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

by Chris Willis

  3. Carr, "Post-Graduate Football," 18.

  4. All the information on the Nesser family background comes from Chris Willis, The Columbus Panhandles: A Complete History of Pro Football's Toughest Team, 1900-1922 (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2007), xx-xxiii.

  5. James Carr, author interview, July 31, 2004. Irene Cassady, author interview, May 7, 2005.

  6. Cassady, interview.

  7. Kate Benson, author interview, September 14, 2002.

  8. Ohio State Journal, December 7, 1917. Babe Sherman, author interview, July 6, 2000.

  9. Sherman, interview.

  10. Football salary info came from newspaper article titled "A Voice from Past: One-Time Grid 'Iron Man' Supports Two-Platoon System." Article came from Nesser family scrapbook.

  11. Cassady, interview.

  12. Joann Franke, author interview, April 22, 2007.

  13. Buffalo Evening-Nezvs, November 20, 1922.

  14. Cassady, interview.

  15. Cassady, interview. James Carr, author interview, August 1, 2004.

  16. Columbus Dispatch, October 14, 1907. This is the first-ever mention in a Columbus newspaper of Joe Carr as Panhandles team manager in 1907.

  17. Ohio State Journal, October 21, 1907.

  18. Columbus Dispatch, November 10, 1907. This is the first-ever team photo of the Panhandles and Joe Carr to appear in a Columbus newspaper.

  19. Columbus Press-Post, November 11, 1907.

  20. Ohio State Journal, November 13, 1907.

  21. Ted Schneider, author interview, May 7, 2005.

  22. Ohio State Journal, November 18, 1907.

  23. Carr, "Post-Graduate Football," 16.

  24. Columbus Press-Post, October 5, 1908.

  25. Ohio State Journal, October 8, 1908.

  26. Columbus Dispatch, November 29, 1908.

  27. Columbus Dispatch, November 30, 1908.

  28. Ohio State Journal, November 30, 1908.

  29. Carr quote came from article called "Messer Stuff" from the Columbus Panhandles file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

  30. Cassady, interview.

  31. Cassady, interview.

  32. Football ad appeared in the Canton Daily News, October 25, 1909.

  33. Canton Repository, November 1, 1909.

  34. Ohio State Journal, November 4, 1909.

  35. Ohio State Journal, November 8, 1909.

  36. Columbus Citizen, November 13, 1909. This was the first ever newspaper article written by a Columbus newspaper on the five Nesser brothers.

  37. Dayton Journal, November 15, 1909. Ohio State Journal, November 15, 1909.

  38. Ohio State Journal, November 17, 1909.

  CHAPTER 5: STARTING A FAMILY (1910-1913)

  1. Sally Nesser, author interview, June 2, 2003. Connie Shomo, author interview, June 2, 2003.

  2. Ohio State Journal, October 20, 1910.

  3. Ohio State Journal, October 24, 1910. Columbus Citizen, January 9, 1931.

  4. Ohio State Journal, October 27, 1910.

  5. Ohio State Journal, October 28, 1910.

  6. Ohio State Journal, October 30, 1910.

  7. Columbus Dispatch, November 25, 1910.

  8. Richmond Palladium, June 13, 1907. Richmond Evening Item, March 2, 1908. Richmond Palladium, March 2, 1908.

  9. Martha Sullivan, author interview, March 4, 2007. Additional Sullivan family information on homes and occupations was found in Richmond City Directories, 1857-1913.

  10. Michael Carr, author interview, July 31, 2004.

  11. June 27, 1911, wedding invitation, courtesy of Carr family.

  12. Sullivan, interview.

  13. Joe Colburn, author interview, June 4, 2006.

  14. Ohio State Journal, October 15, 16, 17, 1911.

  15. Akron Beacon-Journal, October 16, 1911.

  16. Ohio State Journal, November 13, 1911.

  17. Ohio State Journal, November 21, 1911.

  18. Columbus Citizen, November 27, 1911.

  19. Ohio State Journal, November 29, 1911.

  20. Wellston Telegram, November 31, 1911.

  21. Dayton Journal, December 4, 1911.

  22. Gregory Carr, author interview, July 31, 2004.

  23. Jack Cusack, Pioneer in Pro Football (Forth Worth, TX: Author, 1963), 3-5.

  24. Hamilton Evening Journal, November 15, 1912.

  25. Columbus Citizen, October 12, 1912.

  26. Canton Repository, October 16, 1912.

  27. Canton Daily News, October 21, 1912.

  28. Newark (Ohio) Advocate, November 22, 1912.

  29. Ohio State Journal, September 2, 1913. Columbus Dispatch, September 2, 1913.

  30. Martha Sullivan, author interview, November 21, 2004.

  31. Canton Daily Nezvs, October 27, 1913.

  32. Ohio State Journal, December 2, 1913.

  33. Columbus Dispatch, December 7, 1913.

  34. Ohio State Journal, December 15, 1913.

  35. Ohio State Journal, December 15, 1913.

  CHAPTER 6: PRO FOOTBALL'S MOST FAMOUS TRAVELING TEAM (1914-1916)

  1. Joy Dolan, author interview, March 15, 2008.

  2. Margaret Mooney, author interview, July 31, 2004. Dolan, interview.

  3. James Carr, author interview, July 31, 2004. Michael Carr, author interview, July 31, 2004.

  4. Ohio State Journal, September 24, 1914.

  5. Akron Beacon-Journal, October 5, 1914. Canton Repository, October 5, 1914.

  6. Ohio State Journal, October 7, 1914.

  7. Ohio State Journal, October 19, 1914.

  8. Canton Repository, October 21, 1914.

  9. Canton Repository, October 26, 1914.

  10. Ohio State Journal, November 16, 1914.

  11. Columbus Citizen, November 21, 1914.

  12. Irene Cassady, author interview, May 7, 2005.

  13. Newark (Ohio) Advocate, August 11, 1915.

  14. Ohio State Journal, October 2, 1915.

  15. Marion Daily Star, October 6, 1915.

  16. Canton Daily Nezvs, October 12, 1915.

  17. Canton Repository, October 13, 1915.

  18. Canton Daily Nezvs, October 18, 1915.

  19. Toledo Daily Blade, October 21, 1915.

  20. Toledo Nezvs-Bee, October 25, 1915.

  21. Massillon Independent, October 30, 1915.

  22. Columbus Dispatch, November 1, 1915.

  23. James Brigham, author interview, March 11, 2006.

  24. Columbus Citizen, August 8, 1948.

  25. Ohio State Journal, November 8, 1915.

  26. Ohio State Journal, November 15, 1915.

  27. Youngstown Vindicator, November 21, 1915.

  28. Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, November 26, 1915.

  29. Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, November 26, 1915.

  30. Columbus Dispatch, November 30, 1915.

  31. Ohio State Journal, December 1, 1915.

  32. Columbus Dispatch, December 2, 1915.

  33. Jack Cusack, Pioneer in Pro Football (Forth Worth, TX: Author, 1963), 9.

  34. Bob Carroll, The Ohio League, 1910-1919 (North Huntingdon, PA: Professional Football Researchers Association, 1997), 44-45.

  35. Portsmouth Daily Times, September 21, 1916.

  36. Ohio State Journal, October 14, 1916.

  37. Detroit Free Press, October 20, 1916.

  38. Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 23, 1916.

  39. Columbus Dispatch, October 26, 1916.

  40. Canton Repository, October 28, 1916.

  41. Canton Repository, October 28, 1916.

  42. Canton Repository, October 29, 1916.

  43. Canton Daily Nezvs, October 30, 1916.

  44. Canton Daily News, October 30, 1916.

  45. Canton Daily Nezvs, Oct. 30, 1916.

  46. Toledo Daily Blade, November 2, 1916.

  47. Toledo Daily Blade, November 4, 1916.

  48. Toledo Nezvs-Bee, November 6, 1916.

  49. Toledo Nezvs-Bee, November 6, 1916.

  50. Massillon Independe
nt, November 8, 1916.

  51. Columbus Citizen, November 14, 1916.

  52. Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 25, 1916.

  53. Ohio State Journal, December 6, 1916.

  54. Columbus Dispatch, December 11, 1916.

  CHAPTER 7: MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF (1917-1919)

  1. Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, December 5, 1916. Brownsville (Texas) Herald, January 4, 1917.

  2. Portsmouth Daily Times, March 29, 1917.

  3. Massillon Independent, September 25, 1917.

  4. New Castle (Pennsylvania) Nezvs, October 17, 1917.

  5. Akron Beacon-Journal, October 11, 1917.

  6. Canton Daily Nezvs, October 21, 1917.

  7. Canton Repository, October 22, 1917.

  8. Youngstown Vindicator, October 24, 1917.

  9. Youngstown Vindicator, October 27, 1917.

  10. Canton Daily Nezvs, October 31, 1917.

  11. Toledo Nezvs-Bee, November 8, 1917.

  12. Toledo News-Bee, November 7, 1916.

  13. Ohio State Journal, November 30, 1917.

  14. Canton Daily Nezvs, December 3, 1917.

  15. Canton Daily Nezvs, December 8, 1917.

  16. Ohio State Journal, September 24, 1918.

  17. Dolores Seitz, author interview, June 9, 2007.

  18. Seitz, interview.

  19. Seitz, interview.

  20. Seitz, interview.

  21. Ohio State Journal, July 5, 1919.

  22. James King, author interview, June 1, 2003.

  23. King, interview.

  24. Jack Cusack, Pioneer in Pro Football (Forth Worth, TX: Author, 1963), 30. Bob Carroll, The Ohio League, 1910-1919 (North Huntingdon, PA: Professional Football Researchers Association, 1997), 78.

  25. Carroll, The Ohio League, 78-79.

  26. Carroll, The Ohio League, 79.

  27. Akron Beacon-Journal, September 5, 1919.

  28. Ohio State Journal, October 2, 1919. Ohio State Journal, October 3, 1919. Ohio State Journal, October 4,1919. Ohio State Journal, October 7, 1919. Ohio State Journal, October 8, 1919.

  29. Carroll, The Ohio League, 88.

  30. Columbus Citizen, November 15, 1919.

  31. Carroll, The Ohio League, 94-95.

  32. Carroll, The Ohio League, 95-96.

  CHAPTER 8: THE AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (1920)

  1. Joe F. Carr's proposed new professional football league appeared in newspapers in Ohio and it was eight months before the NFL's first-ever meeting in Canton, Ohio, at the automobile dealership of Ralph Hay. Massillon Evening Independent, January 8, 1920. Portsmouth Times, January 9, 1920.

  2. Sandusky (Ohio) Star-Journal, January 15, 1920.

  3. Dan Forrestal, The Kernel and the Barn: The 75-Year Story of the Staley Company (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982), 42.

  4. George S. Halas, with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, Halas: An Autobiography (Chicago: Bonus Books, 1986), 31-32.

  5. Virginia McCaskey, author interview, 1999.

  6. Halas, Halas, 53-55.

  7. Bob Carroll and PFRA Research, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1920 (North Huntingdon, PA: Pro Football Researchers Association, n.d.), 3-4.

  8. Carroll and PFRA, Bulldogs on Sunday, 3-4.

  9. Carroll and PFRA, Bulldogs on Sunday, 3-4.

  10. Halas, Halas, 60.

  11. "APFA League Meeting Minutes," September 17,1920. The original minutes that were typed by Art Ranney (Akron) are now currently on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

  12. Mike Rathet and Don Smith, Their Deeds and Dogged Faith (New York: Rutledge Books and Balsam Press, 1984), 25.

  13. George Vass, George Halas and the Chicago Bears (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1971), 6-7.

  14. APFA League Minutes, September 17, 1920.

  15. Canton Repository, September 18, 1920. Ohio State Journal, September 18, 1920.

  16. Akron Beacon Journal, October 7, 1920.

  17. Fritz Pollard, archival interview, NFL Films, 1976.

  18. Des Moines (Iowa) Nezvs, December 9, 1920.

  19. Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette, December 24, 1920.

  20. Forrestal, The Kernel and the Barn, 48.

  21. Buffalo Courier, December 26, 1920.

  22. Ogden Standard-Examiner, December 19, 1920.

  23. Halas, Halas, 66.

  CHAPTER 9: PRESIDENT ELECT (1921)

  1. "APFA Meeting Minutes," April 30,1921.

  2. Bob Carroll and PFRA Research, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1921 (North Huntingdon, PA: Pro Football Researchers Association, n.d.), 3. Joe Carr's first salary was mentioned in Howard Roberts, The Story of Pro Football (New York: Rand McNally, 1953), 42. The $1,000 salary was never mentioned in the "NFL Meeting Minutes."

  3. James Carr, author interview, September 14, 2002, and July 31, 2004.

  4. JFC Scrapbook, Binder 1, p. 162.

  5. "APFA Meeting Minutes," April 30,1921.

  6. Ray Didinger, "The Man Who Had a Dream," Pro! The Official Program of the National Football League 7, no. 5 (September 18, 1977), 12C.

  7. Ohio State Journal, May 2, 1921.

  8. Canton Daily Nezvs, May 2, 1921. "APFA Meeting Minutes," June 18, 1921.

  9. Canton Daily Nezvs, June 19, 1921.

  10. "APFA Meeting Minutes," June 18,1921.

  11. "APFA Meeting Minutes," August 27, 1921.

  12. David Zimmerman, Curly Lambeau: The Man behind the Mystique (Hales Corner, WI: Eagle Books, 2003), 28-29.

  13. Zimmerman, Curly Lambeau, 28-29.

  14. Zimmerman, Curly Lambeau, 28-29.

  15. Chuck Johnson, The Green Bay Packers: Pro Football's Pioneer Team (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1961), 43, 48.

  16. Zimmerman, Curly Lambeau, 30.

  17. "APFA Meeting Minutes," August 27, 1921.

  18. Columbus Citizen-Journal, May 24, 1939.

  19. Oakland Tribune, August 28, 1921.

  20. George S. Halas, with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, Halas: An Autobiography (Chicago: Bonus Books, 1986), 69-70.

  21. Copy of the October 6, 1921, letter between Staley and Halas appears in Dan Forrestal, The Kernel and the Barn: The 75-Year Story of the Staley Company (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982), photo spread.

  22. Halas, Halas, 71-73.

  23. Halas, Halas, 71-73.

  24. Columbus Citizen, December 9, 1921.

  25. Carroll and PFRA, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1921, 13.

  CHAPTER 10: THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1922)

  1. Lester Higgins, archival interview, NFL Films, 1976. Massillon Evening Independent, December 20, 1921.

  2. Massillon Evening Independent, January 21, 1922.

  3. Bob Carroll and PFRA Research. Bulldogs on Sunday, 1922 (North Huntingdon, PA: Pro Football Researchers Association, n.d.), 5-15.

  4. Richard Whittingham, Bears: In Their Ozvn Words (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1991), 157-158.

  5. Whittingham, Bears, 157-158. Fort Wayne Sentinel, February 4, 1922.

  6. Carroll and PFRA, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1922,1-3.

  7. George S. Halas, with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, Halas: An Autobiography (Chicago: Bonus Books, 1986), 76.

  8. Halas, Halas, 76.

  9. "APFA Meeting Minutes," January 28, 1922.

  10. James Carr, author interview, July 31-August 1, 2004.

  11. "APFA Meeting Minutes," January 28, 1922.

  12. Columbus Citizen, February 1, 1922.

  13. Halas, Halas, 91.

  14. Carroll and PFRA, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1922, 14.

  15. Bryan Cummings, Airedales: The Oorang Story (Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Detselig Enterprises, 2001), 57.

  16. Bob Lingo, author interview, June 25, 2000.

  17. Oorang Comments and Oorang Catalog 26. (LaRue, OH: Oorang Kennels, n.d.), 123.

  18. Lingo, interview.

  19. Cummings, Airedales, 90-91.

  20. Lingo, interview.

  21. Akron Beacon Journal, January 24, 1995.

  22. Lingo, interview.

  23. "NFL Meeting M
inutes," June 24-25, 1922. Rock Island Independents vs Chicago Bears Official Program, Sunday December 9, 1923. Code of Ethics statement appeared in 1922 NFL programs.

  24. "NFL Meeting Minutes," June 24-25,1922.

  25. "NFL Meeting Minutes," August 20, 1922.

  26. Guy Chamberlin, archival interview, Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1965 (audio interview).

  27. Halas, Halas, 82.

  28. Green Bay Press-Gazette, November 6, 1922.

  29. Columbus Citizen, November 27, 1922.

  30. Ohio State Journal, December 24, 1922.

  CHAPTER 11: DEFENDING PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL (1923)

  1. Larry Names, The History of the Green Bay Packers: The Lambeau Years, Part One (Wautoma, WI: Angel Press, 1987), 85-86.

  2. Names, The History of the Green Bay Packers, 85-86.

  3. Names, The History of the Green Bay Packers, 85-86. The attendance figures are from the newspaper accounts of the game and Bob Carroll, Michael Gersh- man, David Neft, and John Thorn, eds., Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (New York: HarperCollins, 1999), 1746-1753.

  4. Chuck Johnson, The Green Bay Packers: Pro Football's Pioneer Team (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1961), 50-51.

  5. George S. Halas, with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, Halas: An Autobiography (Chicago: Bonus Books, 1986), 86.

  6. Martha Sullivan, author interview, March 4, 2007.

  7. Sullivan, interview.

  8. "NFL Meeting Minutes," January 20, 1923.

  9. "NFL Meeting Minutes," January 20, 1923.

  10. Bob Carroll and PFRA Research, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1923 (North Huntingdon, PA: Pro Football Researchers Association, n.d.), 2.

  11. JFC Scrapbook, Binder 1, p. 21.

  12. "NFL Meeting Minutes," July 28-29, 1923. This is the first time that the "NFL Meeting Minutes" mention Joe F. Carr taking a salary-which is for $1,000 a year.

  13. "NFL Meeting Minutes," July 28-29,1923.

  14. JFC Scrapbook, Binder 1, p. 36. Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1923.

  15. Carroll and PFRA, Bulldogs on Sunday, 1923, 3.

  16. Ralph Hay's letter to the fans of the Canton Bulldogs appeared in Hammond Pros vs Canton Bulldogs Official Program, Sunday, September 30, 1923.

  17. Ohio State Journal, September 30, 1923.

  18. William Guthery, author interview, June 26, 2000.

  19. Ohio State Journal, October 15, 1923.

  20. Joe F. Carr's Gridiron Gossip columns appeared every Friday in the Ohio State Journal. Those quoted are from October 19, October 26, and November 2, 1923.

  21. Amos Alonzo Stagg's comments appeared in the Ohio State Journal, November 2, 1923; Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier & Reporter; Galveston (Texas) Daily News and San Antonio Express, November 2, 1923.