Leo Frederick Douglass was a professional football

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...

 who played in 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 1926

1926 NFL season

The 1926 NFL season was the 7th regular season of the National Football League. The league grew to 22 teams, a figure that would not be equaled in professional football until 1961, adding the Brooklyn Lions, the Hartford Blues, the Los Angeles Buccaneers, and the Louisville Colonels, with Racine...

. Douglass split the 1926 season playing for the Brooklyn Lions and the Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...

. He won the 1926 NFL championship when with Yellow Jackets.

Prior to joining the NFL, Douglass played for the Millville Big Blue based in Millville, New Jersey

Millville, New Jersey

Millville is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 26,847. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which...

. He scored 8 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 for the Big Blue that season. In January 1926, several members of the team traveled to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 to play several pick-up games against the Tampa Cardinals

Tampa Cardinals

The Tampa Cardinals, was a football barnstorming team, that played pick-up games, led by future pro football hall of famer, Jim Thorpe in 1926. During the time, the team was also billed as the St. Petersburg Cardinals and as Lena Vistas,...

, featuring Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe

Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...

. The team that was formed was called the Haven-Villa of Winter Haven

Haven-Villa of Winter Haven

The Haven-Villa of Winter Haven was a professional football team based in Winter Haven, Florida in 1926. While the team originated as a successful local team...

, which consisted of many Big Blue players as well as some other from the Frankford Yellow Jackets and the NFL's Pottsville Maroons

Pottsville Maroons

The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

. Douglass also played for the Bethlehem Bears

Bethlehem Bears

The Bethlehem Bears were an early professional football team from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The team was formed by Michael "Gyp" Downey who served as player-coach and the team's manager...

 of the Eastern League of Professional Football

Eastern League of Professional Football

The Eastern League of Professional Football was a football league formed in 1926 by independent clubs from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Eastern League was a regional minor league that never intended to challenge either the National Football League or even Red Grange's new American Football...

 in 1926.

Prior to playing professional football, Douglass 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 Lehigh University

Lehigh University

Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

 and the University of Vermont

University of Vermont

The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...