Youngstown Patricians
Encyclopedia
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the 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...
championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core 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...
.
Origins
The football team was organized in 1911 by the Patrician Club, a men's organization connected to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic parish, on the city's south side. As sports historian Vic Frolund observes, the Catholic lay organization was designed "to advance the moral, social, and physical welfare of its members." Nevertheless, by 1914, the team associated with the Patricians Club had become a highly competitiveCompetition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
enterprise that aggressively recruited some of the top athletic talent in the region. Shortly after the team's founding, its 18 players faced an eight-game schedule among other semi-professional and sandlot teams in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. After scoring seven wins and one loss, the Patricians embraced a longer and tougher schedule of nine games.
Faced with more experienced teams like 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...
, the McKeesport Olympics
McKeesport Olympics
The McKeesport Olympics were a professional football team from McKeesport, Pennsylvania from 1896 until around 1940. The Olympics were considered one of the top football teams in Pennsylvania from 1910 until 1919....
, the Pitcairn Quakers
Pitcairn Quakers
The Pitcairn Quakers were a professional football team from Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. The team played as an independent from 1904 until 1920 and featured the best players in the community as well as some famous college-level players. A few of those players, were college All-Americans. At one time the...
, and the Washington Vigilants
Washington Vigilants
The Washington Vigilants were an early Professional Football team based in Washington, DC. During the late 1900s and early 1910s, they were considered the top team in professional football, after the dominant teams in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the early and middle 1900s had faded in prominence. The...
, the Patricians increased their squad to 25 men and began to actively recruit well-established players. As Frolund writes: "Contracts were practically unheard of in the early days of the pro game. Consequently, a player could be with a different team every Sunday. His services were open to the highest bidder each week." In this competitive environment, the Patricians managed to secure seasoned players including Ray Miller (University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
), Elgie Tobin
Elgie Tobin
Elza Williams Tobin was a professional football player with the independent Youngstown Patricians and a player-coach with the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association where he wore number 8. Tobin played with Patricians from 1915 until 1919. When the team folded, Tobin joined...
(Pennsylvania State University), Russell "Busty" Ashbaugh (All-American mention at Brown University
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
), and George Vedernack (Carlisle). This power-house team was led by player-coach Ray L. Thomas, a former star athlete at Youngstown's Rayen School.
Professional championship
Led by manager Joe Ormier and coach Thomas (fresh from the West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
football team), the Patricians entered the 1915 season with a confidence that was soon reflected in the local media. In October, when the "Pats" faced off with a rival club from Barberton, Ohio, one newspaper account stated: "It is no wonder the Patricians have aimed at the state titular emblem this season. With such a grand organization; one that so admirably combines weight speed, courage, and sheer ability, it is even to their discredit that do not go in quest of the titular honors of several states or the country at large." The article added:"The maroon and gray [the Patricians' colors] need fear no professional football team."
The news report proved prophetic. That season, the Patricians won eight games and tied one. The most unexpected victory was a 13-7 win over the Washington, D.C., Vigilants
Washington Vigilants
The Washington Vigilants were an early Professional Football team based in Washington, DC. During the late 1900s and early 1910s, they were considered the top team in professional football, after the dominant teams in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the early and middle 1900s had faded in prominence. The...
. As Frolund writes: "Over a span of nine years, the Vigilants had won 90 games, lost but three, and had one tie. The Vigilants had claimed the World's Championship of professional football since 1907, defeating such teams as the famous Philadelphia Blues, Jersey City Pros, Harrisburg Giants, Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
All-Stars, Maryland
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and 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...
Pros, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, and Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
." As Frolund observes, the victory enabled the Patricians to lay claim to the World's Championship.
The following season, however, the Patricians faced predictably tough competition as other semi-professional teams sought to challenge their unofficial but widely acknowledged championship. While the Patricians won a slim victory over the Washington Vigilants, they closed the season with a crippling 0-13 loss to the Columbus Panhandles. Their season record was a less-than-stellar 7-4.
Peak and decline
The Patricians entered the 1917 season determined to win back the championship title and assembled a powerhouse team that appeared equal to the task. The team featured five All-Americans. Standouts included Stan Cofall (University of Notre DameNotre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
), Tom Gormley (Georgetown University
Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown's nickname is The Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Various breeds of dogs have been used by the sports teams as mascots since the early 1900s. Several notable bull terriers like Sergeant Stubby and "Hoya" were used at football games in the 1920s, as was a Great Dane in the...
), Franklin "Bart" MacComber
Bart Macomber
Franklin Bart Macomber was an American football player. He played halfback and quarterback for the University of Illinois from 1914 to 1916 and helped the school to its first national football championship and consecutive undefeated seasons in 1914 and 1915...
(Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
), Gil Ward (Notre Dame), Jim Barron (Georgetown), and Freeman Fitzgerald
Freeman Fitzgerald
Freeman Charles Fitzgerald was an All-American football player for Notre Dame. He was six feet in height and weighed 195 pounds. He played football for Notre Dame from 1913–1915 and was selected as an All-American at the guard position in 1915...
(Notre Dame). Ernest "Tommy" Hughitt
Tommy Hughitt
Ernest Fredrick Hughitt , was a National Football League utility player and coach. He was also an All-American quarterback for the University of Michigan in 1913....
, while at the same time playing for a team in Buffalo
Buffalo (NFL)
Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...
, moonlighted as a quarterback for Youngstown.
The opening contest of the 1917 season was against 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...
and his Canton Bulldogs. The game, which took place at Canton's Wright Field
Wright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
, drew a crowd of 7,000 fans. As Frolund notes, player-manager Thorpe, "who very seldom played a full game, played every minute of this one." He adds that the Bulldogs won a narrow victory in a contest where "the lineups read like a who's-who of post-graduate football, circa 1917." As sports historian Keith McClellan writes: "Although the Canton Bulldogs gained 168 yards with their rushing attack and passed for an additional eighty-two yards, they could not cross Youngstown's goal for a touchdown. The Youngstown defense was outstanding whenever Canton threatened to score. Howard 'Cub' Buck's drop kick from the fifteen yard line in the first period produced the only points of the game. Three times, Bart Macomber tried to tie the score with a field goal but failed each attempt. Canton won 3-0." McClellan adds that the game was characterized by "head-to-head competition" between the teams' two centers, Robert Peck
Bob Peck (football)
Bob Peck was an American football player who most famously played center for the Pittsburgh Panthers, where he was a three-time All-American. In 1917 he played in the Ohio League, the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League for the Youngstown Patricians and the Massillon Tigers....
(Youngstown) and Ralph "Fats" Waldsmith
Ralph Waldsmith
Ralph George "Fat" Waldsmith was a professional football player during the early years of the National Football League. Waldsmith won an NFL championship with the Canton Bulldogs in 1922...
. According to McClellan, legendary Notre Dame coach 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...
listed Peck "as the best center for the first quarter of this century."
In the wake of this narrow defeat, the Patricians secured a victory over the Ohio Tigers, with a score of 14-6. In another contest with the world-champion Bulldogs later that season, however, the Patricians suffered a devastating loss of 13-0. Canton achieved this victory without the help of Thorpe, who was sidelined by a leg injury. Worse yet, the Youngstown team lost several of its brightest stars, including Cofall, to the Massillon Tigers
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become...
. Sports historian McClellan observes that "a season that began with such high hopes ended with an unseasonable snowstorm and a modest 4 and 3 record." Meanwhile, the wave of recruitment that came with America's entry into 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...
, along with a flu pandemic that led to restrictions on travel and large gatherings, temporarily slashed the ranks of the nation's professional and semi-professional teams.
Legacy
The Patricians' effort to regroup under coach-manager Thomas unraveled in the wake of a 27-0 defeat at the hands of the Massillon Tigers on October 5, 1919. Yet, Patrician alumnus Russell "Busty" Ashbaugh (football coach of Youngstown's South High School and father of Notre Dame standout Russell "Pete" Ashbaugh) headed up a semi-professional team in Youngstown that fared well in regional contests. As Frolund notes, a team that was to be managed by another Patricians alumnus, Elgie Tobin, received a National Football League franchise, which had a schedule laid out for the 1922 NFL season1922 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 project collapsed without explanation, and the team never played. While the area saw a brief revival of semi-professional football in the 1970s (just before the city's industrial decline
Deindustrialization of Youngstown, Ohio
The deindustrialization of Youngstown, Ohio was the deindustrialization of the city of Youngstown, Ohio and surrounding areas, starting on September 19, 1977 and continuing into the mid 1980s...
) with the organization of the Youngstown Hardhats
Youngstown Hardhats
The Youngstown Hardhats were a semi-professional football team who played in the 1970s. The team was based in Youngstown, Ohio, and competed in the Middle Atlantic Football League....
and more recently the fully professional Mahoning Valley Thunder
Mahoning Valley Thunder
The Mahoning Valley Thunder was a professional af2 arena football team from 2007-2009.Having entered af2 as an expansion team in 2007, the Thunder played its home games at Cortland Banks Field at the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown, Ohio....
of the AF2
AF2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
, the Patricians club—at least during its peak years—was the closest that Youngstown would come to producing a nationally competitive professional football team.
Hughitt went on to the Buffalo professional football club
Buffalo (NFL)
Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...
, where he played from 1918 to 1924. During his time in Buffalo he won two state titles, and nearly won two NFL titles (1920 and 1921) as the team's coach and quarterback. Much of the rest of the team ended up with the brand-new Cleveland Panthers
Cleveland Panthers
The Cleveland Panthers were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by General C. X. Zimmerman , the Panthers played their home games in Luna Bowl in Luna Park...
in 1919; thanks in large part to their connections to Hughitt, the Panthers played primarily New York-based teams
New York Pro Football League
The New York Pro Football League was a professional American football league active in the 1910s and based in upstate New York, primarily Western New York. Between 1920 and 1921, the league's best teams were absorbed into the National Football League, though none survive in that league today...
.
The Youngstown area retains a strong NFL presence today. The NFL considers Youngstown–located halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh–to be "shared" between the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, making it fertile battleground territory for the rivalry the two teams have had since the Browns joined the NFL in 1950 from the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
. Youngstown is also within the 75-mile blackout radius of both cities, though neither team typically has a home game blacked out due to rabid fanbases for both teams. The most recent blackout from either team was the Browns having their last two home games blacked out at the end of the 1995 season
1995 Cleveland Browns season
The 1995 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 46th season with the National Football League. On November 6, then-owner Art Modell announced his intentions to move the team to Baltimore...
, a direct result of the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...
. The Steelers haven't had any home games blacked out since the current blackout rules were applied in 1973.
The owners of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, John York
John York
John C. York is a retired American cancer research pathologist, married to Marie Denise DeBartolo York, and former co-owner and current co-chairman of the San Francisco 49ers. The Yorks have four children: sons Jed and Tony, and daughters Jenna and Mara.York was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma...
and Denise DeBartolo York
Denise DeBartolo York
Marie Denise DeBartolo York is the former owner and current co-chair of the San Francisco 49ers. She is the daughter of late construction magnate Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. and the late Marie Patricia Montani DeBartolo....
reside in the Youngstown suburb of Canfield, Ohio
Canfield, Ohio
Canfield is an affluent suburban city located in Mahoning County, Ohio,[United States, at the intersection of U.S. Route 224 and State Route 46/U.S. Route 62, about ten miles southwest of Youngstown. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,374. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman,...
, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
is located in nearby Canton, Ohio
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...
, about an hour southwest of Youngstown. In 2011, the 49ers practiced on the campus of Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
in between road games against the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
and Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
instead of making two East Coast trips in back-to-back weeks; both games resulted in victories for the 49ers.