Chief Xavier Downwind a.k.a. Red Fang (December 24, 1893 – July 26, 1968) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played in 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 ...

during the

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 ...

and

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the Carlisle Indian School, located in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, before joining the NFL's

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 dog kennels. All of the Indians players were Native Am ...

. The Indians were a team based in LaRue, Ohio, composed only of Native Americans, and coached by

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

. Downwind was a Chippewa.

Family

The son of James Mayshuckkence Downwind, Xavier was married twice. First he married Katie Isabelle and who he had a child with in 1919, Paul Xavier Downwind. In the mid 1920s he married Rose Eliza Smith. Between 1927 and 1945, Xavier and Rose had seven children; Xavier Francis, Rupert, Herman, Winnifred, Ruth Arlean, Anna Margaret and Leo Harold Lee.http://www.ojibwe.info/Ojibwe/HTML/people/p0000132.htm#I3813 He also has several grandchildren that reside in Minnesota.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downwind, Xavier 1893 births 1968 deaths Native American players of American football Players of American football from Minnesota Oorang Indians players Carlisle Indians football players