St. Louis All Stars
Encyclopedia
St. Louis All-Stars was a professional football
team that played in the National Football League
during the 1923 season
. The team played at St. Louis, Missouri
's Sportsman's Park
. Ollie Kraehe
owned, managed, coached and played guard
for the team.
. Kraehe figured that if small towns markets, like Green Bay
and Rock Island
, could be successful operating a professional football team, then operating in a larger market, like St. Louis
would bring in even more income. He was a local football hero in St. Louis since he had played college football
at Washington University in St. Louis
, alongside Jimmy Conzelman and had captained the 1921 team.
gave Kraehe an NFL franchise. He paid $100 for the franchise and began organizing a team, about a month before the 1923 season was to start. He also named his club the "All-Stars," however he soon discovered that there was a lack of All-American talent available. Many of the players were locals who came from St. Louis University and Washington University. Kraehe alater stated that, "There were some players who didn't want their parents to know they were in the game and some of them used fictitious names." He also admitted that, "there were some who pretended to be All-Americans from the East just to get a chance to play."
However some established players like Bub Weller
, an all-American from Nebraska and Dick King
, an all-American from Harvard
, did play for the team. The All-Stars were big but slow, very much defense-oriented. They would give up on 15 points in their first five games, but on the other hand, they would fail to score a touchdown
.
owned Sportsman's Park. Kraehe was able to work out an agreement where the Browns would receive 20 percent of the gross of each game. However, if that amounted to less than $10,000, in which case they'd settle for 15 percent. However, there were two stipulations for using the field. First the All-Stars could practice on the outfield
grass from October 10 to December 2 only if it does not interfere with the St. Louis University team's practice. The second stipulation stated that ended the All-Stars stadium deal if there was a World Series
game played in St. Louis.
season with a 25–0 defeat of a team from Murphysboro, Illinois
in a non-league game. For the second game, the All-Stars played the Green Bay Packers
to a scoreless tie at Bellevue Park
. They followed up with another scoreless tie against the Hammond Pros
.
However, the All-Stars were losing money. Kraehe lost more than $2,000, as only 719 spectators attended the team's home opener at Sportsman's Park. He blamed the low attendance on rainy weather and the fact that most sports fans were concentrating on the World Series being played in New York City
. However the lack of offense from the All-Stars made the St. Louis fans reluctant to spend their money to see a team that had not scored a touchdown in their first four NFL games. The All-Stars lost their second and third NFL games to the Cleveland Indians
and the Milwaukee Badgers
. Both scores resulted in 6–0 losses. The team also lost a fifth game to the Packers in front of a home crowd of only 750. The All-stars held the Packers scoreless for most of the game until Cub Buck
kicked a 28-yard field goal to give the Packers a 3-0 win.
Things did take a turn for the better when the All-Stars played the Oorang Indians
, featuring Jim Thorpe
, in front of 5,000 fans the following week. The Indians were a popular attraction in the early NFL. They were more of a novelty team and not considered very good. This raised the All-Stars hopes for a victory, or at least a touchdown. Al Casey
scored both of St. Louis' touchdowns in a 14-7 All-Stars win. Meanwhile, Thorpe threw a touchdown pass to put the Indians on the scoreboard. The Indians' visit helped ease the team's financial losses.
Two weeks later, The All-Stars played the Milwaukee Badgers in a rematch at Sportsman's Park. The Badgers' Jimmy Conzelman was one of St. Louis' most popular athletes and Kraehe hoped that his presence would put fans in the stands. However, only 2,395 paid to see Conzelman and the Badgers win 17–0.
, and lost to a local team 9-7. In September 1924, the NFL canceled the All-Stars franchise.
for cash to Curly Lambeau
and the Packers. It appeared as if Kraehe gave away one of his best players. However, this Dolly Gray
was an impostor who had never played at Princeton. Lambeau discovered this after watching his new end perform so badly the next game that he addressed Kraehe on the matter. Kraehe told Lambeau that trading away the impostor was meant as a "joke" and that he would return the money paid for Gray to Lambeau.
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 that 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...
during the 1923 season
1923 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...
. The team played at St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
's Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...
. Ollie Kraehe
Ollie Kraehe
Oliver Robert Kraehe was a professional football player for the Rock Island Independents in 1922. In 1923, he founded the St. Louis All Stars and served, not only as a player-coach, but as the team's manager and owner.-St...
owned, managed, coached and played guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for the team.
Origins
The idea came for the All-Stars came to Ollie Kraehe, while he was still a substitute offensive lineman playing for the Rock Island IndependentsRock 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...
. Kraehe figured that if small towns markets, like Green Bay
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,...
and Rock Island
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
, could be successful operating a professional football team, then operating in a larger market, like St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
would bring in even more income. He was a local football hero in St. Louis since he had 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 Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, alongside Jimmy Conzelman and had captained the 1921 team.
Team
In 1923, NFL President Joe CarrJoseph 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...
gave Kraehe an NFL franchise. He paid $100 for the franchise and began organizing a team, about a month before the 1923 season was to start. He also named his club the "All-Stars," however he soon discovered that there was a lack of All-American talent available. Many of the players were locals who came from St. Louis University and Washington University. Kraehe alater stated that, "There were some players who didn't want their parents to know they were in the game and some of them used fictitious names." He also admitted that, "there were some who pretended to be All-Americans from the East just to get a chance to play."
However some established players like Bub Weller
Bub Weller
Raymond Fred "Bub" Weller was an American football player who played college football for the University of Nebraska and played five years and 60 games of professional football in the early years of the National Football League. Weller was unanimously selected for All-American honors at the...
, an all-American from Nebraska and Dick King
Dick King (American football)
Richard Stewart Cutter "Dick" King was an All-American and professional football player. He played college football for Harvard University and was selected as an All-American at halfback) in 1915. In 1916, he signed with the Pine Village professional football team, becoming one of the first...
, an all-American from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, did play for the team. The All-Stars were big but slow, very much defense-oriented. They would give up on 15 points in their first five games, but on the other hand, they would fail to score a 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:...
.
Stadium
Kraehe also needed a home field for his All-Stars to play. In 1923, the St. Louis BrownsBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
owned Sportsman's Park. Kraehe was able to work out an agreement where the Browns would receive 20 percent of the gross of each game. However, if that amounted to less than $10,000, in which case they'd settle for 15 percent. However, there were two stipulations for using the field. First the All-Stars could practice on the outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
grass from October 10 to December 2 only if it does not interfere with the St. Louis University team's practice. The second stipulation stated that ended the All-Stars stadium deal if there was a World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
game played in St. Louis.
1923 season
The All-Stars began the 19231923 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...
season with a 25–0 defeat of a team from Murphysboro, Illinois
Murphysboro, Illinois
Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,970 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.-Geography:Murphysboro is located at ....
in a non-league game. For the second game, the All-Stars played the 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...
to a scoreless tie at Bellevue Park
Bellevue Park
Bellevue Park was the name of a stadium used for football games in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A minor league baseball park, it was the home of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL in 1923 and 1924....
. They followed up with another scoreless tie 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...
.
However, the All-Stars were losing money. Kraehe lost more than $2,000, as only 719 spectators attended the team's home opener at Sportsman's Park. He blamed the low attendance on rainy weather and the fact that most sports fans were concentrating on the World Series being played 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...
. However the lack of offense from the All-Stars made the St. Louis fans reluctant to spend their money to see a team that had not scored a touchdown in their first four NFL games. The All-Stars lost their second and third NFL games to the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Bulldogs
The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922...
and the Milwaukee Badgers
Milwaukee Badgers
The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee's north side...
. Both scores resulted in 6–0 losses. The team also lost a fifth game to the Packers in front of a home crowd of only 750. The All-stars held the Packers scoreless for most of the game until Cub Buck
Cub Buck
Howard Pierce Buck was a professional American football player who played offensive tackle for four seasons for the Green Bay Packers. He was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Buck was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1977...
kicked a 28-yard field goal to give the Packers a 3-0 win.
Things did take a turn for the better when the All-Stars played the Oorang Indians
Oorang Indians
The Oorang Indians were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio . The team was named after the Oorang dog kennels. It was a novelty team put together by the kennels' owner, Walter Lingo, for marketing purposes. All of the players were Native American, with Jim Thorpe as...
, 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...
, in front of 5,000 fans the following week. The Indians were a popular attraction in the early NFL. They were more of a novelty team and not considered very good. This raised the All-Stars hopes for a victory, or at least a touchdown. Al Casey
Al Casey
Albert Aloysius Casey known professional as Al Casey, was an African American swing guitarist who played with Fats Waller on some of his famous recordings. Casey composed the well known tune Buck Jumpin which was recorded by Waller.Casey was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Joseph and Maggie B....
scored both of St. Louis' touchdowns in a 14-7 All-Stars win. Meanwhile, Thorpe threw a touchdown pass to put the Indians on the scoreboard. The Indians' visit helped ease the team's financial losses.
Two weeks later, The All-Stars played the Milwaukee Badgers in a rematch at Sportsman's Park. The Badgers' Jimmy Conzelman was one of St. Louis' most popular athletes and Kraehe hoped that his presence would put fans in the stands. However, only 2,395 paid to see Conzelman and the Badgers win 17–0.
The end
Kraehe estimated the financial losses for the All-Stars at $1,300 for the Badgers' game and $6,300 for the season. He was forced to cancel his final NFL game of the season against the Cleveland Indians, due to injuries. Afterwards he took what was left of his team to Benld, IllinoisBenld, Illinois
Benld is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,541 at the 2000 census. The name derives from founder Benjamin L. Dorsey ....
, and lost to a local team 9-7. In September 1924, the NFL canceled the All-Stars franchise.
Jack Gray
After the All-Stars second game with the Packers, Ollie Kraehe traded Jack "Dolly" Gray who was reportedly a former all-American end from PrincetonPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
for cash to Curly Lambeau
Curly Lambeau
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
and the Packers. It appeared as if Kraehe gave away one of his best players. However, this Dolly Gray
The Dolly Gray Impostor
The Dolly Gray Imposter was an unknown American football player, who played under the alias of Jack "Dolly" Gray, an end from Princeton University in 1922. He was rumored to be an All-American honoree in 1922, however the only known person named Gray to be awarded consensus All-American honors at...
was an impostor who had never played at Princeton. Lambeau discovered this after watching his new end perform so badly the next game that he addressed Kraehe on the matter. Kraehe told Lambeau that trading away the impostor was meant as a "joke" and that he would return the money paid for Gray to Lambeau.
Season-by-season
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 14th | Ollie Kraehe Ollie Kraehe Oliver Robert Kraehe was a professional football player for the Rock Island Independents in 1922. In 1923, he founded the St. Louis All Stars and served, not only as a player-coach, but as the team's manager and owner.-St... |