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 .
7-503: The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young . Young, a boxing promoter and owner of a racing stable, also served as doctor/trainer (and part-owner) for a semi-pro football team operated by the Hammond Clabby Athletic Association from 1915 to 1917. In 1918, Young presided over a new team known as the "Hammond All-Stars" and played against many of the teams that would form
14-635: A league would be viable.) In 1919, the team starred George Halas at wide receiver ; Halas left for the Decatur Staleys – the future Chicago Bears – the following year, remaining with that franchise as a player, coach and owner until his death in 1983. Despite the name, the Pros were little more than a semi-professional outfit; most of the players were locals who had full-time jobs and couldn't practice much, and thus were simply no match for most other NFL squads. Nor did they really represent Hammond, as
21-589: The 1926 battle with the American Football League , the NFL decided to scale down to 12 teams, getting rid of many of the smaller franchises, including the Pros. Of the nine African-American players in the league during those years, six played for the Pros, including the first African-American head coach in the NFL, Fritz Pollard , and the successful music producer Mayo Williams . †= Never played in
28-804: The backbone of the American Professional Football Association (including the Racine Cardinals , Detroit Heralds , Rock Island Independents , Minneapolis Marines , Cleveland Tigers , Canton Bulldogs , and Toledo Maroons ); Young attended the historic meeting in Canton, Ohio at which the APFA was formed in 1920. (It is said that a game between Hammond and Canton, played Thanksgiving Day 1919 and drawing some 12,000 spectators in Chicago, convinced team owners that
35-558: The league Paul Parduhn C.J. (Paul) Parduhn (1892-1946) was a wealthy owner of several car dealerships and President of City Fuel & Supply Co. In 1917, he formed a semi-pro team called the Hammond Bobcats. This team of all-stars earned the name the "$ 20,000 Beauties." with players like QB Milt Ghee , Doc Hauser , Frank Blocker, Paddy Driscoll , Hugh Blaylock, Guil Falcon and future Hall of Famer George Halas . Known for his willingness to spend money, most of
42-514: The top pro football talent of his time played for Parduhn at one time or another. Parduhn's team was also known as the Hammond All-Stars and in 1919, Parduhn was arrested for passing off bogus checks to his players. Still, his Bobcats were one of the nation's best teams in 1919 with top talent like Charley Brickley leading the way. His partner in this team was Dr. Alva Andrew Young whom he would give control over to after Halas left
49-499: The town's stadium (A. Murray Turner Field) was built for baseball and seated only a few thousand. The Pros would play only two regular-season NFL games in Hammond over their seven years in the league, and would use Cubs Park in Chicago as an unofficial "home" stadium. Nevertheless, Young kept the team going in the NFL for seven years and 34 games, with a combined record of 5–26–4. The Pros might have lasted even longer, but after winning
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