Carl H. Storck (born November 14, 1892 – March 13, 1950) was a co-founder of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

, as well as the founding owner of the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

. He was also the Triangles coach from

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

until 1926. Storck served as the NFL's secretary-treasurer from 1921 to 1939 and president from 1939 to 1941.

Dayton Triangles

Storck started his football career as a local football hero in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, playing for St. Mary's College (now known as the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

). After graduation, Stork played semi-pro football for a local team that would later become the Dayton Triangles. Storck became the team's manager in 1918 and guided his team into the NFL (then called the American Professional Football Association). He represented Dayton at

Ralph Hay Ralph Edward Hay (January 12, 1891July 29, 1944) was the owner of the Canton Bulldogs from 1918 through the 1922 season. However, he is mostly recognized for organizing the first meeting of teams that would later form the American Professional Fo ...

Hupmobile Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908. History Founding In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, for ...

dealership on September 17, 1920. This meeting marked the formation of the NFL. The Triangles would have trouble competing in the increasingly competitive NFL, and Storck would eventual sell them in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

to Bill Dwyer, who moved the team to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and renamed them the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

League officer

Storck served as secretary-treasurer of the National Football League from 1921 to 1939. Upon the death of

Joe Carr Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer. Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children). At 10 days old, he was ado ...

, Storck served as president of the

. In 1941 the league created the position of

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

and named Elmer Layden to the post. Storck was upset by the owners' decision to replace him as head of the league, as he had given twenty years to the league (fifteen without pay) and had not received any criticism from the owners during his tenure as president. He stated that he would stay on as president if the owners defined his duties in a contract. However, on April 4, 1941, he suddenly announced that he was resigning "for the best interests of the game".

Outside football

In keeping with the majority of managers Storck was an unpaid volunteer. He worked full-time as a foreman in the Inspection and Packing Department of the National Cash Register Company. He then worked as assistant manager at Delco.

Illness and death

At the time of his resignation, Storck was seriously ill with

Neurasthenia Neurasthenia (from the Ancient Greek νεῦρον ''neuron'' "nerve" and ἀσθενής ''asthenés'' "weak") is a term that was first used at least as early as 1829 for a mechanical weakness of the nerves and became a major diagnosis in North A ...

. He had been bedridden for seven weeks prior to his resignation and was partially paralyzed on the right side of his body. He retired from Delco in 1942 due to ill health. Storck died on March 13, 1950, at a nursing home in Dayton.

References

Sports Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storck, Carl 1892 births 1950 deaths Dayton Flyers football players Dayton Triangles coaches National Football League founders National Football League commissioners NCR Corporation people Sportspeople from Dayton, Ohio Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio