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Arthur Fobare Ranney (February 17, 1889 – April 22, 1970) was a co-founder 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 ...
in 1922), as an owner of the
Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional American football, football team that played in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-professional, semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros ...
, one of the league's charter teams. The Pros were renamed the Akron Indians in
1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
.


Purchasing the Indians

In 1920, Ranney was a local businessman in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
, as well as an ex-football player for 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 ...
. After experiencing financial losses from 1912 to 1919, the Akron Indians, of the "
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 ...
", was sold to Ranney 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 local cigar store owner. The 1919 Indians finished the season 5–5–0 and suffered financial losses, 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 ...
. As the team's new owners, Ranney and Neid dropped the Indian moniker and adopted a new name, the "Akron Pros," hoping to inspire better results, or at least better attendance.


Founding of the NFL

Ranney and Neid attended the August 20, 1920, and September 17, 1920, meetings, at Ralph Hay's
Hupmobile Hupmobile was a line of automobiles 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 Hastin ...
dealership, which established the NFL. The original copy of the minutes for the September 17, 1920, league meeting were recorded on a piece of Akron Pros stationary by Ranney. He was then elected secretary and treasurer of the league.


1920 Championship

The Pros won the very first APFA/NFL championship. In April 1921, the league voted to award the title and the
Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup Brunswick-Balke-Collender Cup was a silver trophy donated to the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922) by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, Tire Division. History According to the Septem ...
to Akron on the basis of having an undefeated record and allowing only 7 points in 9 games. the decision was protested by the
Decatur Staleys The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), and has played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The team has captured nine NFL championships – eight NFL championships and one Super ...
and the
Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars fr ...
, who had tied Akron during the season. Neid and Ranney picked up the trophy and, according to league records, gave congratulatory speeches. After a third-place finish in 1921, the Pros began to decline. In 1926, their name was changed back to the Indians, but that didn't help. Neid coached the team for six games that ended in a 1–3–2 record. Due to financial issues, Neid and Ranney suspended team operations in 1927 and surrendered the franchise the following year.


Race and the NFL

In the 1940s, Fritz Pollard allegeded that several of the owners attempted to raise the issue of a color barrier in pro football. According to Pollard, Doc Young of the
Hammond Pros The Hammond Pros were an American football team from Hammond, Indiana that played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team. History The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. ...
as well as Akron's Neid and Ranney refused to allow the discussion to take place. They could not understand why a player could not be considered a player without his color being brought into account. Pollard also stated that Neid and Ranney befriended him and feared for his safety as an
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
. Neid and Ranney also made Pollard the first African-American coach in the NFL.


Later life

Ranney later lived in
Summit County, Ohio Summit County is an urban county located in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and largest city is Akron. The c ...
, where he was the county engineer. He later retired to Florida, where he died in
Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is a county located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...
on April 22, 1970.Family search
/ref> He was buried in Daytona Beach, Florida.


References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranney, Art Akron Pros NFL founders NFL franchise owners Akron Zips football players 19th-century births 1970 deaths