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Philadelphia Athletics (NFL)
Encyclopedia
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional American football
team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League
of today. The whole "league" was a curious mixture of baseball and football. During the league's only year in existence, two of the three teams that were financed by the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies
, hence the names Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies
. The Pittsburgh Stars
made up the third team and was suspected of being fiananced by the Pittsburgh Pirates
baseball team.
and the new American League
that began in 1901. In Philadelphia, the AL's Athletics lured several of the NL's Phillies from their contracts, only to lose them again through court action. When Phillie owner John Rogers
decided to start a football team, the Athletics followed suit. A's owner Ben Shibe
fielded a team made-up of several baseball players as well as some local football talent. He appointed his baseball manager Connie Mack
as the team's general manager and named former Penn
player, Charles "Blondy" Wallace
as the team's coach. Each Philadelphia team was named after their respective baseball clubs and became the Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies.
However both Rogers and Shibe knew that to lay claim to the World Championship, they had to play a team from Pittsburgh
, which was the focal point of football at the time. They called upon Dave Berry
, pro football promoter, and a Pittsburgh team was soon formed. These three teams are all that made up the first NFL.
Upon hiring Wallace as coach of team, Shibe primarily put Mack in the manager position to watch over Wallace. Mack wasn't an expert on football, but he had always been careful with Shibe's money and his sports teams. Nevertheless, Wallace beagn signing the best football talent available. The Phillies had a headstart, but A's soon caught up until Philadelphia rosters began to look like a "Who's Who of Phialdelphia Football talent".
teams. The Athletics' star left-hander, Rube Waddell
. When in the mood, he could throw a baseball better than anyone in the world, but he wasn't always in the mood. Newspapers of the time charitably referred to Waddell as "eccentric" while others ranked him between "screwball" and "nutsy." When football began, Connie saw a chance to keep his star in line for a few months more. He signed the lefty on as an extra lineman, against Waddell's recommendation that he be placed at halfback
. While there is no mention of Waddell’s name in any lineups or game accounts, Wallace may have let the lefty into a few games when the score was safe. Regardless, it was no secret to anyone that the Rube was there to be watched.
in 1902. The teams began playing various colleges and local football clubs before finally playing each other. On November 8, the Stars traveled to Philadelphia to play the A's. In the first half Pittsburgh scored two touchdown
s but failed on each extra point
attempts (PAT). In 1902, the PAT was more difficult than those of today. It had to be kicked from a point straight out from where the ball crossed the goal line on the TD. If the angle was bad, the scoring team's fullback punted the ball out into the field from behind the goal line. The extra point man had first to field the punt-out, and then, kick from where he'd caught the ball. If the fullback couldn't give the kicker good field position, he didn't stand a chance on his try. The Athletics also got a touchdown and added the point. Until 1912 a touchdown counted only five points, so the score at the half stood 10-6. However, the A's were not content to be the first team to score against the Stars; they added a second-half field goal—also five points, the same as a touchdown. Under modern scoring, the game would have been a 12-10 Pittsburgh victory. In 1902 scoring it was 11-10, Philadelphia.
Then the night before the first championship game try with Pittsburgh, Connie caught Rube sneaking into the hotel long after curfew. After being delivered a lecture by Mack, Waddell turned return to his hotel room. However, a loaded pistol dropped out of his pocket and went off. The bullet missed Mack's head by inches.
, the league president and manager of the Stars, as the championship game.
Mack prepared the A's for the big game by playing an exhibition tour through northern Pennsylvania and southern New York
. In Elmira, New York
the Athletics joined in the first night game in pro football history. Lights were set up along the sidelines and giant searchlights glared from behind the goal posts.
When Mack agreed to the championship game, he was promised $2,000 in return for his team's participation. When he saw that the stands were practically empty, he refused to play until his team was paid their share of the gate. With the stands almost empty, it looked as if the game wouldn't be played. However, Mack soon after received a check for $2,000 from William Corey, the head of Carnegie Steel who impatiently wanted to see the game, and the game soon began. Corey got his money's worth, if he liked evenly matched games. Both teams played at their best and sweated to a scoreless tie. It was a fair verdict, but Dave Berry's "championship game" hadn't decided anything.
In late December of that same year the 1902 World Series of Football was held at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. While neither the Phillies nor Athletics participated in this event, several members of both squads joined together on a team known variously as "New York
", the New Yorks and the New York Philadelphians. The "New York" team played in the first indoor football game against the Syracuse Athletic Club. The Philadelphia Athletics Football Club finished the 1902 season some $4000 in debt. Mack reorganized the team for the 1903 but the squad played only two games, a 0-12 defeat at the hands of the Watertown Red & Black
and a 6-0 victory over the All-Syracuse eleven, before folding.
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 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with 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...
of today. The whole "league" was a curious mixture of baseball and football. During the league's only year in existence, two of the three teams that were financed by the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, hence the names Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies (NFL)
The Philadelphia Phillies were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole league was a curious...
. The Pittsburgh Stars
Pittsburgh Stars
The Pittsburgh Stars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole "league" was a curious mixture...
made up the third team and was suspected of being fiananced by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
baseball team.
Origins
The Athletics began as a part of the baseball wars between the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and the new American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
that began in 1901. In Philadelphia, the AL's Athletics lured several of the NL's Phillies from their contracts, only to lose them again through court action. When Phillie owner John Rogers
John Rogers (baseball)
John Ignatius Rogers , was part-owner of the Philadelphia Phillies from to , and majority owner from 1899 to . He also owned the Philadelphia Phillies of the short-lived National Football League of 1902.Rogers was born to Irish immigrant parents in Philadelphia on May 27, 1844...
decided to start a football team, the Athletics followed suit. A's owner Ben Shibe
Ben Shibe
Benjamin Franklin Shibe was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who, along with his sons John and Tom, was half-owner of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with the invention of the automated stitching machinery to make...
fielded a team made-up of several baseball players as well as some local football talent. He appointed his baseball manager Connie Mack
Connie Mack (baseball)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...
as the team's general manager and named former Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
player, Charles "Blondy" Wallace
Blondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace was an early professional football player. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania. He also played two years at Peddie Institute, in New Jersey, winning state championships in 1896 and 1897...
as the team's coach. Each Philadelphia team was named after their respective baseball clubs and became the Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, which was the focal point of football at the time. They called upon Dave Berry
Dave Berry (American football)
David J. Berry was a major football manager during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the top promotor for the sport during that time period...
, pro football promoter, and a Pittsburgh team was soon formed. These three teams are all that made up the first NFL.
Upon hiring Wallace as coach of team, Shibe primarily put Mack in the manager position to watch over Wallace. Mack wasn't an expert on football, but he had always been careful with Shibe's money and his sports teams. Nevertheless, Wallace beagn signing the best football talent available. The Phillies had a headstart, but A's soon caught up until Philadelphia rosters began to look like a "Who's Who of Phialdelphia Football talent".
Rube Waddell
Many of the baseball players from the Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams. The Athletics' star left-hander, Rube Waddell
Rube Waddell
George Edward Waddell was an American southpaw pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his thirteen-year career he played for the Louisville Colonels , Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Orphans in the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns in the American League...
. When in the mood, he could throw a baseball better than anyone in the world, but he wasn't always in the mood. Newspapers of the time charitably referred to Waddell as "eccentric" while others ranked him between "screwball" and "nutsy." When football began, Connie saw a chance to keep his star in line for a few months more. He signed the lefty on as an extra lineman, against Waddell's recommendation that he be placed at halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
. While there is no mention of Waddell’s name in any lineups or game accounts, Wallace may have let the lefty into a few games when the score was safe. Regardless, it was no secret to anyone that the Rube was there to be watched.
First Stars game
The league played all of its games on Saturdays, since there were no Sunday sports events according to Pennsylvania blue lawsBlue Laws
The Blue Laws of the Colony of Connecticut, as distinct from the generic term "blue law" that refers to any laws regulating activities on Sunday, were the initial statutes set up by the Gov. Theophilus Eaton with the assistance of the Rev. John Cotton in 1655 for the Colony of New Haven, now part...
in 1902. The teams began playing various colleges and local football clubs before finally playing each other. On November 8, the Stars traveled to Philadelphia to play the A's. In the first half Pittsburgh scored two 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 but failed on each extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
attempts (PAT). In 1902, the PAT was more difficult than those of today. It had to be kicked from a point straight out from where the ball crossed the goal line on the TD. If the angle was bad, the scoring team's fullback punted the ball out into the field from behind the goal line. The extra point man had first to field the punt-out, and then, kick from where he'd caught the ball. If the fullback couldn't give the kicker good field position, he didn't stand a chance on his try. The Athletics also got a touchdown and added the point. Until 1912 a touchdown counted only five points, so the score at the half stood 10-6. However, the A's were not content to be the first team to score against the Stars; they added a second-half field goal—also five points, the same as a touchdown. Under modern scoring, the game would have been a 12-10 Pittsburgh victory. In 1902 scoring it was 11-10, Philadelphia.
Issues with Waddell
However was still more committed to baseball than football and worried more about losing Rube Waddell than any football game. In Elmira, Waddell was tempted to remain in a town that was the home of one of the biggest manufacturers of fire engines, which he loved. Mack had to then convince Rube to saty with the team.Then the night before the first championship game try with Pittsburgh, Connie caught Rube sneaking into the hotel long after curfew. After being delivered a lecture by Mack, Waddell turned return to his hotel room. However, a loaded pistol dropped out of his pocket and went off. The bullet missed Mack's head by inches.
First championship try
The Athletics had split on the 1902 season with the Phillies, as had Pittsburgh. Although a Philadelphia victory on Thanksgiving Day would give the A's the championship hands down, a win by the Stars could tie the league race tighter than a toper on Saturday night. The game going to be billed by Dave BerryDave Berry (American football)
David J. Berry was a major football manager during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the top promotor for the sport during that time period...
, the league president and manager of the Stars, as the championship game.
Mack prepared the A's for the big game by playing an exhibition tour through northern Pennsylvania and southern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In Elmira, New York
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
the Athletics joined in the first night game in pro football history. Lights were set up along the sidelines and giant searchlights glared from behind the goal posts.
When Mack agreed to the championship game, he was promised $2,000 in return for his team's participation. When he saw that the stands were practically empty, he refused to play until his team was paid their share of the gate. With the stands almost empty, it looked as if the game wouldn't be played. However, Mack soon after received a check for $2,000 from William Corey, the head of Carnegie Steel who impatiently wanted to see the game, and the game soon began. Corey got his money's worth, if he liked evenly matched games. Both teams played at their best and sweated to a scoreless tie. It was a fair verdict, but Dave Berry's "championship game" hadn't decided anything.
1902 Championship
Another championship game was soon planned between Berry and Mack. The crowd was a little better that day, but not by much. Only about 2,000 fans showed up. With less than three minutes left in a scoreless game, neither team had yet been able to score a point. Everyone was about ready to contend with another tie. However, a late fumble led to a Pittsburgh touchdown and another touchdown soon followed. The Stars won the championship. Meanwhile the Athletics went home and beat the Phillies to wrap up second place. It was a nice win and gave them the city championship.Controversy
With the win, A's players decided to call the Stars game an exhibition, and declared themselves the champs. However, the team had agreed to that season-ending championship game against Pittsburgh the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and they had lost it. This was recognized by all parties at the time as the championship game. Each team carried a record of 2-2 for league play. Pittsburgh had by far the better point ratio, scoring 39 points to their opponents' 22. Both the Athletics and the Phillies gave up more points than they scored in their league games. Finally Dave Berry used his power as league president and name his Stars the 1905 champions.In late December of that same year the 1902 World Series of Football was held at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden (1890)
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the second by that name, and the second to be located at 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan...
in 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...
. While neither the Phillies nor Athletics participated in this event, several members of both squads joined together on a team known variously as "New York
New York (World Series of Football)
"New York" was a term given to a professional football team formed by promoter Tom O'Rouke for the World Series of Football in 1902. The event was held in New York City at Madison Square Garden...
", the New Yorks and the New York Philadelphians. The "New York" team played in the first indoor football game against the Syracuse Athletic Club. The Philadelphia Athletics Football Club finished the 1902 season some $4000 in debt. Mack reorganized the team for the 1903 but the squad played only two games, a 0-12 defeat at the hands of the Watertown Red & Black
Watertown Red & Black
The Watertown Red & Black is a semi-professional American football team based in Watertown, New York. Founded in 1896, the team is the oldest semi-pro football team in the United States...
and a 6-0 victory over the All-Syracuse eleven, before folding.
Seasons
- 1902 Philadelphia Athletics (NFL) season1902 Philadelphia Athletics (NFL) seasonThe 1902 Philadelphia Athletics football season was their first season in existence. The team played in the first National Football League and finished with a overall record of 10-2-2, including a 3-2-1 record in league play...
- 1903 Philadelphia Athletics (NFL) season1903 Philadelphia Athletics (NFL) seasonThe 1903 Philadelphia Athletics football season was their second, and last, season in existence. The team played independently of any league since the first National Football League ceased operations in 1902. The Athletics only played two recorded games in 1903, posting a 1-1 record.-Schedule:...