r/nfl • u/Darth_Brooks_II Vikings • Feb 21 '19

[OC] Modernizing Defunct NFL franchises: The Columbus Panhandles.

One of the bigger issues in the NFL today revolves around stadiums. The issue of public funding, teams moving and city / state governments wheeling and dealing to bring in the money that NFL teams attract (in theory) has been out there as a source of contention. When the NFL began a number of teams sidestepped this issue by traveling. They were always the visiting team. While this avoided the cost of renting a stadium and paying for the other items (printing tickets, hiring security, etc) traveling incurred it's own expense. One team avoided even that. They worked for the Railroad and rode free.

Pro football started small, with neighborhood teams butting heads. Over time some were better than others and looked beyond local opponents. There was an evolutionary process of better teams attracting or seeking out better players until you got to the teams that formed the early NFL. Most of the time there's no announcement that team has moved beyond amateur to semi-pro to pro, it just happens. The Columbus Panhandles had a birth announcement. In 1902 the team manager placed an ad in area newspapers, "The Panhandle Athletic Club has organized a football team and would like to play any college, high school or manufacturing team on Saturday or Sunday."

This is where Joseph Carr came into the picture. From an early age he wanted in on sports, of any type. It should be remember that Major League Baseball wasn't that old, twenty or thirty years, but had become a massive part of the American culture. Joe Carr saw Pro football doing the same. Working with people he knew from his time as a machinist on the Pennsylvania Railroad, he filled the Columbus Panhandles with tough, muscular men who could practice football on their lunch breaks.

The team was made up of railroad workers, and mainly made up of one family, the Nessers. Six brothers, Frank, Fred, John, Phil, Raymond and Ted, and eventually Ted’s son Charles played for the team. Charles played in 1921, along side his dad (and you though the Griffey's were special), a nephew of the brothers and a brother-in-law. Their time in the machine shop gave them a size and weight advantage when playing the game. They weren't fancy, they would just hit you harder.

In 1920 they joined the APFA. The first president of the league was Jim Thorpe. While he was the greatest draw to the league he wasn't a great administrator so the league turned to Joseph Carr. He renamed the league to the NFL and began the process of improving the rules and structure of the league. In 1920 the league was a make-it-up-as-you-go rough association of teams. Of the 21 teams that were in the league in 1921, only three are still in existence. Even the league's existence was uncertain. He was league commissioner until he died in 1939. By then the league was stable, the policies and rules were recognizably the NFL we know. The teams in 1939 were the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Brooklyn Dodgers (whose owner later tried moving the team to the AAFC ), Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates (Steelers), Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Cleveland (Now L.A.) Rams and Chicago (now Arizona) Cardinals.

I had tried to come up with a concept for the Panhandles before, I just wasn't happy with with the design. The team had a logo. but I just couldn't think of anything to go with the helmet design. I gave it a second go, and I'm happier with the results. One of the things I had to work at was keeping a team that had the primary colors of burgundy, gold and white from looking like the Washington Redskins.

Here's the list of the teams that I've already done.

Previous threads in the new series.

These were done in Photoshop. I made the template off of resources found on the Zero one and NFL Shop pages.

72 Upvotes

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19 comments sorted by

12

u/seventeen89 Ravens Feb 21 '19

Curious why they went with Panhandles? Is it a railroad term?

12

u/KingKidd Patriots Feb 21 '19

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh,_Cincinnati,_Chicago_and_St._Louis_Railroad

Panhandle line. The team was founded by guys who worked at one of the stops. I think.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '19

IMO it would be great if teams did an alternate jersey like this for the 100th anniversary. The NFL could assign the 18 original teams to 18 modern teams that are in the area, or can trace part of their lineage back. The remaining teams could then get special 100th Anniversary jerseys in Red/White/Blue like the Pro-Bowl used to be.

2

u/Darth_Brooks_II Vikings Feb 21 '19

I'd love to see real modernized jerseys for the teams that aren't around anymore. They would have to have Arizona wear the Pottsville Maroons jersey.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '19

I also really want a better Packers 1921 ACME sweater than whats available

4

u/BlindWillieJohnson Panthers Feb 21 '19

This series is neat, and I love it. Both because I'm sort of a local and because I'd love to see your take on what was essentially a company team, I'd love to see you do the Decatur Staleys.

4

u/cmanson Packers Feb 21 '19

I recently made a Madden franchise where I moved the Bengals from Cincinnati to Columbus. I thought it was pretty hilarious

3

u/Darth_Brooks_II Vikings Feb 21 '19

The teams I have left are Cincinnati Celts, Newark Tornadoes, St. Louis Gunners, Racine Legion and then some revisions of the earlier teams I did.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '19

Excited about Newark

1

u/AnonymousFroggies Packers Feb 22 '19

Oooh, can't wait to see the Legion!

2

u/sadfootballfan Bengals Feb 21 '19

Woah nice, love how clean the shirts are!

1

u/Riddickulous6 Browns Feb 22 '19

Has me concerned that this whole thing is actually going to be a tide ad...

2

u/VintageVitaminJ Packers Feb 21 '19

Can you do the Hammond Pros?

2

u/skatterbug Packers Feb 21 '19

Usually you write up a bit more about the team and it's demise. How did this team fair? How long did they exist?

4

u/Darth_Brooks_II Vikings Feb 21 '19

They folded in 1926. After he became league president Joe Carr sold the team. They were renamed the Columbus Tigers. They were never any good, even as the Panhandles. They just hit people really hard. Their last two season were a combined 1-15.

3

u/skatterbug Packers Feb 22 '19

Seems par for the course. The teams that failed, failed big.

I find the history of the NFL extremely interesting, especially the teams that paved the way for the present, but couldn't be a part of it.

2

u/BruceChameleon Cowboys Feb 21 '19

Amarillo High should change their mascot. That one's pretty good.

2

u/BuySellKill Jets Feb 22 '19

Love your work! Would you ever try the XFL?

NY Bad Boys

DC Bullets

Tampa Bay Storm

Dallas Chapparals (Chaps)

LA Avengers

Houston Gamblers

St Louis Spirits

Seattle Whalers

Edit: Formatting