Rock Island Independents
 | |
| Founded | 1907 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1926 |
| Based in | Rock Island, Illinois, United States |
| League | Independent (1907–1919) National Football League (1920–1925) American Football League (1926) |
| Team history | Rock Island Independents (1907–1926) |
| Team colors | Green and white |
| Head coaches | Dick Liitt (1912–1913) Joseph Smith (1914) Walter Flanigan (1915–1916, 1918) Ted Guyer (1917) Rube Ursella (1919–1920, 1925) John Roche (1919) Frank Coughlin (1921) Jimmy Conzelman (1921–1922) Herb Sies (1923) Johnny Armstrong (1924, 1926) |
| General managers | Demetrius Clements (1907–1914) Walter Flanigan (1915–1923) Vince McCarthy (1924–1926) |
| Owner(s) | Demetrius Clenents (1907–1914) Walter Flanigan (1915–1923) Dale Johnson (1923–1926) |
| AFL Championship wins | none |
| Other League Championship wins | 1 (1919 – self-proclaimed) |
| Undefeated seasons | 5 (1908, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1918) |
| Home field(s) | Douglas Park (1907–1925) Browning Field (1926) |
| Fan website | http://www.rockislandindependents.com/ |
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated the first National Football League game on September 26, 1920, at Douglas Park. The Independents were founded in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. Hence, the team was named the "Independents."
In 1926, the Independents left the NFL to become a charter member of the first American Football League, the only NFL team to do so. The Independents then folded along with the entire league in 1927.[1][2][3]
Pro Football Hall of Fame alumni Jimmy Conzelman (1920–1921), Joe Guyon (1924), Ed Healey (1920–1922), Duke Slater (1922–1926), and Jim Thorpe (1924–1925) played for the Independents.
History
Early history
One of the first professional football teams, the Independents were founded in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. The independent team had no athletic club affiliation, no social club ties and no corporate company backing or sponsorship. As a result, the team was named the "Independents."
The Independents played in Douglas Park (1907–1925) and Browning Field (1926). The 1910 team went undefeated and were not scored on in five games. A year of hiatus seems to have followed.
The team reorganized in 1912, seeking to compete with the neighboring community of Moline on the gridiron.[4] Many of the players from the 1910 team reunited in that year and, under Coach John Roche, the team won eight games without giving up a score.
Walter Flanigan was the owner of the Independents 1915 to 1923. Dale Johnson then owned the team from 1924 until it folded, along with the rest of the American Football League in 1926.[5]
Walter Flanigan had joined the Independents as a backup
In 1919, Flanigan hired Rube Ursella of the Minneapolis Marines to serve as a player-coach. Ursella brought several other Minneapolis players with him. These new players would help improve play and help secure the team an invitation to join the NFL. The Independents lost only to the Hammond Pros, led by George Halas in 1919. Flanigan then challenged the Canton Bulldogs to a "championship" game, offering a $5,000 guarantee if they would come to Rock Island for the game.
But Canton, which had already won the "Ohio League" championship by defeating the Massillon Tigers, turned down the offer. It is likely that Canton's player/coach Jim Thorpe and owner Ralph Hay felt that Flanigan could not deliver on his $5,000 guarantee. However, the Independents still had defeated the Columbus Panhandles 49–0 and the Indians 17–0 that season. In 1919, the season prior to the establishment of the National Football League, they claimed to be "Champions of the USA". The invitation to Canton led to the Independents being invited to the September 17, 1920 historic meeting on the formation of the National Football League.[9]
National Football League
The National Football League was formed over the course of two meetings in 1920. On August 20, 1920, an initial meeting was held by representatives of the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles. The meeting was held at the Jordan and Hupmobile auto showroom in Canton, Ohio and resulted in the formation of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC).[10][11]
A second and considerably larger meeting was held on September 17, 1920. The meeting was again at Canton owner
The newly formed league elected
On September 26, 1920, the Independents hosted the first official game featuring a team from the APFA.[15] Thus, the Independents' Douglas Park became the site of the first ever National Football League contest. Just nine days after the league had formed, on September 26, 1920, the Independents defeated the St. Paul Ideals 48–0 in the first contest involving a member team of the APFA.[2][11]
A week later, on October 3, 1920, the Independents defeated the Muncie Flyers 45–0 at Douglas Park in the first full week of APFA league play.[16][17] 3,100 fans were in attendance as Arnie Wyman, former Minnesota great, made his debut for the Islanders, scoring three touchdowns. This might have been the first NFL game ever played between two NFL teams, however, NFL historical records don't indicate the kickoff time for this game or the other APFA game played that day between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles in Dayton, Ohio. [18]
The Independents posted 4–2–1 records in the league's first year. They had the same record the next two seasons, with five of their six losses in three years coming to George Halas and the Decatur Staleys/Chicago Staleys/Chicago Bears.[19] On June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League (NFL).[20][21]
On October 16, 1921, the Independents battled back from a 7–0 deficit against the
In 1923, Flanigan sold the Independents to Dale Johnson, a local businessman. Johnson hired Vince McCarthy, the Independents' back-up quarterback as the new general manager. With Rock Island High School alumni and Olympian Sol Butler joining the squad, Rock Island went 2–3–3 in 1923, and rebounded to post winning seasons in 1924 and 1925.
Jim Thorpe, considered "the World's Greatest Athlete", joined the Independents in 1924 and the team went 5–2–2 in league play.[9] After the 1925 season, Thorpe formed a team composed primarily of his teammates from the Rock Island Independents, that would play several games throughout Florida. In a 1926 New Year's Day football exhibition, Thorpe's "Tampa Cardinals" played against the Chicago Bears led by Red Grange. The game itself was billed as a clash of old vs. new, with Grange, the rising star, taking on Thorpe, the aging legend. During the game Grange rushed for a 70-yard touchdown as the Bears notched a 17–3 victory at Plant Field in Tampa, Florida.[23][24]
The Independents' overall NFL record was 26–14–9, with five winning seasons in six years. After finishing fourth in 1920, their best overall finish in the National Football League standings was fifth, which they accomplished three times: in
