The Akron Pros were a professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team that played in
Akron
Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a
semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) in 1922).
Fritz Pollard
Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American professional football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Mar ...
, the first black head coach in the NFL, co-coached the Akron Pros in 1921.
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
played for the team in 1921 as well. He was among the earliest stars of professional football before football became segregated from 1934 to 1946. In 1926, the name was changed back to the Akron Indians, after the earlier semi-pro team. Due to financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and
surrendered its franchise the following year.
History
Origins

Before 1908, several semi-pro and amateur teams dominated the Akron football scene. The most dominant of these was a team known as the
Akron East Ends. The East Ends' dominance of Ohio football went unmatched until the
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the " Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championshi ...
paid several ringers from the recently disbanded
Pittsburgh Stars
The Pittsburgh (or Pittsburg) Stars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was a member of the National Football League (1902), first National Football League, which has no connection with ...
to defeat the East Ends in 1903.
The Akron Indians date as far back as 1908. The early Indians teams went on to win
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct p ...
championships in 1908, 1909, 1913 and 1914. The team was always referred to as the Indians by the fans. From 1908 to 1913, the Indians had a reputation of playing more of a style of football seen at the
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
level than that of the early athletic clubs. For example, the Indians preferred passing the ball as opposed to running.
Parratt's Indians
Before the 1912 season,
Peggy Parratt, an early football star with the
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the " Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championshi ...
,
Franklin Athletic Club
The Franklin Athletic Club was an early professional football team based in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It was considered the top team in professional football in 1903, by becoming the US Football Champions and winning the 1903 World Series of Fo ...
and the
Shelby Blues, joined the Indians. He made the move after realizing that he could make more money in the large football market that Akron provided. When he arrived in Akron, his first move was to change the team name from the "Akron" Indians to "Parratt's Indians". With Peggy as a player, coach, and owner-manager, the Indians split their series with Shelby and twice defeated Canton, 14–7 and 19–7. However, they were defeated by the unheard-of
Elyria Athletics, who then took the Ohio championship. The Athletics were mostly former Blues players who formed a team in Elyria after Parratt left for Akron.
The following season, Parratt brought most of Elyria's 1912 championship team to Akron and added them to his roster. The Indians then beat Shelby and Elyria. They also managed to tie the rapidly improving Canton Pros. During the Indians' championship game against Shelby, the Blues loaded their team with a collection of famous players from big eastern schools and supported each member with a payroll of $700 for just that one game. However, the game was canceled due to a snowstorm. A week later when the Blues returned to Akron, the Indians were prepared with newly recruited talent that was viewed as even superior to that of Shelby's. The Indians won the game 20–0 and brought the Ohio title back to Akron.
For his 1914 recruiting efforts, Parratt signed the usual big-name players, which consisted of a lineup that changed from week to week, with just enough stars on hand to guarantee a win. However, in 1914, he also employed several former
Notre Dame stars, including the legendary
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships.
Rockne is ...
, Howard "Horse" Edwards, "Deke" Jones, and
Joe Collins, as well as several Ohio collegiate stars like
Ed Kagy,
Dwight Wertz,
Homer Davidson,
Dutch Powell,
Frank Nesser
Frank Raymond Nesser (June 3, 1889 – January 1, 1953) was an American professional football player in the Ohio League and the early National Football League (NFL). During his career he played mainly for the Columbus Panhandles, however he did a ...
, and
Ralph "Fat" Waldsmith. By late season, the entire left side of his Akron Indian line was from Notre Dame. The team dominated the Ohio League for the season. However, it managed to lose to Canton 6–0 on November 15, 1914. Despite the win, Canton's captain
Harry Turner died when his spine broke during a tackle on Akron fullback Joe Collins. Turner's death marked the first fatal accident involving a major professional football team in Ohio.
To avoid an Akron title in 1915 the owners of the Massillon Tigers raided Parratt's Akron roster and took away many of his star players. Canton manager
Jack Cusack also picked up some former Akron players and signed
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...
to his renamed Canton Bulldogs team. By the end of the season, Parratt's team was made up mostly of Akron sandlotters. After the disastrous 1915 season, Parratt returned to Cleveland, where he took some of his former Akron players and a few ex-collegians and formed a respectable team, which he named the
Cleveland Tigers.
Burkhardts
In 1916 a local brewer, Burkhardt Brewing Company, took over the remains of the Indians and renamed the club the Akron Burkhardts. The team was reorganized by
Howe Welch and his brothers Chang and
Suey. After three seasons, Welch was a player, coach, and manager for Akron, playing against many of professional football's early stars. The 1916 Burkhardts had a winning record despite falling to the Bulldogs and splitting a two-game series with the
Columbus Panhandles
The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before foldi ...
. In 1918 the team was once again renamed the Indians, however, this is disputed due to many records of the time still referring to the club as the Burkhardts until 1920. The 1919 team, finished their season 5–5–0. However, the Indians lost money despite the presence of one of the country's best breakaway runners,
Fritz Pollard
Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American professional football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Mar ...
, the league's first black player. From 1917 through at least 1921, the Indians name was sold off to
Suey Welch, who fielded it as an independent club.
Pros
After experiencing financial losses from 1912 to 1919, the team was sold to
Art Ranney, an Akron businessman and former football player at the
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...
, and
Frank Nied
Francis Theodore Nied (August 14, 1894 – May 13, 1969) was a founder of the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League in 1922), as well as the owner of the Akron Pros and, as the team became known as ...
, a
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...
store proprietor in 1920. The new owners soon dropped the Indian moniker and went with "Pros," hoping to inspire better results, or at least better attendance.
[Carroll (1982), p. 1] Nied and Ranney befriended and signed Fritz Pollard to their team. The two co-owners later made Pollard the first African-American coach in the NFL.
Founding of the National Football League (NFL)
The minutes for the September 17, 1920, meeting that formed the APFA, were kept on the stationery of the Akron Pros football team by one of the owners, Art Ranney. Ranney was then elected secretary-treasurer of the league (later renamed the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
in 1922).
1920 NFL champions
Pollard and most of the top 1919 players planned to return to the Pros in 1920.
The team opened the season at League Park in early October by defeating the Wheeling Stogies, 43–0.
Al Nesser
Alfred Louis Nesser (June 6, 1893 – March 11, 1967) was a professional American football guard and end. He played for seven teams: Akron Pros, Cleveland Bulldogs, Columbus Panhandles, Akron Indians, New York Giants, and Cleveland Indians in ...
, one of the infamous football-playing
Nesser Brothers, scored three touchdowns on
fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...
recoveries.
The following week the Pros defeated the
Columbus Panhandles
The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before foldi ...
37–0 using former
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison gu ...
,
Frank McCormick
Frank Andrew McCormick (June 9, 1911 – November 21, 1982) was an American baseball first baseman who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Buck" in honor of Frank Buck, he played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelp ...
as a
wingback. After a 13–0 win over the
Cincinnati Celts
The Cincinnati Celts (pronounced with a hard C) was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Foot ...
, the Pros played the
Cleveland Tigers, a team composed mainly of ex-stars from the
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the " Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championshi ...
.
Bob Nash, who played for Massillon in 1919, broke up a
Stan Cofall punt resulting in an Akron
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
and a final score of 7–0. The Pros then shocked the league by beating the
Canton Bulldogs, who were considered the top team in the nation in 1920 with stars
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...
,
Joe Guyon,
Pete Calac, and
Pete Henry, 10–0. However, after a rained-out game against the
Detroit Heralds, the Pros played a reorganized Tigers team that held the Pros to a 7–7 tie. The team, under the rushing of Pollard and McCormick, rebounded by defeating the
Dayton Triangles 13–0. After a 7–0 victory in a rematch to Canton, as well as a second win over Dayton, the Pros were recognized as the top team in Ohio.
The Pros then held the
Buffalo All-Americans to a scoreless tie in front of only 3,000. At the game, Nied and Ranney agreed to sell Bob Nash to Buffalo for $300 and five percent of the gate in the first known player deal between NFL clubs. However, since the Pros held the best record in the league, they only had to avoid losing a game, while Buffalo and the
Decatur Staleys had to win to capture the AFPA Championship. The Pros held the Staleys to a scoreless tie in front of 12,000 fans at
Cub Park.
Both the All-Americans and the Staleys complained about the championship, arguing that Akron had not defeated them. The Pros were not named the AFPA Champs until April 30, 1921, after the team managers got together at Canton and voted the title to Akron, granting the team the
Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup. (Not coincidentally, Ranney, then the league's secretary, presided over the meeting as ''de facto'' President of the league, since neither President
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...
nor Vice President
Stan Cofall appeared at the meeting.) According to modern NFL tie-breaking rules, the 1920
Buffalo All-Americans would be co-champions. They would be tied with the Pros in win percentage, wins to losses (.864), both teams beating out the
Decatur Staleys, who would have a season that counted 11 wins to 2 losses (.846).
Decline
The Pros finished in 3rd place in 1921 and 10th place in 1922. The team only finished higher than 13th place in 1925, when it completed the season at fifth. Following the 1925 season, the Pros returned to being the Akron Indians. This new team played for the next four seasons before disbanding due to declining financial support and the team's poor record after the
1926 season. The team suspended operations in 1927 and formally surrendered its franchise the following year.
[Peterson (1997), p. 102]
Hall of famers
Season records
Legend
Notes
References
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{{Ohio League
American football teams established in 1908
American football teams disestablished in 1927
Sports in Akron, Ohio
Defunct NFL teams
Ohio League teams
Early professional American football teams in Ohio
Defunct American football teams in Ohio
1908 establishments in Ohio
1927 disestablishments in Ohio