Nicholas Anthony Lassa, (July 11, 1898 – September 4, 1964) more popularly referred to as Long Time Sleep, was a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player from the

Flathead Indian Reservation The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish (tribe), Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai (tribe), Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles (tribe), Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the ...

in Montana.

Biography

Born on July 11, 1898, Lassa was Native American and a member of the Pend d'Orielle tribe, one of three members of the confederated tribes of the Flathead reservation in Montana. He was given the name, Long Time Sleep, by his teammates because he was difficult to wake up in the morning. Lassa attended and played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

Carlisle Indian School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Native American boarding schools, Indian boarding school in the United States from its founding in 1879 t ...

and

Haskell Institute Haskell Indian Nations University (Haskell or HINU) is a Public university, public tribal university, tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for Native American children ...

. Lassa eventually played in 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 with the

Oorang Indians The Oorang Indians () were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio (near Marion). The franchise was a novelty team put together by Walter Lingo to market his Oorang (Airedale Terrier) dog kennels. All of the Indians ...

. The Oorang Indians were an all-Native American football team based in La Rue, Ohio and formed by

Walter Lingo Walter Houston Lingo (October 12, 1890 – December 31, 1966) was an Airedale Terrier breeder from La Rue, Ohio. During the 1920s, he owned the Oorang Dog Kennels. As a way of promoting his kennels, Lingo financed a National Football League fra ...

in 1922 to help promote his

Airedale Airedale is a valley, or Dale (landform), dale, in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is named after the River Aire, which flows through it. The upper valley, from Malham Cove to Airton, is known as Malhamdale, named after the vill ...

kennel. The team was organized by

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 ...

, who served the team as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. When the team formed, Lassa was the first player to arrive in La Rue. Aside from football, Lassa enjoyed wrestling. He would make up to $50 () for wrestling matches throughout the area. In fact he is most remembered for wrestling a bear as part of a

halftime show A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of di ...

of one of the Indians' games. Lassa would usually win $10–$20 (equivalent to $–$ in ) per match, which would allow the whole team to go out partying all night. After the team folded in 1923, Lassa stayed near LaRue, earning his living as a professional wrestler and

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

. He also stayed on working for Lingo and several of the other farmers in the area. He finally left the area in the early 1930s. He reportedly gave up drinking, raised a family, and became a respected member of his community. Lassa died on September 4, 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lassa, Nick 1898 births 1964 deaths Carlisle Indians football players Haskell Indian Nations Fighting Indians football players Oorang Indians players American male professional wrestlers Players of American football from Montana Professional wrestlers from Montana Native American professional wrestlers Native American players of American football People from LaRue, Ohio Blackfoot people