Blondy Wallace
Syracuse Athletic Club | |
| 1903 | Franklin Athletic Club |
|---|---|
| 1905 | Canton Athletic Club |
| 1906 | Canton Bulldogs |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early
Football career
1902 NFL season
In 1902, Col. John Rogers, owner of the National League's Philadelphia Phillies, decided to bankroll the Philadelphia Athletic Club football team. Upon hearing of this, Wallace approached Ben Shibe of the rival American League's Philadelphia Athletics to see whether the Athletics would be following suit and fielding a football team. Not wanting his rivals to be unchallenged, Shibe decided to form a team with Wallace as the team's player-coach. The Athletics baseball manager, Connie Mack, was then named the team's manager. The football Philadelphia Athletics finished the 1902 NFL season with a 5–2–2 record for a controversial second-place finish behind the Pittsburgh Stars. The league then folded immediately after the season.[2]
1902 World Series of Football
After the NFL season, Wallace played in the
Franklin Athletic Club
In 1903, Bill Prince, the manager of the Franklin Athletic Club, loaded his team with every star football player available. That year, Wallace became the team's captain.[4] That year Franklin posted a 12–0 record and won the 1903 World Series of Football. This accomplishment makes Blondy a winner on both the 1902 and 1903 World Series teams.[3]
Canton Bulldogs
In 1905, Wallace became the second coach of the Canton Athletic Club (renamed the Canton Bulldogs in 1906). That year Wallace, signed an agreement with the Latrobe Athletic Association, led by quarterback John Brallier, to play against Canton in Latrobe. Latrobe, under Brallier, was not only the current Pennsylvania football champion, but were undefeated for the last three seasons. They were also considered the only professional team capable of competing at the same level as Canton and the Massillon Tigers. Canton would go on to lose the game to Latrobe, however the team was the runner-up in the Ohio League standings for the 1905 season.
Wallace added four former Massillon players to his team in 1906. That year the Bulldogs was able to win their first game against Massillon, during a 2-game home-and-home series at Canton, however they lost the second game at Massillon, and the Tigers again claimed the Ohio championship. Shortly afterward that second game, a Massillon newspaper charged Wallace with fixing the 1906 championship game. The Bulldogs and Wallace denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to ruin the club's reputation before their final game against Latrobe. Wallace later filed a
Referee
Wallace also held the job of referee. In 1904, he served as a
Bootlegger
Wallace later became a
Death
Wallace died on March 5, 1937, while he was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Atlantic City. He had suffered from liver problems.[9]
References
- ^ "Football Learning Academy".
- ^ Carroll, Bob. (1981). "Dave Berry and the Philadelphia Story" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 3 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–3.
- ^ a b "The First Football World Series" (PDF). PFRA Research (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–3.
- ^ Smith, William R. (1980). "Franklin's World Champion Football team" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 2 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–9.
- ^ a b "Blondy Wallace and the Biggest Football Scandal Ever" (PDF). PFRA Annual. 5. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–16. 1984.
- ^ http://warner.lafayette.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/lafayette&CISOPTR=25224&CISOMODE=print[permanent dead link]
- Camden Courier-Post. 26 June 1933.
- Camden Courier-Post. 29 June 1933.
- ^ "'Blondy' Wallace Dies in Ambulance", Chester Times, Saturday, March 06, 1937, Chester, Pennsylvania
Further reading
- Peterson, Robert W. (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. ISBN 0-19-511913-4.
- Ross, Charles K. (2001). Outside the Lines. ISBN 0-8147-7496-2.