The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr

by Chris Willis

  For a time it looked as if the Indians would be defeated but this great bunch of gridiron stars who never give up went after their opponent and finally won the day. It was a great contest and one which will linger in the memory of those who saw the game. Hess not only made it possible for his team to win but he was so severely injured in the attempt that he had to be carried off the field and a doctor summoned. In falling on the ball over the line with the Panhandle men on top of him he hurt his chest and for a time it was impossible for him to breathe.

  The forward pass was not worked very successfully by either team, only once or twice was either side able to pull it off with any degree of success. Both teams preferred to punt the ball out of danger and take a chance on getting it back. In the early stages of the game rough tactics were used by the visitors but after being warned several times by the officials they stopped. The star of the visitors was without a doubt Frank Nesser. He was able to punt the ball so high in the air that the rest of the team had sufficient time to get down the field and be at the point where it fell almost as soon as it came down.

  The game was without doubt the best which the Indian team had ever played.15

  It was a tough loss for the team and when Carr returned the squad continued to lose close games. After suffering a tie (5-5) against the Cleveland All-Stars, Carr's Panhandles lost back-to-back home games against the Cincinnati Celts (5-2), by scoring only a safety, and the Toledo Maroons (9-0). The railroaders were now just 2-3-1 and didn't look like the dominant team they were just two years ago. The annual trip to Dayton to play the Oakwoods (on November 12) was next for the Panhandles, and it was perfect timing for the railroaders. Playing on an icy field, the Panhandles survived a tough game and defeated the Oakwoods by a single point, 6-5. After a touchdown by Phil Nesser, brother Frank provided the difference by kicking the extra point. Despite the tight score, the Ohio State Journal gave the Panhandles the edge throughout the game:

  The Panhandles of Columbus defeated the Oakwoods of Dayton this afternoon by the score of 6 to 5, before a comparatively large crowd, considering the extreme cold and ice covered field. The low score does not tell the story of the game, as the Columbus eleven were by far the best team and only the condition of the field, which made fast play impossible, kept the score down. It was not until the last period of the game that the real strength of the Panhandle eleven took the field. When they entered the locals were comparatively at their mercy, being compelled to kick on the first down.16

  The big win in Dayton seemed to take something out of the Panhandles as the following week the railroaders came back down to earth. Without the services of Fred Nesser-out with a bad knee-the team was buried by the Shelby Blues 40-0 at Shelby. Despite the margin of victory, this was not that bad of a loss; the Blues, led by Peggy Parratt and Homer Davidson, would go on to have an undefeated season (beating the tough Akron Indians three times) and made a claim to the mythical Ohio League championship. Most of the best clubs in Ohio-including pro teams from Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Elyria, Massillon, Toledo, and Youngstown-were now playing each other consistently and the team standing at the end of the year usually claimed the so-called title. But no official standings or rules were followed and nobody was in charge of policing the clubs. That would be years away, but it was obvious that the state of Ohio was the place to be to see the best of professional football.

  After the Shelby loss Joe Carr looked to wrap up the season with another city championship. The Ohio State journal would report the matchup on November 21:

  Arrangements were completed last night between the managers of the Panhandles and the Mendel Muldoons for the much-talked-of game between these two teams for the championship of the city. The Panhandles are the present holders, having taken the title from the Nationals two years ago, and have since defended it. The Muldoons have played and defeated all other teams in the city with the exception of the Panhandles, which gives them the right to contest with the Railroaders for the title.

  The game will be played next Sunday at Indianola Park. Perhaps never in history of professional football in the city has the interest been so great as in the coming contest."

  The game would be a big one for the Panhandles; not only did they have a mediocre season, with a 3-4-1 record, but they didn't want to lose the city championship to top it off. Ted Nesser's team was ready to play on November 26 against the Muldoons, as all six Nesser brothers, Oscar Kuehner, Andy Kertzinger, and John Schneider were in the lineup. The game kicked off at 2:30 p.m. at Indianola Park, and the railroaders took control early behind a Ted Nesser touchdown run. Frank Nesser added the extra point and a 6-0 lead. The Panhandles' defense did the rest as they shut out the Muldoons the rest of the way and the railroaders had another city title.

  The 'Handles defense was dominating as the Muldoons couldn't move the ball all game. The Columbus Citizen praised the performance of the champions:

  By a score of 6 to 0 the Panhandles yesterday defeated the Muldoons at Indianola Park thereby retaining their title of professional champions of the city.

  The score fails to show how much the railroaders put it over their opponents, as no less than 11 times, when on the verge of crossing the Muldoon goal, they received penalties which made the scoring out of the question. The single touchdown came early in the game. The Panhandles intercepted a forward pass on the Muldoons' 25-yard line. Two forward passes and two line plunges sent Ted Nesser over the goal line. Frank Nesser kicked goal.

  For the Panhandles, Ted and Frank Nesser were the stars. The former was a "bear" at line plunging, while the punting and onside kicking of the latter aided the railroaders materially"

  The Panhandles had defended their city title and Joe Carr rewarded his team-not with a cash bonus or celebration dinner, but with another game. On November 29 the Ohio State Journal reported on the game: "Panhandles will go to Wellston on Thanksgiving Day, where they play the team of that city. The Wellston eleven are thought very well of in the southern section of the state, having won every game this year. They boast of a heavy and fast team and think they will give the Panhandles plenty to do to come back with the long end of the score." 19

  The team left Columbus on Thanksgiving morning at 7:30 a.m. for the sixty-seven-mile trip down south to Wellston, and the early wake-up call definitely affected the Panhandles in the first half. Wellston scored two touchdowns early and took a 10-6 lead into halftime. But the second half was a different story as the railroaders woke up and dominated the game. By using the passing game, the railroaders scored two second-half touchdowns to defeat Wellston 17-13.

  The seventeen points scored was a season high for the Panhandles, and they needed every point to defeat the scrappy team from Wellston. The Wellston Telegram reported on the Nesser style of play:

  A great many fans thought the visitors played "dirty" ball, and cited the injury to Gallagher and Grinnell as evidence. In the case of Gallagher it must be remembered that Joe weighs 122 pound, while Ted Nesser, who made the tackle weighs 232, a difference of 110 pounds, and when Nesser fell on Joe there was small chance of Joe coming out uninjured. Grinnell says the play in which he was knocked out was strictly legal; Nesser wanted to get at the man with the ball-he tried to keep him away-the bump on the head resulted from the collision 20

  Manager Carr noticed that the offense was coming around late in the season and looked to schedule one last game, a rematch in Dayton against the Oakwoods. The game was scheduled to be played on December 3, but a snowstorm would affect the game as the Dayton Journal would report:

  Amid the swirl of snowflakes and blustery winds of December the Dayton football season came to a discouraging close on Sunday afternoon, when the Columbus Panhandles were scheduled to play the Oakwoods for the southern Ohio championship. The season was not closed on the gridiron but came close through communication with the management of the Pan Handle team over telegraph wire.

  When Manager Harry Huckins of the Oakwoods arose from his bed Sunday mornin
g he went to the window and threw up the blind. He fell back with a gasp, for it was then apparent that the game would have to be called off. Snow was coming down out of the sky and wind was blowing around the corner of the house at a fifty mile gait. Harry shivered, pulled down the blind and then debated with himself as to whether or not he should 'hit the hay' or go down and telegraph the Panhandles not to come.21

  Carr could relate to manager Huckins's situation, being a manager of an early pro football team was tough business. The 5-4-1 record of the Panhandles wasn't what Carr was looking for in 1911; he knew something was missing and he wanted to get the team back to the success it had in 1909. It was a long season professionally for Carr but a glorious one personally. Getting married, writing about his experience at the World Series, and continuing to learn about the football business made for a very challenging year.

  Over the past five years, Carr saw the Panhandles and professional football go through some changes as the sport had overcome the gambling scandal of 1906. But the sport did lack the leadership and guidance of honest team managers like Carr. "Our grandfather was known for his integrity. At this time the league, which really wasn't a league at all, but a group of pro clubs, if you will, that got together and played on a Sunday afternoon and would be promised x-amount of dollars," says Gregory Carr, grandson of Joe Carr. "The manager or the person who owned the stadium collected the money from the fans and blew the pop stand. My grandfather never did that. He was known for his integrity, his honesty in terms of dealing with people. That's why he was so successful in knowing that the Columbus Panhandles are coming to Dayton or Massillon, that the players from the opposite team knew that they were going to be compensated and treated fairly.""

  In the region where the scandal reigned they were about to get a shot in the arm as the city of Canton would again dominate the sport. Jack Cusack was a young office employee at the East Ohio Gas Company in Canton who became the secretary-treasurer of the Canton professional team in 1912. He eventually worked his way up to being the team's manager and would rename his team the Canton Bulldogs. Cusack had a philosophy and passion for the game similar to Joe Carr. He thought the sport would become a huge success if operated properly. Although he had more resources (and wasn't shy on spending money) from the city to help field his team (like Carr he also worked for free), he would always promote the positives of the game. At this time Cusack was already an avid football fan and in his short autobiography, titled Pioneer in Pro Football, he wrote about his experience as an early pro football manager:

  I have called 1912 the Renaissance period for pro football because it was in that year that so many teams were organized in that part of the country-the Cleveland Erin Braus, Toledo Maroons, Columbus Panhandles, Cincinnati Celts, Shelby Blues, Elyria Pros, and Pittsburgh Lyceums. Soon other cities were getting into the revival act-Salem, Youngstown, Dayton and Detroitall on an individual basis. The spirit of pro football was on the march again, even without formation of an official league.

  I was brightly aware that if professional football was to be a success we had to live down the scandal of 1906 and gain the public's confidence in the honesty of the game, and I felt that this could be done only with proper understanding among the managers and backers of the various teams. It was my theory that if we could stop players from jumping from one team to another, it would be a first step in the right direction.23

  By 1912 most of the teams Cusack mentions were already established (not formed) but he was right that the pro teams in Ohio had established themselves as the best teams, with the best players. The sport now had some passionate supporters, but it also had many problems-mainly, no official league to run the sport and the continuation of players still hopping from team to team. An article that appeared in the Hamilton (Ohio) Evening Journal on November 15, 1912, with the headline "Championship Decision in Ohio Comes on Saturday" was a perfect example of the sport's many problems: "The professional football championship of Ohio will be decided at Dayton Sunday, when the Dayton Oakwoods play the Shelby Blues, who at present hold the state championship. Both teams include in their lineup some of the best known eastern college stars whose work in the last few years has made football history, but most of these men play under assumed names, on account of their college connections

  In one article you had the claim of a "championship game, " although there was no official league or standings to support that proof, so each week there was a title game advertised in every town or state. Then you had college athletes playing professional football under an assumed name to protect their eligibility, which was just as big a problem as players hopping from one team to another during the season for more money. Carr, as well as managers like Cusack, believed that the sport could gain some stability if player hopping was controlled, because the public could be reasonably sure of seeing the same players all year. It would take a while for this philosophy to take over the sport.

  Even the Nessers faced the sport's evil doings. In later years the six Nesser brothers would claim to have played against Knute Rockne, the great Notre Dame coach (who was one of the better ends in the early days of professional football), six times with six different teams in one year. This was probably an exaggeration but it shows that players, especially ones as good as Rockne, were so willing to play for multiple teams during a single football season. The year 1912 might have felt like a renaissance to Jack Cusack when he became involved in pro football, but Carr was still going through growing pains with his squad.

  He was about to enter his sixth season as manager of the Panhandles and his team was still falling behind while trying to play the more modem game, as speed with a little passing mixed in seemed to dominate the sport. The only things going for them were (1) they were still a very physical team that could keep the score close and (2) the very talented Nesser brothers were still a great attraction for opposing teams to schedule.

  Maybe Carr's marital responsibilities distracted him, but 1912 would be worse than 1911. Carr retained the same roster, although he adjusted it some throughout the season as he had players on his own team hopping to other teams for more money. Frank and Al Nesser, for example, played a few games with the Akron Indians to make a few bucks. Carr also continued to schedule the best pro teams in the Midwest as well as the city championship game. After winning their opener over the Columbus Parthians 26-0, the Panhandles suffered a brutal home loss to the Dayton Oakwoods, 7-2, scoring only a safety. This was the first time the Panhandles had lost to a team from Dayton.

  Once again Carr took a break from football and attended the World Series, this time the National League's New York Giants faced off against the American League's Boston Red Sox, and Carr gave his opinion on who he thought would win: "Outside of [Smoky] Joe Wood, the Red Sox have shown little or nothing. There seems to be no organization in the club, and the base running is bad, and coaching is infinitely worse. But as for Wood. In my opinion he is the best player on either club. He is a wonder."25

  In the series known for Fred Snodgrass's "folly," the Red Sox upset the Giants to capture the world's championship of baseball. Carr repeated his duties as a correspondent for the Ohio State journal in relating all the activities of the Columbus baseball executives. He also missed the Panhandles tough 12-6 road loss against the Akron Indians on October 13. The following week he returned to take his team back up north to play the Canton professional team managed by the young Jack Cusack, who welcomed the very popular Panhandles in a big way. The local press was building up the game under the headline of "Columbus Panhandles, with 7 Nesser Brothers, Will Play Here Sunday."

  "If there were two Nessers playing football in 1906, five in 1911 and seven in 1912, how long will it be until the Columbus Panhandles are composed entirely of Nesser?"

  That query might suggest itself to the minds of many of the Canton football bugs right now, for the famous Panhandles, with their tribe of seven Nesser brothers, will be here Sunday to give the Canton eleven its first real fight of the season.
The answer to the problem could easily be ascertained by finding out how many more of the same kind Nesser, Sr. has at home. Only four positions remain to be filled by Nessers.

  The entire backfield is made up of brothers. Frank, with over 200 pounds of beef and the huskiest of the seven, plays fullback and is rated one of the best in the state. He is a powerful punter, his boots averaging over 60 yards last season. Ted, the old Massillon Tigers star, plays one of the half positions, and Fred, the tallest of the bunch and dubbed "Greyhound," plays the other half. John directs the attack of the team from quarterback. On the line there are three more of the family. Phillip, much the same build as Frank and also over 200 pounds, plays right tackle, and Alfred, the kid of the septet, takes care of one end. The other end also has been assigned to a Nesser, but his name has (sapped).26

  The publicity was there for a big game, and over 1,500 fans came out to League Park in Canton to watch the event. All six Nessers played as Canton gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about in a 25-6 victory. The Panhandles and manager Carr were extremely impressed with the Canton squad, and before they left town, they let the Canton newspapers know it. In the Canton Daily News Ted Nesser and Carr were quoted about the Canton squad.

  "I don't know why we couldn't get started. Maybe it was because the other fellows were getting into the plays quicker. We expected to win, and hadn't any idea that Canton would run up 25 points. That means that Akron will have to play hard to beat Canton. I think the teams will be evenly matched when the series starts."-Ted Nesser

  "Football is something like horse racing. There's form in every sport. One week ago, the Panhandles played methodically and in unity against Akron. Theirs was a 50 percent better game in every department. Today they seemed like strangers in a strange land. I doubt if Canton can defeat Akron, but Canton played better ball against us than did Akron."-Joe Carr21

  The praise bestowed on the Canton team was a rarity as most opposing teams didn't give quotes in the paper too often. It was another way of Joe Carr getting his team some publicity-even if the predictions weren't correct. The Akron team proved its worth by defeating the Canton team twice in 1912, despite losing their team manager in the middle of the season. The Newark (Ohio) Advocate detailed the shocking news.