Philadelphia Athletics (NFL)
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Founded | 1902 |
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Folded | 1903 |
Based in | Philadelphia, United States |
League | National Football League (1902) |
Team history | Philadelphia Athletics (1902) |
Team colors | Navy, White |
Nickname(s) | A's |
Head coaches | Blondy Wallace |
General managers | Connie Mack |
Owner(s) | Ben Shibe |
Other League Championship wins | 1902 (disputed) |
Named for | Philadelphia Athletics Baseball Club |
Home field(s) | Columbia Park |
The Philadelphia Athletics was a professional American football team based in Philadelphia in 1902. The team was a member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection to 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 were suspected of being financed by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.
History
Origins
The Athletics began as a part of the baseball wars between the
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 began signing the best football talent available. The Phillies had a head start, but A's soon caught up until Philadelphia rosters began to look like a "Who's Who of Philadelphia Football talent".
Rube Waddell
Many of the baseball players came from the Major League Baseball teams. When he was in the mood, the Athletics' star left-hander, Rube Waddell, 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.
1902 season[1]
First Stars game
The league played all of its games on Saturdays, since there were no Sunday sports events according to Pennsylvania
Issues with Waddell
Mack 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 stay 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 to 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 and Pittsburgh had as well. Although a Philadelphia victory on
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
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
Seasons
References
- ^ "1902 - The First World Series of Pro Football is Played". profootballhof.com. March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- "Football Chronology II; The First Pros: 1884 to 1903" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 23 (2). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–3. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26.
- Carroll, Bob (1980). "Dave Berry and the Philadelphia Story" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 2 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-18.
- Peterson, Robert W. (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. ISBN 0-19-511913-4.
- Riffenburgh, Beau and Bob Carroll (1989). "The Birth of Pro Football" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 11 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-27.