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57-591: The Crimson Giants history is rooted in Evansville's first significant semi-pro team, the Evansville Ex-Collegians , who began play in 1920. The Ex-Collegians played and followed the typical semi-professional template of the era. The team employed mostly local players almost exclusively. They paid those players a small sum based on gate receipts and on a game-by-game basis. The team also operated without any real management oversight, meaning that

114-591: A $ 1,000 bond to secure his claim to the franchise. It was at this meeting that Chicago Bears owner George Halas suggested that the APFA be renamed the NFL. The Crimson Giants' membership in the NFL meant that the Fans' Association team could not play league teams. Thus, they would be forced to play teams that were considered second-rate opponents. However, the Fans' Association team had secured an exclusive lease to Bosse Field for

171-665: A 34–0 loss at Columbus. Meanwhile, the Brecks home opener against Akron was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The Breck did manage to play the Oorang Indians in Louisville, for the team's very last NFL game. The Indians were an all- Native American football team, created by, owner Walter Lingo to promote the sale of his airedale terriers . The game included pre-game entertainment and the very first halftime shows . The Indians roster also included Jim Thorpe . The Brecks lost

228-414: A full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a considerably lower rate than a full-time professional athlete . As a result, semi-professional players frequently have (or seek) full-time employment elsewhere. A semi-pro player or team could also be one that represents a place of employment that only

285-641: A pair of non-league opponents. The first game, which was to take place in Chicago, was cancelled due to heavy snow, while the other game was cancelled by the opposing team. Fausch quickly added a game against the Cincinnati Celts . However, when faced with poor field conditions and two days of heavy rain, Fausch made a last-minute cancellation. Rather than play before another small crowd and lose more money, he decided not to play at all. The Crimson Giants had now cancelled their last three games, one of which

342-753: A popular baseball pitcher with the Evansville Evas of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League . With Morrison, Fausch arranged for a benefit game that provided funds for the construction of a World War I veterans' memorial. By doing this, the Crimson Giants secured the exclusive use of the only suitable stadium in Evansville, Bosse Field. Lindsey tried to challenge the Giants to a contest in the benefit game; however, Fausch refused to respond. Many professional football players soon flooded to

399-447: Is prohibitive, semi-pro football is common at the adult levels, in the outdoor or indoor variety , providing an outlet for players who have used up their NCAA eligibility and have no further use for maintaining amateur status. As a sport that normally plays only one game per week, American football is especially suited for semi-pro play and commonly known as "working man's" football; meaning the players have regular jobs and play football on

456-732: The Columbus Panhandles , another road team. Hertzman managed the Brecks. The team played split schedules between league games and local, independent games. They lost their first league game to the Evansville Crimson Giants on October 2, 1921. Reports estimated that the game drew more than 2,000 spectators. The games proceeds went to a fund to erect a memorial to the first Indiana soldier to die in World War I . The Brecks next six games were played at Eclipse Park against independent teams. During those six games,

513-666: The Muncie Flyers , 14–0. However, the Crimson Giants lost to the Hammond Pros , 3–0, the very next week. That win was Hammond's first win in the league. During that game, Herb Henderson later stated that the Hammond players met with him during the game and asked if he could tone down his hits because the Hammond players still needed to be healthy for work on Monday. Henderson, a high school football coach, refused and stated that he needed to show his players, who were sitting in

570-715: The National Football League : the Louisville Breckenridges (or Brecks for short) from 1921 to 1924 and the Louisville Colonels in 1926. The NFL intended for the Brecks to be a traveling team , however the team played a series of "home" games. All Brecks home games were played at Eclipse Park , until the stadium caught fire and burned to the ground on November 20, 1922. Meanwhile, the Colonels played all of their games on

627-628: The Scottish Premiership , with most teams below the second-level Scottish Championship being semi-professional. Historically, English rugby league and rugby union have had one full-time professional division, with semi-professional divisions at the next level down. The second tier of union, the RFU Championship , became fully professional beginning with the 2009–10 season. Louisville Brecks Louisville, Kentucky had two professional American football teams in

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684-452: The 1921 season. It was then that several members of the team took matters into their own hands. The "Committee of Five", led by former Ex-Collegians Menz Lindsey and Clarence Spiegel, forced Fausch to surrender management of the team. The "Committee of Five" could not reverse the Crimson Giants' financial fortunes. The Committee lost money in its only contests. Fausch and his American Football Association corporation lost an estimated $ 10,000 over

741-580: The APFA's Green Bay Packers at Hagemeister Park . Although Fausch intended to play every game in Evansville, he chose at this point to receive a guaranteed sum from the Packers' organization rather than risk losing more money at Bosse Field, where attendance had been disappointing. With several players unable to leave Evansville for the weekend, Fausch found replacements, but the revamped Crimson Giants were defeated in Green Bay, 43–6. Fausch then scheduled

798-626: The April 1921 league meeting, the NFL did receive a letter requesting a franchise from the Breckenridges. As a result, Hertzman beat out many of the other professional and semi-pro football teams in the Louisville area. In 1920, there were at least nine independent teams in the area, including the Brecks and the Evansville Ex-Collegians . NFL President Joseph Carr liked the idea of having professional football in cities with strong baseball traditions. This may answer why he granted Hertzman and

855-487: The Brecks dated "back fifteen years, springing from a boys neighborhood team, the Floyds and Brecks, that has kept itself intact probably longer than any independent team in the country." At first the team was considered an amateur team, made up of mostly neighborhood boys. However, by 1919, the team was considered professional, although evidently still made up of local players. The team's first ever professional football game

912-704: The Brecks finished with a 4–2 record. A November 6, 1921 a game with the Cincinnati Celts was canceled, because the Celts could not fulfill the contract. The Brecks didn't play another APFA team until December 4. That game resulted in a 6–0 loss to the Columbus Panhandles in Louisville, due to a late game touchdown pass. The Brecks lost their only two league games in 1921, however they did manage to finish with an overall record of 4–4–1. Karl Hower , played in 1921 for his hometown team. The Brecks home schedule included only games with other road teams. However,

969-526: The Brecks played a series of tough opponents on the road. The team lost on the road to the eventual 1922 NFL Champion Canton Bulldogs 38–0 and the Toledo Maroons 39–0. The very next game featured the worst loss in franchise history as the Brecks were defeated by the Racine Legion 59–0. Louisville's first NFL victory didn't come until November 22, 1922. During that game, the Brecks defeated

1026-531: The Brecks their franchise in 1921. Unlike today, the announcement of Louisville being granted an NFL franchise, was widely ignored by the Louisville press. However, in 1920, only a little attention had been paid the league. The Brecks were one of eight teams that joined the NFL (then called the American Professional Football Association ) in 1921. Carr had intended to use the Brecks a traveling team to fill in open dates in

1083-405: The Crimson Giants, 13–6. This game also proved to be the only game in which the Brecks scored. However, the Brecks experienced tragedy a few days later, when Eclipse Park caught fire and burned to the ground. The team's remaining two games were then cancelled. Had Eclipse Park not burned down, forcing cancellation of the final two games, the team would probably have financially broken even. After

1140-643: The Crimson Giants. Bourbon Bondurant , an insurance agent with prior pro football experience with the Fort Wayne Friars ; Joe Windbiel , a local high school coach who played professionally with the Detroit Heralds ; architect Earl Warweg , who had played semi-pro football for five years in Indianapolis; cigar company traffic manager Clarence Specht ; and June Talley , an insurance adjuster also with college football experience, soon joined

1197-607: The Ex-Collegians, and Mark Ingle , an offensive lineman with the team, left the Ex-Collegians to create a new corporation, known as the "American Football Association", which owned a new professional team soon nicknamed the Crimson Giants. Fausch served as the team's president and general manager, while Ingle served as vice-president. The two men put together an ownership group that included Evansville's leading businessmen and professionals. Evansville's mayor, Benjamin Bosse , and

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1254-412: The Giants in 1921, the Ex-Collegians brought in a few outsiders before folding, but generally, semi-pro teams spent little effort on recruiting. Both the Ex-Collegians and the Crimson Giants relied almost exclusively on players with college experience. Both teams consisted overwhelmingly of players from middle class backgrounds. Only a few blue collar workers played professional football in Evansville in

1311-546: The NFL and NFL league clubs would only be allowed to play Fausch's Crimson Giants. The Crimson Giants played their first three games of the season on the road. Fausch, in the meantime, had hoped that the Evansville Pros would fold in October, so that he could regain the rights to Bosse Field. The Pros folded after witnessing poor attendance and an 0–1–1 record. As a result, Fausch entered into negotiations with Nee over

1368-549: The National Football League in 1922) franchise for Evansville. It was then that Evansville was awarded an APFA franchise that was scheduled to begin play in 1921 . The Crimson Giants won five of their first seven games. The team's first-ever league win came at home on October 2, 1921, as the Crimson Giants defeated the Louisville Brecks , 21–0. The team's second league win can a week later against

1425-727: The Olympic Club was accused by a rival club of enticing athletes to jump to its ranks with offers of jobs. An investigation by the Amateur Athletic Union ruled that the Olympics' practice was not actually professionalism but only a "semi" form of it, inventing the term "semi-pro". Although the Amateur Athletic Union did not like the idea very much, it decided that clubs could indeed offer employment without losing their amateur status or compromising

1482-593: The Rock Island Independents became only the second team with two 100-yard rushers in their 60–0 win over Evansville. Jimmy Conzelman ran for five touchdowns during that game, setting an NFL record that remained in place until 1929, when Ernie Nevers scored 40 points alone against the Chicago Bears. The Independents also became the first NFL team to rush for 300 yards in that Evansville game, with 66 carries for 396 yards. The Crimson Giants had

1539-464: The United States, where college ice hockey dominates at that age group; the junior leagues in the United States generally operate as fully amateur teams to maintain the players' eligibility to play in college. Lower-end minor leagues and more obscure sports often operate at a semi-professional level due to cost concerns. Because the cost of running a fully professional American football team

1596-404: The athlete. In North America, semi-professional athletes and teams were far more common in the early and mid-20th century than they are today. Large blue-collar employers such as factories and shipyards often fielded baseball and basketball teams, with players receiving full-time salaries comparable to other employees. In theory, such players split their work week between athletic training and

1653-603: The attendant scholarships , in maintaining amateur status (unlike the Amateur Athletic Union, the NCAA forbade any sort of compensation outside of scholarships, including job offers tied to their playing, until 2020). Eligibility for participation in the Olympics in some sports is still dependent upon maintaining a purely amateur status (although far less so than was previously the case), and such athletes may be supported by government money, business sponsorships, and other systems. At

1710-407: The ball for only 26 plays, and seven of those were punts. Fausch talked briefly about re-organizing a new Crimson Giants club for the 1923 season ; however, he never made an effort to restart the team. Several of the Crimson Giants went on to play professional football for other NFL teams. While the Evansville Crimson Giants were the only league team to go under between the end of the 1922 season and

1767-481: The beginning of the 1923 season, few teams other than the Bears saw profits from football. The Crimson Giants relied more on outside talent than did their predecessors, the Ex-Collegians. 17 of the Crimson Giants' 30 players in 1921 were from Evansville, but by 1922, only five of the team's 17 players were locals. In contrast, 22 of 23 players on the 1920 Ex-Collegians were from Evansville. When faced with competition from

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1824-404: The chances of the game taking place between Evansville and Canton were slim, the rumor of a Canton game was actually a marketing scheme to draw attention to the newly established Ex-Collegians. The team finished their 1920 season with a 7–1 record. In 1921, the same unnamed businessmen who failed to take over the Ex-Collegians in 1920 decided to form their own team. Frank Fausch , a Fullback for

1881-586: The course of the season, despite playing a total of nine games at home and only one on the road. To combat the "Committee of Five", Fausch asserted publicly that it was he who held the franchise rights in the American Professional Football Association, and thus owned the Crimson Giants. To help improve the team's finances, he suggested that he would play every Crimson Giants game on the road . However Fausch lost his players. Several former Giants announced they would play for

1938-474: The destruction of Eclipse Park, the Brecks decided to play their home games of the 1923 season at the newly constructed Parkway Field . In order for the team to bring the Akron Pros , Columbus Panhandles, or Oorang Indians to Louisville, the Brecks announced the sale of season tickets. However, the 1923 season began in the same manner as the previous year, with a 37–0 loss to Canton. The following week saw

1995-434: The early 1920s. Of every player whose occupation could be determined, almost all of them were white-collar workers. The 1921 Crimson Giants included three lawyers, one physician, and one dentist. It is believed that the blue collars workers were excluded from football in Evansville due to a lack of leisure time. Semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on

2052-435: The employees are allowed to play on. In this case, it is considered semi-pro because their employer pays them, but for their regular job, not for playing on the company's team. The semi-professional status is not universal throughout the world and depends on each country's labour code and each sports organization's specific regulations. The San Francisco Olympic Club fielded an American football team in 1890. That year,

2109-545: The entire football season, leaving the Crimson Giants with no park for the 1922 season . The Fans' Association team also signed many key players from the 1921 Crimson Giants team. Around this time, Johnny Nee renamed the Fans' Association team the Evansville Pros and attempted to schedule games against the Hammond Pros , Dayton Triangles , and the Louisville Brecks . However, a letter from NFL president Joseph Carr stated that Nee's Evansville Pros were not members of

2166-518: The game 12–0. The Brecks finished their last season of football in 1924 as members of the Fall Cities Football Federation and compiled a 2–3 record. The Brecks felt Alumni Field was "more suitable" to their schedule and moved their home games to the field in 1924. Meanwhile, Aaron Hertzman, the owner of the now defunct Brecks, was elected the NFL's Sergeant of Arms. The Louisville Colonels were created in 1926 to fill

2223-675: The local Knights of Columbus squad instead. Menz Lindsey then re-formed the Ex-Collegians and named Herb Henderson the team's coach. Lindsey's club then secured the financial backing of the Evansville Baseball Fans' Association. Johnny Nee , manager of the Evanston Evas, became the team's business manager. The team was dubbed the Fans' Association team . Fausch attended the APFA's meeting in Columbus, Ohio , and posted

2280-590: The normal duties of the company's employees, though highly competitive teams often evolved into "sponsored" squads which trained for sports full-time and only nominally worked in the factory. The National Industrial Basketball League evolved out of these company-branded basketball teams. By the 1940s, baseball split off into separate truly amateur softball teams, sometimes sponsored by employers, and an expanded system of fully professionalized minor leagues whose lower ranks included many former industrial players. There are many benefits, such as collegiate eligibility and

2337-497: The players looked after the team's finances, and scheduled games haphazardly. In 1920, a group of local businessmen tried to purchase the Ex-Collegians. However, the investors and the players failed to reach a compromise. After the initial two victories over modest opponents, the Ex-Collegians bragged of possibly playing the most celebrated pro football team in the nation, the Canton Bulldogs , on Christmas Day , 1920. While

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2394-523: The road. While the Colonels were really a traveling team out of Chicago they are usually accepted as a continuation of the Brecks franchise. The Brecks dated their beginnings back to 1899. Officially the name of the team was the Louisville Breckenridge Club . The club was located in Louisville at corner of Fifth and St. Catherine Streets at what was then the city's perimeter. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported in 1922 that

2451-451: The sale of the lease for Bosse Field. However, the negotiations between the two clubs broke down and the Crimson Giants cancelled their remaining home games. The team only played three games in 1922, all on the road. The Crimson Giants lost all three of those games, to the Toledo Maroons , Rock Island Independents and Louisville Brecks. The wins by the Brecks and Maroons became the first in Louisville and Toledo franchise history. Meanwhile,

2508-407: The same time, professional sports have become such a massive and remunerative business that even many low-level feeder teams can afford to have fully professional athletes. In Canada, semi-professionalism is prevalent in junior ice hockey , in which the top level players (most of whom are teenagers still in, or just out of, high school) are paid at a semi-professional level. This is not the case in

2565-480: The schedules of the expanded NFL, but they were a traveling team that operated out of Chicago. That season, the NFL added several semi-pro teams to their ranks, mostly to keep them out of the rival American Football League . While the Colonels were really a traveling team out of Chicago, they are usually accepted as a continuation of the Brecks franchise. Bill Harley , the former owner of the Toledo Maroons,

2622-418: The schedules of the more "established" teams. However, the Brecks did not operate like one. The team played only two league games in 1921, one at home and one on the road, hardly justify the Brecks as a road team. But they were all Louisville born or raised in Louisville. And unlike most road teams, the Brecks' two league games were not with established teams but with the struggling Evansville Crimson Giants and

2679-594: The short summer seasons and low salaries require players to hold jobs in the offseason to make ends meet. There are several hundred semi-professional football teams at non-League level. The bottom division of the English Football League (the fourth tier of the English football league system ) has traditionally been the cut-off point between professional ("full-time") and semi-professional ("part-time") in English football . However, many teams in

2736-449: The stands watching him, "how tackling was done." However, the team lost a lot of money when it suffered through a series of scheduling mishaps in the second half of November. As a result of the eleven games originally scheduled, only five were actually played. Furthermore, only half of the ten games ultimately played by the Giants were against league opponents. In early November, the Crimson Giants travelled to Green Bay, Wisconsin , to face

2793-490: The team. After finding no other venue in which to play in Evansville, many of the Ex-Collegians joined the Crimson Giants. Soon, Doc Gorman joined the Crimson Giants, becoming the first Ex-Collegian, other than Fausch and Ingle, to defect. Within a week, Lindsey and Clarence Spiegel , two main pillars of the Ex-Collegians' organization, jumped to the Crimson Giants. On August 27, 1921, Fausch traveled to Chicago to secure an American Professional Football Association (renamed

2850-422: The top levels, as finances depend on promotion and relegation both of parent male teams and of the female teams themselves. Full professionalism for women is still in the planning stages; top female players often depend on other sources of income (such as coaching and physical training), and many attend university or college while playing. In Scottish football , semi-professional teams compete at all levels below

2907-538: The top non-League competition, the National League , have become "full-time" professional clubs in an effort to achieve League status. Many former League clubs also remain as fully professional teams following relegation to the lower leagues at least for as long as they retain a large enough average attendance to generate the income needed to pay the players. Women's football in England is semi-professional at

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2964-545: The vice-president of City National Bank were included in this group. The city's Chamber of Commerce was also heavily involved in promoting the Crimson Giants. The remaining Ex-Collegians, led by their quarterback and captain, Menz Lindsey , at first refused to join Fausch and Ingle. The Ex-Collegians wanted instead to continue playing independently. However Fausch needed many of those Ex-Collegian players in order to create his new team. He came to an agreement with Guy Morrison ,

3021-538: The weekends. In the 20th century the term "semi-pro football league" refer to higher level amateur leagues, though the players do not get paid, the leagues and the games are run in a somewhat professional manner. The National Lacrosse League , whose teams also typically play only one game per week, pays a salary that is enough to be considered fully professional, but players also are able to pursue outside employment to supplement their income. The lowest levels of organized baseball are also effectively semi-professional, as

3078-763: Was granted the right to manage the Louisville Colonel operation out of Chicago, while Hertzman still owned the team. The Colonels failed to register a single point during the 1926 season , one of a very small number of organized teams to have suffered such an ignonomy. The team's first game resulted in a 13–0 loss to the Canton Bulldogs , while their second game resulted in a 47–0 loss to the Detroit Panthers . Louisville's final two NFL games came on November 7, 1926 ( Chicago Bears 34, Louisville Colonels 0) and November 14, 1926 ( Green Bay Packers 14, Louisville Colonels 0). The Brecks-Colonels franchise

3135-502: Was held on November 16, 1919. The game resulted in a 17–0 Brecks victory over the New Albany Calumets . That win allowed the Brecks to claim the mythical "Falls Cities" title. While a champion was declared, no "league" existed at this time. Brecks owner, Aaron Hertzman , sent a $ 25 franchise fee to the NFL on February 21, 1921. The Official NFL Encyclopedia confirms that although officials from Louisville failed to attend

3192-401: Was played on Bosse Field, which was damaged due to heavy rains. The Crimson Giants won their sixth game of the season, 48–0; however, the team still took a financial loss due to poor attendance. A scoreless tie against a non-APFA opponent, two weeks later, ended the 1921 season for the Crimson Giants. Many of the Crimson Giants' players became upset with management of the team under Fausch after

3249-452: Was to be played on Thanksgiving Day , the biggest football day of the year. As a result, the players received no money, and Fausch had to pay rent for an unused Bosse Field. Fausch made sure the next game would be played. The Cincinnati Celts were rescheduled and Fausch informed the press that the game would be played "rain or shine." He then stated that three more games, two against APFA opponents, would be played in Evansville. The Celts game

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