in 1920 with...
joined the Crimson Giants, becoming the first Ex-Collegian, other than Fausch and Ingle, to defect. Within a week, Lindsey and Clarence Spiegel
Clarence Spiegel
Clarence Adolph Spiegel was a professional football player in the early 1920s. He played in the early National Football League for the Evansville Crimson Giants. He also worked as a promotion manager for about 30 years. Prior to that he was the owner of a family owned and operated furniture store...
, two main pillars of the Ex-Collegians' organization, jumped to the Crimson Giants.
The NFL
On August 27, 1921, Fausch traveled to Chicago to secure an American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922) franchise for Evansville. It was then that Evansville was awarded an AFPA franchise, that was scheduled to begin play in 19211921 NFL season
The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....
.
1921 season
The Crimson Giants won five of their first seven games. The team's first ever league win came at home on October 2, 1921, as the Crimson Giants defeated the Louisville Brecks, 21-0. The team's second league win can a week later against the Muncie FlyersMuncie Flyers
The Muncie Flyers from Muncie, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920-1921.-Origins:...
, 14-0. However the Crimson Giants lost to the Hammond Pros
Hammond Pros
The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.-History:The Pros were established by Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young who was a boxing promoter, owner of a racing stable and a doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football team...
3-0 the very next week. That win was Hammond's first win in the league. During that game, Herb Henderson
Herb Henderson (American football)
Herbert Raymond Henderson was a professional football player in the early 1920s. He played for one season, in 1921, for the Evansville Crimson Giants of the National Football League. Prior to playing pro football, Henderson played at the college level at Ohio State. There he was a starting halfback...
, later stated that the Hammond players met with him during the game and asked if he could tone down his hits, because the Hammond players still needed to be healthy for work on Monday. Henderson, a high school football coach, refused and stated that he needed to show his players, who were sitting in the stands watching him, "how tackling was done".
However the team, lost a lot of money when it suffered through a series of scheduling mishaps in the second half of November. As a result of the eleven games originally scheduled, only five were actually played. Furthermore, only half of the ten games ultimately played by the Giants were against league opponents. In early November, the Crimson Giants travelled to Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, to face the APFA's Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
at Hagemeister Park
Hagemeister Park
Hagemeister Park was the name of a park in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL from their founding in 1919 through 1922. Owned by Hagemeister brewery, the park was located on the northern end of Washington Park .It was a classic sandlot, located near Baird and...
. Although Fausch intended to play every game in Evansville, he chose at this point to receive a guaranteed sum from the Packers' organization rather than risk losing more money at Bosse Field, where attendance had been disappointing. With several players unable to leave Evansville for the weekend, Fausch found replacements, but the revamped Crimson Giants were defeated in Green Bay, 43-6.
Fausch then scheduled a pair of non-league opponents to the schedule. The first game which was to take place in Chicago was cancelled due to heavy snow, while the other game was cancelled by the opposing team. Fausch quickly added a game against the Cincinnati Celts
Cincinnati Celts
The Cincinnati Celts was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association . The Celts were a traveling team, playing all of their APFA games in other cities' stadia...
. However when faced with poor field conditions and two days of heavy rain, Fausch made a last-minute cancellation. Rather than play before another small crowd and lose more money, he decided not to play at all.
The Crimson Giants had now cancelled their last three games, one of which was to be played on Thanksgiving Day, the biggest football day of the year. As a result, the players received no money, and Fausch had to pay rent for an unused Bosse Field.
Fausch made sure the next game would be played. The Cincinnati Celts were re-scheduled and Fausch informed the press that the game would be played "rain or shine." He then stated that three more games, two against AFPA opponents, would be played in Evansville. The Celts game was played on Bosse Field, which was damaged due to heavy rains. The Crimson Giants won their sixth game of the season, 48-0, however the team still took a financial loss due to poor attendance. A scoreless tie against a non-AFPA opponent, two weeks later, ended the 1921 season for the Crimson Giants.
Committee of Five
Many of the Crimson Giants' players became upset with management of the team under Fausch after the 1921 season. It was then that several members of the team took matters into their own hands. The "Committee of Five", led by former Ex-Collegians Menz Lindsey and Clarence Spiegel, forced Fausch to surrender management of the team. The "Committee of Five" could not reverse the Crimson Giants' financial fortunes. The Committee lost money in its only contests. Fausch and his American Football Association corporation, lost an estimated ten thousand dollars over the course of the season, despite playing a total of nine games at home and only one on the road. To combat the "Committee of Five", Fausch asserted publicly that it was he who held the franchise rights in the American Professional Football Association, and thus owned the Crimson Giants. And to help improve the team's finances, he suggested that he would play every Crimson Giants game on the roadTraveling team
In professional team sports, a traveling team is a member of a professional league that never or rarely competes in its home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team in that the latter does not compete within a league or association framework...
.
However Fausch lost his players. Several former Giants announced they would play for the local Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
squad instead. Then Menz Lindsey re-formed the Ex-Collegians and named Herb Henderson the team's coach. Lindsey's club then secured the financial backing of the Evansville Baseball Fans' Association. Johnny Nee
Johnny Nee
John Coleman "Johnny" Nee was a major league baseball scout and a minor league player-manager....
, manager of the Evanston Evas, became the team's business manager. The team was then dubbed the Fans' Association team.
Fausch attended the APFA's meeting in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, and posted a $1,000 bond to secure his claim to the franchise. It was at this meeting that Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner, George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, suggested that the APFA be renamed the NFL. The Crimson Giants' membership in the NFL, meant that the Fans' Association team could not play league teams. Thus the team would be forced to play teams that were considered second-rate opponents. However the Fans' Association team had secured an exclusive lease to Bosse Field for the entire football season, leaving the Crimson Giants with no park for the 1922 season
1922 NFL season
The 1922 NFL season was the 3rd regular season of what was now called National Football League . The NFL fielded 18 teams during the season, including new league teams such as the Milwaukee Badgers, the Oorang Indians, the Racine Legion, and the Toledo Maroons...
. The Fans' Association team also signed many key players from the 1921 Crimson Giants team. Around this time Johnny Nee renamed the Fans' Association team the Evansville Pros and attempted to schedule games against the Hammond Pros
Hammond Pros
The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.-History:The Pros were established by Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young who was a boxing promoter, owner of a racing stable and a doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football team...
, Dayton Triangles
Dayton Triangles
The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north...
, and the Louisville Brecks. However a letter from NFL President Joseph Carr
Joseph Carr
Joseph "Joe" F. Carr was the president of the National Football League from 1921 until his death in 1939. Carr was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a mechanic for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, he directed the Columbus Panhandles football team in 1907 until 1922...
, stated that Johnny Nee's Evansville Pros were not members of the NFL and NFL league clubs would only be allowed to play Fausch's Crimson Giants.
1922 season
The Crimson Giants played their first three games of the season on the road. Fausch in the meantime had hoped that the Evansville Pros would fold in October, so that he could regain the rights to Bosse Field. Luckily for Fausch, the Pros folded after witnessing poor attendance and an 0-1-1 record. As a result Fausch entered into negotiations with Nee over the sakle of the lease for Bosse Field. However the negotiations between the two clubs broke down and the Crimson Giants cancelled their remaining home games. The team would only play three games in 1922, all on the road. The Crimson Giants lost all three of those games to the Toledo MaroonsToledo Maroons
The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:...
, Rock Island Independents
Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...
and Louisville Brecks.
The wins by the Brecks and Maroons, became the first in Louisville and Toledo franchise history. Meanwhile the Rock Island Independents became only the second team with two 100 yard rushers in their 60-0 win over Evansville. Jimmy Conzelman ran for five touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s during that game, setting an NFL record that would remain in place until 1929, when Ernie Nevers scored 40 points alone against the Chicago Bears. The Independents also became the first NFL team to rush for 300 yards in that Evansville game. The Independents almost made it to 400, with 66 carries for 396 yards. The Crimson Giants had the ball for only 26 plays, and seven of those were punts.
End of the Crimson Giants
Fausch talked briefly about re-organizing a new Crimson Giants club for the 1923 season1923 NFL season
The 1923 NFL season was the 4th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time, all of the clubs that were considered to be part of the NFL fielded teams. The new teams that entered the league included the Duluth Kelleys, the St. Louis All Stars , and a new Cleveland Indians team...
, however he never made an effort to restart the team. Several of the Crimson Giants went on to play professional football for other NFL teams. While the Evansville Crimson Giants were the only league team to go under between the end of the 1922 season and the beginning of the 1923 season, few teams other than the Bears saw profits from football.
Social make up of the Evansville teams
The Crimson Giants relied more on outside talent, that their predessors the Ex-Collegians. 17 of the Crimson Giants 30 players in 1921 were from Evansville. By 1922 only 5 of the team's 17 players were locals. In contrast, 22 of 23 players on the 1920 Ex-Collegians were from Evansville. When faced with competition from the Giants in 1921, the Ex-Collegians brought in a few outsiders before folding, but generally semi-pro teams spent little effort on recruiting. Both the Ex-Collegians and the Crimson Giants relied almost exclusively on players with college experience. Both teams consisted overwhelmingly of players from middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
backgrounds. Only a few blue collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
workers played professional football in Evansville in the early 1920s. Of every players whose occupation could be determined, almost all of them were white collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
workers. The 1921 Crimson Giants even included three lawyers, one physician, and one dentist. It is believed that the blue collars workers were excluded from football in Evansville due to a lack of leisure time.
Season-by-season
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6th | Frank Fausch |
| 1922 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15th | Frank Fausch |
See also
Sports in EvansvilleSports in Evansville
Evansville, Indiana, USA is the home of two minor league professional, two semi-professional, and three amateur sports teams. The city is also the home to two NCAA collegiate teams, and nine high schools that participate in the Indiana High School Athletic Association...