Louisville Tanks
Founded | 1935 |
---|---|
Folded | 1940 |
Based in | APFA (1939) |
Team history | Louisville Tanks (1935-1940) |
Team colors | Green, Gold |
Head coaches | H.M. "Harry" Reid |
General managers | William H. Goepper[1] |
Owner(s) | American Standard, Inc. |
Other League Championship wins | MFL 1935-1937, AFL 1938 |
Named for | item sold by American Standard, Inc. |
Home field(s) | Parkway Field |
The Louisville Tanks were a minor league professional American football team that existed from 1935 to 1940. The team formed in the wake of the dissolution of the Louisville Bourbons of the short-lived American Football League of 1934. Organized and owned by American Standard, Inc., the team was coached by AS plant manager H.M. "Harry" Reed; its name and colors (green and gold) come from one of the products sold by American Standard.[2] The Tanks played their home games at Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
A charter member of the
The APFA announced its intention to become a major league in early 1940 and added a team from
Origin, the Midwest Football League, and the American Football League
Formed to fill the vacuum formed by the departure of the Louisville Bourbons, the Tanks wasted no time in becoming a charter member of the Midwest Football League in 1935.[1][3][4] The Tanks shared the 1935 championship with the Cincinnati Models and the Indianapolis Indians, two teams that disappeared within the next couple of years.[1] Louisville then dominated the league in 1936 and 1937, winning the championship title outright in both seasons.[1] In the 1937 contest, which was played on Sunday, December 12, the Tanks hosted the Cincinnati Models in the championship game, with the Tanks prevailing 13–0 behind touchdowns from Edward Crum and "Ripper" Roberts.[5]
The time between the end of the 1937 and beginning of the 1938 campaign saw much change involving the Tanks. The
American Professional Football Association and demise
The year 1939 was the fifth year of the Tanks' existence, still with their original owners and their original (head) coach, and still in the league which they helped form in their first days of their existence. The former Midwest Football League, on the other hand, changed its name for the second consecutive year (to the American Professional Football Association) as it hinted at being more than a midwestern minor league as it added the
The following year started with both optimism and surprise for the APFA membership. The Columbus Bullies were declared the champions with a 9–4 record despite the Los Angeles Bulldogs' losing only a single game (7 wins, 1 loss) and the Cincinnati Bengals' having a 6–2 record.[6] Milwaukee was admitted as the replacement for the Bulldogs, who left to form the Pacific Coast Professional Football League... and the league admitted to its having major league aspirations as the Green Bay Packers protested the APFA's intrusion into its territory.[3]
By July, it was all over as Cincinnati, Columbus, and Milwaukee left the loop to become the charter members of a new American Football League. Louisville and the Dayton Bombers announced that they were not fielding teams for 1940... and the APFA folded. The Tanks and the Bombers never returned to the gridiron.[1][3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h All Those AFL's: N.F.L. Competitors 1935-1941 Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine - Bob Braunwort, American Pro Football Researchers Association (1979)
- ISBN 0-8131-2100-0
- ^ a b c d e f Kenosha Cardinals: Life on the Fringe (1983) Archived 2006-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 0-385-13091-0
- ^ [Original game program & scoresheet, personal collection]
- ^ The Bulldogs: L.A. Hits the Big Time[permanent dead link] - Bob Gill, Pro Football Research Association (1982)