Harry March
Encyclopedia
Harry Addison March was an early football
historian and promoter, as well as a medical doctor. He also helped organize the National Football League
and well as the second American Football League
. March is also credited with convincing Tim Mara
to purchase an NFL franchise for New York City
, which is still in existence today as the New York Giants
. He finally wrote one of the first books on the history of the professional game: Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs
in 1934. Dr. March is known as the "Father of Professional Football."
and grew up in Canton
. His father was an officer in the U.S. Army
and a close friend to future-President William McKinley
. Harry played college football
at Mount Union College
in 1893 and later became a reporter for the Canton Repository. When McKinley campaigned for the Presidency in 1896
, March joined him as a reporter and followed his campaign. The job led Harry to Washington D.C. where he landed a job earning $7-a-week as an assistant to drama critic Channing Pollock
. When McKinley advised him that newspaper reporters were "lounge lizards", he studied medicine at George Washington University Medical School
and went back to Canton to start a practice.
, Fielding Yost
, Walter Okeson, Knute Rockne
and Pudge Heffelfinger. These experiences would inspire and help him to write Pro Football:It's Ups and Downs in 1934.
In 1904, March was a coach for the Canton McKinley High School football team team
. By 1906, March was practicing medicine in Canton and was even one of the team doctors to the Canton Bulldogs
of the pre-NFL, "Ohio League
". March would treated the players for shin splints and muscle pulls. Since he was Canton's team doctor in 1906, March was witness to the events surrounding the Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal. He recorded his interpretation of the event in his book Pro Football:It's Ups and Downs a quarter century later. However his version of the scandal has been questioned for accuracy by the Professional Football Researchers Association
in 1984, with their article Blondy Wallace and Biggest Football Scandal Ever.
From 1925 to 1928 he served as Secretary of the New York Football Giants and from 1928 to 1933 he served as President of the club. In 1926 he was selected to a three-man committee to meet with the Intercollegiate Committee of Athletics in New York City. The other two members of this panel were George Halas
and Peggy Parratt
.
A squabble with George Preston Marshall
, owner of the Boston Redskins (Washington Redskins
), put him out of the National Football League in 1934. March sold his interest in the Giants and helped form the second American Football League. March served as President of the new AFL for one year before resigning over differences with the management of several member teams.
Dr. March wrote a book called Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs in 1934, stamping himself as the leading U. S. authority on professional football history for the next several decades.
as a lieutenant in the medical corps.
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...
historian and promoter, as well as a medical doctor. He also helped organize 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...
and well as the second American Football League
American Football League (1936)
Sometimes called AFL II, the second American Football League was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League throughout its existence...
. March is also credited with convincing Tim Mara
Tim Mara
Timothy James "Tim" Mara was the founder and administrator for the New York Giants of the National Football League. The Giants', under Mara, would win NFL championships in 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1958, 1959.-Early life:Mara was born into poverty...
to purchase an NFL franchise for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which is still in existence today as the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He finally wrote one of the first books on the history of the professional game: Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs
Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs
Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs, published in 1934, is a novel by Dr. Harry March that was the first ever attempt to write a history of professional American football. March had served in several executive offices with the New York Giants of the National Football League in the late 1920s and was a...
in 1934. Dr. March is known as the "Father of Professional Football."
Early life
March was born in New Franklin, OhioNew Franklin, Ohio
New Franklin is a city located at the southern edge of Summit County, Ohio, United States, in the northeastern part of the state. It is bounded by Coventry Township, as well as the cities of Barberton and Norton to the north; by Chippewa Township, Wayne County; by Clinton to the southwest; by Green...
and grew up in Canton
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. His father was an officer in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and a close friend to future-President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
. Harry played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Mount Union College
Mount Union College
The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
in 1893 and later became a reporter for the Canton Repository. When McKinley campaigned for the Presidency in 1896
United States presidential election, 1896
The United States presidential election held on November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by political scientists to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history....
, March joined him as a reporter and followed his campaign. The job led Harry to Washington D.C. where he landed a job earning $7-a-week as an assistant to drama critic Channing Pollock
Channing Pollock
Channing Pollock may refer to:* Channing Pollock * Channing Pollock...
. When McKinley advised him that newspaper reporters were "lounge lizards", he studied medicine at George Washington University Medical School
George Washington University Medical School
The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences was established in 1824 due to the need for doctors in the District of Columbia but formally opened its doors a year later in 1825. It is the eleventh oldest medical school in the country and the first medical school...
and went back to Canton to start a practice.
Pro football
While in Canton, March played in or watched hundreds of football games featuring the best professionals of the day such as Christy MathewsonChristy Mathewson
Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...
, Fielding Yost
Fielding Yost
Fielding Harris Yost was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Ohio Wesleyan University , the University of Nebraska–Lincoln , the University of Kansas , Stanford University , San Jose State University , and the University...
, Walter Okeson, Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
and Pudge Heffelfinger. These experiences would inspire and help him to write Pro Football:It's Ups and Downs in 1934.
In 1904, March was a coach for the Canton McKinley High School football team team
Canton McKinley High School
Canton McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, U.S. It is one of the largest and oldest high schools in Ohio.-Athletics:...
. By 1906, March was practicing medicine in Canton and was even one of the team doctors to 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...
of the pre-NFL, "Ohio League
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship . As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio...
". March would treated the players for shin splints and muscle pulls. Since he was Canton's team doctor in 1906, March was witness to the events surrounding the Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal. He recorded his interpretation of the event in his book Pro Football:It's Ups and Downs a quarter century later. However his version of the scandal has been questioned for accuracy by the Professional Football Researchers Association
Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/historian Bob Carroll and six other football researchers and is...
in 1984, with their article Blondy Wallace and Biggest Football Scandal Ever.
From 1925 to 1928 he served as Secretary of the New York Football Giants and from 1928 to 1933 he served as President of the club. In 1926 he was selected to a three-man committee to meet with the Intercollegiate Committee of Athletics in New York City. The other two members of this panel were 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...
and Peggy Parratt
Peggy Parratt
George Watson "Peggy" Parratt was a professional football player who played in the "Ohio League" prior to it becoming a part of the National Football League...
.
A squabble with George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall was the owner and president of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League from 1932 until his death in 1969.-Contributions:...
, owner of the Boston Redskins (Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
), put him out of the National Football League in 1934. March sold his interest in the Giants and helped form the second American Football League. March served as President of the new AFL for one year before resigning over differences with the management of several member teams.
Dr. March wrote a book called Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs in 1934, stamping himself as the leading U. S. authority on professional football history for the next several decades.
Military service
He served in the Spanish American War as a correspondent and in World War IWorld 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...
as a lieutenant in the medical corps.
See also
- Pro Football: Its Ups and DownsPro Football: Its Ups and DownsPro Football: Its Ups and Downs, published in 1934, is a novel by Dr. Harry March that was the first ever attempt to write a history of professional American football. March had served in several executive offices with the New York Giants of the National Football League in the late 1920s and was a...